Whether you’re working alone or as a team, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the many apps and software tools you use, such as Google Drive, Evernote, LucidChart, or anything else.
Having many tabs open and constantly needing to switch from one to another can not only stress you out but also slow down your computer.
In addition, constantly needing to switch from one app to another makes it quite difficult to scale and grow. This is where tools like Workona come into the picture.
Workona is a browser-based work management platform that makes it easy to manage all of your apps, tasks, and documents in one place.
So whether you’re doing freelance graphic design for clients or working on marketing campaigns, Workona allows you to keep your work organized and streamline your workflow.
Let’s discuss Workona at length today.
Workona History
Workona was founded in 2017 by Alma Madsen and Quinn Morgan to help teams and individuals meet their growing work needs. It is based in San Mateo, California, and it has an estimated team of 11–50 employees.
It particularly targets teams, which is why it integrated Workona to work with various team-based collaboration apps, such as Zoom, Slack, Asana, Salesforce, Notion, and others. Nevertheless, individuals who find their browsers overwhelming can also use it.
What makes Workona revolutionary is that it works in your browser, so there is no need to download any additional software. That also allows you to access your workspaces from wherever you are.
Furthermore, you can share your workspaces with your teammates, similar to the way you can share a Google Doc.
Workona also has example workspaces that you can copy. There are many such examples for different purposes, ranging from product planning to law firm to marketing campaign, with neatly organized resources, tasks, and notes.
For example, you can upload PDFs and other documents you are working on to the resources section.
Altogether, Workona is one of the easiest ways to manage your workflows if you operate in the cloud.
In addition to the browser-based app, there are also mobile apps, allowing you to access your work and get things done on the go.
Important note: Workona is not to be confused with Workana (Workana.com), despite the very similar names. Workana (with an A) is a company based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that connects professionals with companies looking for new talent and helps companies find remote teams on demand.
The two companies do not have any connection that I know of, although it is easy to get confused between the two. They are two different companies offering two very different types of solutions.
Workona Reviews
Overall, Workona has received excellent reviews from critics and users. Let’s go over what people are saying about Workona and the specific things they liked and didn’t like.
Note that all ratings cited are current as of this writing, and as more reviews come in on any particular platform, they are subject to change slightly. However, you can use the links to check for updated ratings.
First, let’s take a quick look at the reviews on the Google Chrome Web Store. Workona is a browser-based workspace that uses a Chrome extension to help Chrome users manage their workspaces.
On the Google Chrome Web Store, the extension has an average rating of 4.7 stars out of five, with around 3,000 reviews. Many of the reviewers say they are using the free version to organize their tabs in Google Chrome into different workspaces, and although the free version only allows up to five workspaces, they are very satisfied with the product.
Most of the people say that while the tool is relatively simple, it is a lifesaver and an awesome tool that makes their lives incredibly easier and helps them save time.
Next, let’s look at G2, a website where people can leave reviews for products they have used. While Google doesn’t verify the reviews on the Chrome Web Store, many of the reviews on G2 are from verified reviewers and verified current users of Workona.
The current rating on G2 is 4.8 stars out of five, with over 30 reviews. All of the reviews are either five-star or four-star reviews; there are no negative reviews at the moment.
People are a bit more thorough in their reviews on G2. While most reviewers praised Workona for making their lives easier, many also mentioned ways it could improve, such as allowing the apps in the left sidebar to open in a “lite” app experience directly in the workspace so they can compose emails and view their most recent emails there.
Next up we have Product Hunt. There, Workona has an average rating of 4.3 stars out of five, with over 25 ratings overall.
Most of the people were satisfied with the software, mentioning how it has improved their lives and allows them to juggle different tasks while removing the chaos from their lives.
However, some people complained about the learning curve compared to other organizational apps like Trello and that the interface is sometimes clunky and not intuitive.
Finally, Workona has cited some reviews from critics on its website, including from Twitter users. Of course, that selection is a bit biased, but it’s still worth a read.
Workona Alternatives
While Workona is overall an excellent work management tool to use, it’s not for everyone. As you can see from the reviews, despite most of them being positive, certain drawbacks do stand out.
For one, the free version is limited, only giving you five workspaces – many people said they wished it would offer more than that (one reviewer said that 10 workspaces would be ideal). This wasn’t always the case, as Workona didn’t always have this massive restriction.
In addition, some users have complained about bugs, a learning curve that could be improved, and a clunky interface that is sometimes hard to navigate.
Fortunately, there are many alternatives to Workona that you might want to try out. Here are the best Workona alternatives I recommend.
1. Station
Station is an excellent alternative to Workona, although it is a bit interesting because it is a separate browser instead of integrating with your existing browser.
Nevertheless, I prefer it, because it is free and open source, unlike Workona, which is why I chose it as the best Workona alternative.
Furthermore, it is not just a tab management tool but also allows you to organize your apps into different workspaces, just like Workona.
It integrates with over 600 apps in the Station app store, although it is also possible to add custom apps to the browser with just a few clicks (you don’t need a lot of technical knowledge).
The 600+ apps include WhatsApp, Pinterest, Outlook, and many others.
One feature I really liked was the automatic grouping by application. For example, it groups all of your Google Drive tabs together.
I also liked the Focus mode, which allows you to customize which notifications you get from different apps, helping you focus on your tasks at hand and be more productive.
There are other features as well, such as the auto-sleep feature, which automatically puts tabs to sleep to conserve CPU usage.
In addition, one thing that really stood out was the ability to log into multiple accounts at one time, without any hassle. Whether you are using multiple Gmail addresses or different Slack profiles, you can easily integrate them all into your Station dashboard.
Overall, Station is an excellent alternative to Workona, making it easy to browse your recent documents and pages and add or remove apps you work with, organizing them into different workspaces.
It is free and open source, and I highly recommend that you use it – it is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Also Read: Best Productivity Apps
2. Toby
Another good alternative to Workona is Toby, which allows you to organize tabs and apps into different workspaces, whether your team uses Zoom, Dropbox, or Google Drive.
Toby calls its workplaces “collections,” and you can filter your collections by adding tags to them. With the built-in search tool, you can easily find things you were working on.
Toby Notes allows you to collaborate on different projects by leaving notes for teammates. It is also easy to onboard new members by inviting them to work on your different collections.
With Toby Web, you can also access your collections from everywhere with cloud syncing. It is free for individuals, and for teams, it is in public beta at the moment – see updated pricing here.
3. tabXpert
tabXpert is a session and tab manager that will help you organize your workflow. Instead of workspaces, it uses “sessions,” with the ability to view your active and closed tabs in each session.
Since sessions are saved automatically, you can relaunch them even if your browser crashes. One way to organize and filter your sessions is by adding session tags to them – many people find that the tags feature makes it easier to organize sessions compared to organizing workspaces in Workona.
You can also organize your tabs with the tab management feature, grouping tabs together automatically. The tool will automatically group Chrome tabs together based on topic, which makes it easier to find topics you’ve been researching or googling when researching or working on multiple topics at a time.
The tool doesn’t just have a Tab mode (which is good for organizing tabs in a single window) but also Window and Popup modes.
Not only that, but tabXpert is free to use, although there is a premium plan if you want extra features, like cloud syncing in between computers.
Secure cloud synchronization and full tab grouping support, along with other premium features, is available for just $2.5-3/month (depending on whether you sign up for the monthly or yearly plan), which is also a lot cheaper than Workona.
For updated pricing information, check out the pricing page.
4. Blixem
One of the best alternatives to Workona, in my opinion, is Blixem, which is a tool for organizing your browser tabs. You can create various workspaces to organize your many tabs into different projects or categories.
Like Workona, Blixem allows you to share your workspaces with others, inviting them to collaborate with you or comment on your workspaces.
You can customize workspaces with different background colors, making it easier to differentiate between one workspace and another, and instantly launch workspaces with a single click.
You can further customize a workspace by breaking it up into different named sections, dragging and dropping tabs from one section to another.
One cool feature of the Blixem Tab Manager is that it has a dashboard where you can view all of your open windows, even if they are minimized. Each window will display the tabs open in that window, and you can drag and drop tabs from one window to another.
To free up memory and limit CPU usage, you can put some tabs to sleep or close them entirely.
Blixem is entirely free to use, with no limitations.
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5. Partizion
Another excellent alternative to Workona is Partizion, which allows you to create multiple workspaces and organize your different tabs into them.
Not only can you easily save different tabs to different workspaces, but you can use the built-in search tool to quickly find tabs you have saved, which makes your life a lot easier when you are unsure which project you saved a tab to.
6. Session Buddy
Session Buddy allows you to easily manage your tabs and bookmarks in your browser. You can save tabs into different collections, and even if your browser or computer crashes, you will be able to recover them later.
Unlike Workona, Session Buddy is a community-supported project, meaning it survives on donations. You can donate if you like the tool, but it is not required, as you can use it for free.
It is a simple tool that allows you to efficiently manage and track your sessions.
Check Out: Best Apps Like Forest
7. Tablerone
Tablerone is a simple tool that allows you to organize your browser tabs into different sessions. You can easily save tabs for later by organizing them by topic and closing them without losing them; you can also recover tabs after a crash.
Creating workspaces is a great way to organize your life, as it allows you to open multiple tabs in a workspace at once. You can share multiple tabs and links by sharing your workspace – go from sharing a huge list of links to sharing one link only.
You can export a list of tabs as well, together with the URLs, metadata, and more. Furthermore, you can add notes to your bookmarks, which is useful when conducting research on multiple topics.
Tablerone syncs across your devices, and the customizable keyboard shortcuts help you organize your tabs even quicker.
You do not need to pay or even create an account to use Tablerone, so it is much better for privacy-loving individuals. However, if you do like the tool, you can donate to help keep the project going.
Also Read: Padlet vs Jamboard
8. Trello
Trello is a good alternative to Workona if you are looking for a more comprehensive team management tool. It allows you to create multiple workspaces and boards, with to-do lists, tasks, and more.
It’s great for workflows, because you can easily drag and drop tasks from one list to another – for example, from the to-do list to the “in progress” list. Once you complete the task, you can drag it to the “ready for editing” list, for example, enabling better team communication and collaboration.
Trello is great for all kinds of workflows, from brainstorming to meetings.
One of the advantages that Trello has over Workona is its ease of use, something I mentioned earlier in this article. The interface is a delight to work with, and it is incredibly easy to adapt to it, without much of a learning curve at all.
Like Workona, it integrates with many of the apps your team likely works with, such as Slack, HourStack, TimeDoctor, and many others. In fact, the list of integrations is so long that I recommend you check it out yourself here.
I also liked how the free plan allows you to create 10 boards per workspace, with unlimited tasks. Premium pricing starts at just $5/month, which is cheaper than Workona – see updated pricing here.
9. Tab Cloud
Tab Cloud is a Chrome extension that allows you to easily manage your tabs in the cloud, making it easy to save and sync sessions across multiple devices.
You can get a bird’s eye view of your current open windows and drag tabs from one window to another, sort of like workspace management in Workona.
Sign in to your Tab Cloud account with your Google account to make syncing and session management easier.
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Wrapping It Up
In the few years that Workona has been around, it has risen in popularity, as many people find it incredibly useful for managing their tabs and apps.
However, since it introduced limitations to its free plan, many people have started looking for alternatives.
The best alternatives, in my opinion, are Station and Toby. Toby integrates with Google Chrome, and Station is a separate browser, but it is open source and incredibly versatile.
Though you can pick any of the alternatives listed above. All are good.
