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.
Checked on 21 October 2026 on their official pages: Browser Tamer; on GitHub; releases. Something out of date? Tell us at support@profileporter.com.