---
title: "Profile Porter vs Browser Tamer · Profile Porter"
description: "Profile Porter and Browser Tamer side by side on Windows: rules you write, or a profile picked from where you're signed in. Price, browsers, profiles and which to choose."
url: "https://profileporter.com/compare/browser-tamer/"
---

Compare

# Profile Porter vs Browser Tamer

Checked on 21 October 2026

Browser Tamer is a free, open-source link router for Windows and Linux, run by rules you write. Profile Porter, on Windows and the Mac, picks the profile from where you're signed in.

On this page

1. [In short](https://profileporter.com/compare/browser-tamer/#short)
2. [Side by side](https://profileporter.com/compare/browser-tamer/#table)
3. [Where Browser Tamer is better](https://profileporter.com/compare/browser-tamer/#rival-better)
4. [Where Profile Porter is better](https://profileporter.com/compare/browser-tamer/#pp-better)
5. [Price and platforms](https://profileporter.com/compare/browser-tamer/#price)
6. [Which to choose](https://profileporter.com/compare/browser-tamer/#choose)

## In short

**Browser Tamer** finds your browsers and their profiles by itself, then opens each link where your rules say. Rules match part of the link, a regular expression, the app it came from or its window title, or a Lua script. Before that, links go through a pipeline: Safe Links unwrapped, short links expanded, tracking removed, your own find and replace. A link no rule matches goes to your default browser.

**Profile Porter** needs no rules: it reads which profiles are signed in to the site and where you use it, and asks when two are about even.

## Side by side

|  | Profile Porter | Browser Tamer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Picks a profile without rules | Yes: from sign-ins, saved passwords and history | No: rules, or your default browser |
| Rules | Optional: a site, or every link from an app, to one profile | Yes: part of the link, regular expressions, source app, window title, Lua scripts |
| Asks you | When two profiles are about even, or when you hold Shift | When rules conflict, when you hold a key as you click, or when no rule matches if you set it |
| Learns from your picks | Yes, from each pick and each Undo | No |
| Chrome, Edge, Brave profiles | Yes | Yes, found by itself |
| Firefox profiles | Yes, old and new style | Yes, old and new style |
| Firefox containers | Yes, with the _Open external links in a container_ add-on | Yes, with two Firefox add-ons; Brave containers too |
| Safari profiles | Yes, on a Mac (Safari 17 or later) | No (no Safari on Windows) |
| Opens links in apps | Yes, when the site says its app opens the link (Zoom, Figma) | Yes: any app can be a target |
| Removes tracking from links | Yes, built in | Yes, built in |
| Expands short links | Yes, if you turn it on | Yes, on by default |
| Undo a wrong pick | Yes | No |
| Private window | Yes: hold Shift as you pick (not Safari) | Yes, as a profile (Incognito, Brave's Tor window) |
| Price | €12 once for 1.x, on up to 3 computers; 14-day refund | Free |
| Platforms | macOS 14 or later; Windows 10 or 11 | Windows and Linux (a Mac version is in development) |
| Open source | No | Yes (Apache-2.0) |

Profile Porter's column is the Windows app, except Safari, which is Mac only.

## Where Browser Tamer is better

- **It's free and open source** (Apache-2.0), installed from GitHub or with winget, and says it doesn't phone home.
- **Linux.** Profile Porter has no Linux version.
- **Rules and rewrites go much further.** Regular expressions, window titles, Lua scripts, find and replace on links, a debugger that shows each step. Profile Porter's rules are only "this site" or "this app".
- **Any app can be a target**, and a link can open in a frameless window. Brave containers work too.
- **A command line** to list browsers, set the default and open links, plus an optional log of every rule that matched.
- **It reads nothing of yours** to decide: no history, no cookies.

## Where Profile Porter is better

- **No rules to write.** It picks the profile where you're signed in to the site and use it most, so a site you already use works on the first click.
- **It learns, and you can undo.** Each pick and each Undo teaches it; Ctrl+Z puts a wrong one right.
- **Sign-in links and terminals.** An emailed sign-in link goes back to the profile you were on; gh auth login opens where you're signed in.
- **A Mac version today**, on the same license.

## Price and platforms

**Browser Tamer** is free, funded by donations, for Windows and Linux. The latest version is 6.3.1, from 5 October 2026.

**Profile Porter** is €12 once for every 1.x update, on up to 3 computers, Mac or Windows, with a full refund within 14 days if it isn't for you. It needs Windows 10 or 11, or macOS 14 or later. The Windows app isn't code-signed yet, so Windows may warn the first time you open it.

## Which to choose

### Choose Browser Tamer if…

- you want exact control, with regular expressions or scripts;
- you want it free and open source, or you use Linux;
- you send links to apps other than browsers.

### Choose Profile Porter if…

- you'd rather it work out the profile than keep rules for it;
- you use a Mac as well as a PC.

Get Profile Porter for €12, once.

Everything included, no account, and a full refund within 14 days if it isn't for you. macOS 14 or later, or Windows 10 or 11.

[Download](https://profileporter.com/download/)

[All comparisons](https://profileporter.com/compare/)

Checked on 21 October 2026 on their official pages: [Browser Tamer](https://www.aloneguid.uk/projects/bt/); [on GitHub](https://github.com/aloneguid/bt); [releases](https://github.com/aloneguid/bt/releases). Something out of date? Tell us at [support@profileporter.com](mailto:support@profileporter.com).