ReTab vs TabControl Extension
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ReTab
Streamline your Safari browsing with a keyboard shortcut that lets you quickly switch between your most recent tabs. Access a visual picker for cycling through tab history, or instantly jump between the two most recent ones. It's designed to keep you focused without clutter.
- Quick switch between two most recent tabs
- Cmd+Tab style tab history picker
- Hold Shift to reverse cycling direction
- Jump back to previous tab on close
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts
- Private by design, no tracking
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Cmd+Tab — but for your Safari tabs. Tap Cmd+E to flip between your two most recent tabs. Hold it to summon a Cmd+Tab-style picker for cycling through your tab history — release to land on the highlighted tab. Hold Shift while cycling to reverse direction. One shortcut, two gestures, zero clutter. Already use Cmd+E for Use Selection for Find? On Safari 26 and later you can give ReTab a different shortcut in Safari Settings → Extensions. What's New in 3.0 A unified, redesigned experience. ReTab now uses a single intelligent shortcut that adapts to how you press it — replacing the old "two separate shortcuts" model. The new visual picker brings the macOS Cmd+Tab feel directly to your tabs, with a frosted-glass overlay that shows where you are in your history at a glance. Tap to Hop Tap Cmd+E and let go to instantly flip between your two most recent tabs. The fastest way to compare, copy, or context-switch while you work. Clicking the ReTab toolbar icon does the exact same thing — handy when you're not on the keyboard. Hold to Cycle Hold Cmd+E to summon the Cmd+Tab-style overlay. Each subsequent tap of E walks the highlight one step forward through your tab history; release the modifier to commit. Hold Shift to step backwards. Prefer arrows? ← and → step through the picker the same way. Prefer the mouse? Click any card to jump straight to that tab. Up to 9 recent tabs at your fingertips. Jump Back on Tab Close Closing a tab automatically returns you to your most recently active tab — no more hunting after Safari drops you on a random neighbor. Toggle this off any time in extension settings if you'd rather keep Safari's default. Customizable Shortcuts Safari 26 and later let you remap ReTab's shortcut directly in Safari Settings → Extensions to fit your workflow. On older Safari versions, tools like Karabiner-Elements or BetterTouchTool do the job. Private by Design Nothing ever leaves your Mac. No analytics, no remote calls, no tracking. Safari will warn you on install that ReTab "can read and alter webpages" and "see your browsing history" — that's the standard wording for any extension that touches tab data. Here's exactly how each permission is used: • Script access — only to draw the picker overlay on the tab you're already viewing. • Tab access — only to read titles and icons of your open tabs so the picker can list them in the right order. That's the complete list. Your tab history, the picker, everything — stays on this Mac. Built for Your Flow Whether you're a developer jumping between docs and code, a researcher comparing sources, or a power user juggling dozens of tabs — ReTab keeps you in the zone. Just install, enable in Safari Settings → Extensions, visit a couple of tabs, and tap Cmd+E. That's it.
TabControl Extension
Organize and restore your Safari browsing sessions. Save entire contexts of open tabs into named sessions, then reopen them later in Safari. Keep research, work, and personal browsing separate and easily accessible.
- Save complete Safari sessions
- Restore sessions and individual tabs
- Native session library
- Optional iCloud sync
- Automatic session organization
- Private by design
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Stop losing the tabs you meant to keep. TabControl turns open Safari tabs into organized, restorable sessions. Save a whole browsing context in one tap, find it later from the native app, and reopen one page or the entire session whenever you need it. SAVE COMPLETE SAFARI SESSIONS Capture the tabs you have open without bookmarking them one by one. Keep research, work, travel planning, shopping, and everything else separated into clear sessions. RESTORE WHERE YOU LEFT OFF Open a saved session, review its tabs by window, then reopen an individual page or choose Open All in Safari. TabControl hands the session back to Safari so you can continue quickly. A NATIVE SESSION LIBRARY Browse saved sessions in the TabControl app on iPhone and iPad. See titles, categories, dates, and tab counts at a glance, then search across sessions and tabs. OPTIONAL ICLOUD SYNC Turn on iCloud sync to keep saved sessions available across your devices. Sync is optional and controlled from TabControl settings. ORGANIZED AUTOMATICALLY TabControl can name and categorize sessions for you, helping large collections stay understandable without manual filing. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your sessions are stored locally by default. There is no TabControl account and no analytics or tracking. On-device organization works without sending your browsing data to a server we operate. QUICK SETUP 1. Install and open TabControl. 2. Go to Settings > Apps > Safari > Extensions and enable TabControl. 3. In Safari, open the extensions menu and choose TabControl. 4. Save your current tabs or restore a saved session. Built for Safari on iPhone and iPad. Buy once, own forever—no subscription.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: ReTab at 79% against TabControl Extension's 0%. ReTab also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks) and price ($1.99 vs $3.99). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
ReTab costs $1.99 and TabControl Extension $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ReTab ships an update every 5 days, TabControl Extension every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ReTab | TabControl Extension |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 79.2% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lychee Isle Co | Serhii Mariiekha |
Customer experience
ReTab
TabControl Extension
In-app purchases
ReTab
No in-app purchases
TabControl Extension
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ReTab free?
Is TabControl Extension free?
Do ReTab or TabControl Extension have ads?
Which is updated more often, ReTab or TabControl Extension?
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