Comparison

Shimmer Browser vs tabbrowser

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Shimmer Browser

This web browser offers customizable visual styles and a resizable sidebar for a personalized experience. It includes features to manage tabs, set time limits for browsing, and block web annoyances. Users can also add widgets to their homescreen for quick access to selected tabs.

Highlights
  • Customizable visual styles
  • Resizable sidebar
  • Tab saving and organization
  • Time limits on saved tabs
  • Web annoyance blocking
  • Homescreen widgets for tabs
Features
Read full description

Introducing Shimmer Browser - The focus browser! Your style - 3 visual styles to choose from, resizable sidebar with a compact icon-only made, and all buttons are fully customisable. Arc-like - save tabs, organise them into folders, sync via iCloud. No more doom-scrolling - set time limits on saved tabs. Clutter-free - block annoyances on the web, quickly clean up unsaved tabs, or set them to auto-close! Tab triage - saved tabs detect links to other sites, and present them in tab triage with options to save for later. Tabs on your homescreen - add widgets to your homescreen and select the tabs they show. Give it a try! It’s free up to 4 tabs at once, so you can get a sense of the browsing experience. If you like it, you can unlock the full experience and help me add more features!

About

tabbrowser

This mobile browser prioritizes speed and privacy with built-in ad and popup blocking. It offers intuitive one-handed navigation through tab swiping and customizable gestures for enhanced control. Enjoy features like in-browser media playback and reading tools.

Highlights
  • One-handed tab switching via swipe gestures
  • Built-in ad and popup blocking
  • Customizable gestures for actions
  • In-browser video and music playback
  • Reader view and read-aloud functionality
  • Private browsing mode
  • Tab grouping and management
Features
Read full description

A tab browser built for one hand: swipe anywhere on the screen for the next tab. Ad and popup blocking is on by default. ■ Swipe to switch tabs No need to open the tab list: swipe sideways on the page for the next tab, or from the screen edge to go back or forward. ■ Block ads and popups Banner ads and tracking scripts never load. Basic filters are free and update daily. ・Stops self-opening tabs, full-screen ads, and redirect ads; review what's blocked, or allow a site ・Hides cookie banners and social share buttons, and skips images to save on data ■ Stay in the browser Links to X, YouTube, Instagram, or LINE keep you in the browser; choose to stay or open the app, remembered per site. ■ Gestures ・L shape: close the tab. Reverse L: reopen it. Upward L: new tab or tab list. V shape: jump to the top or bottom ・U and sideways L shapes can be assigned too, to ten more actions such as reload, back, forward, or add bookmark ・Hold a link to open it in a background tab. Swipe the new tab button up to close the current tab ■ Tabs ・Group tabs by color, fold and expand them, and keep pinned tabs first even through "close all" ・Closed tabs are listed under Today, Yesterday, and Last Week, ready to restore, and a tab playing music keeps playing even when you switch away ・No limit on tabs. Relaunch, and every tab and its history comes right back, with thumbnails and reordering in the list ■ Bars and menu ・Toolbar top or bottom, hiding as you scroll; gaming mode leaves just the URL and tab bars, which can match the site's color ・Reorder menu items, pin favorites to the toolbar, or save sites as quick access buttons ・Open a page in a floating window you can move and resize while reading ■ Search and new tab ・Google, Bing, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, or Baidu, with suggestions, history, and bookmarks as you type ・A new tab page of tiles for favorite sites, echoed in a widget ・Open a copied URL on return to the app, or send a page here from any share sheet ■ Bookmarks and history ・Nest folders your way; reorder, edit, or swipe to delete ・History by day: clear the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or everything; cache and cookies clear separately ■ Video and music ・Keep playing when you switch apps or lock the screen, watch in Picture in Picture, and split the screen into up to six pages, stacked or side by side, even on iPhone (Premium) ■ Read and research ・Translate a page as is, or switch to a reader view for just the article ・Read aloud in a natural voice, highlighting each paragraph, with adjustable speed and a sleep timer, across tabs or with the screen off ・Night mode, text size, desktop view, full screen, find on page, sharing, AirPrint, save as PDF ・Capture an entire page as one screenshot (Premium) ・Download and manage files ■ Privacy No personal data is collected; your browsing and searches never reach the developer. Private tabs leave no history or cookies and stay hidden in the app switcher. Lock the app, or just private tabs, with Face ID or Touch ID and a delay you set; trackers are blocked with the ads. ■ iPad and external keyboards Three layouts for the bigger screen: popover menus, a side-panel tab list, and two-pane settings, plus shortcuts like ⌘T for a new tab. ■ tabbrowser Premium (monthly or yearly subscription) Basic ad blocking stays free. Premium unlocks: ・Advanced ad blocking: ads on video sites, clutter, "disable your ad blocker" walls, and tap-to-remove ads that slipped through ・Background playback, Picture in Picture, and split screen ・iCloud sync for bookmarks, history, and tabs ・Full page screenshots and 40 alternative app icons Your subscription is charged to your Apple ID at purchase and renews unless canceled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage it in your App Store account settings. Terms of use: https://dkit.jp/en/terms/ Privacy policy: https://dkit.jp/en/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

Shimmer Browser4 screens
tabbrowser4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: tabbrowser at every 2 days against Shimmer Browser's weekly. On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Shimmer Browser sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and tabbrowser sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.89 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Shimmer Browser against 5.0 for tabbrowser. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shimmer Browser ships an update weekly, tabbrowser every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Shimmer Browser versus tabbrowser: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShimmer Browsertabbrowser
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings34 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS27.026.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB38 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperJamie FroggattSaigen inc.

Customer experience

Shimmer Browser

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

tabbrowser

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Shimmer Browser

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$3.99
  • More Tabs$7.99
Show 1 more
  • Generous Tip$9.99
2 purchases

tabbrowser

Subscriptions2
  • Premium (Monthly)$9.891 Month
  • Premium (Yearly)$88.901 Year

Questions

Is Shimmer Browser free?
Shimmer Browser is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is tabbrowser free?
tabbrowser is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shimmer Browser or tabbrowser?
Shimmer Browser and tabbrowser are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 4 ratings respectively.
Do Shimmer Browser or tabbrowser have ads?
Neither Shimmer Browser nor tabbrowser shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shimmer Browser or tabbrowser?
Shimmer Browser ships an update weekly, and tabbrowser every 2 days. Most recently, Shimmer Browser was updated on November 4, 2026 and tabbrowser on November 10, 2026.

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