Pax Add to Chrome

The best new tab extensions for Chrome in 2026

A short, honest guide to the new tab extensions worth installing, sorted by what you actually open a new tab for.

Updated · 3 min read

You open a new tab dozens of times a day. That makes it one of the most-seen screens you own, and most people leave it blank. Here are the extensions worth trying, grouped by what you want that moment to do for you.

Quick picks

  • See your day: Pax, for every calendar on one page with quiet reminders.
  • Stay minimal: Bonjourr.
  • Calm photo and a focus line: Momentum.
  • Build it yourself: Tabliss.
  • Jump to favourite sites: Infinity New Tab.

Why the new tab matters

In a 2022 study published by Harvard Business Review, people in teams at three Fortune 500 companies switched between apps and websites about 1,200 times a day, losing nearly four hours a week to finding their place again. Every new tab is one of those switches. A good new tab page can save you a trip: your next meeting, today’s focus and the weather are already there.

If you want to see your day: Pax

Pax puts Google, iCloud, Outlook, CalDAV and .ics calendars side by side on a sheet of glass over a new photo each day. Before a meeting, one quiet line appears with Join and Snooze. The focus timer, background sounds, to-dos, notes and world clocks are free, and so are prayer times for six faiths. It speaks twelve languages and needs no account.

If you want minimal: Bonjourr

Bonjourr is free and open source, with a clock, greeting, quick links, search, notes and quotes, and plenty of ways to change fonts and backgrounds. It says it collects no data.

If you want a photo and one focus: Momentum

Momentum popularised the photo-and-greeting style. The free version gives you a daily photo, a quote, a focus line and a Google or Outlook calendar. Its timer, sounds, notes and world clocks are part of Plus, at $39.95 a year.

If you like to build: Tabliss

Tabliss is free and open source, with many backgrounds and small widgets. The original is no longer maintained, and a community fork called TablissNG carries it on.

If you live on shortcuts: Infinity New Tab

Infinity New Tab is built around a grid of website shortcuts, with backgrounds, to-dos and AI tools, and paid tiers on top.

Three things to check before installing

  1. Permissions. A new tab page rarely needs to read every website. Chrome shows what an extension asks for when you install it.
  2. Where your data lives. Prefer extensions that keep your notes and to-dos in your browser, or in storage you control.
  3. Weight. You’ll open it a hundred times a day. It should appear instantly.

Questions people ask

What does a new tab extension do?

It replaces the page Chrome shows when you open a new tab. Good ones turn that page into something useful, like your calendar, your to-dos or a quiet moment, without slowing the browser.

Are new tab extensions safe?

Most are, but check what each asks for. A new tab page shouldn’t need to read every site you visit. Look for a clear privacy policy, minimal permissions and data kept on your device.

Can I use more than one?

Only one extension can own the new tab at a time. You can install several, but switch off the ones you’re not using in chrome://extensions.

Keep reading