--- title: "Profile Porter vs Finicky · Profile Porter" description: "Profile Porter and Finicky side by side: rules you write in JavaScript, or a profile picked from where you're signed in. Price, browsers, profiles and which to choose." url: "https://profileporter.com/compare/finicky/" --- Compare # Profile Porter vs Finicky Checked on 21 October 2026 Both open each link in the browser you want. Finicky does it with rules you write in a JavaScript file. Profile Porter picks the profile from where you're signed in, and asks when it can't tell. On this page 1. [In short](https://profileporter.com/compare/finicky/#short) 2. [Side by side](https://profileporter.com/compare/finicky/#table) 3. [Where Finicky is better](https://profileporter.com/compare/finicky/#rival-better) 4. [Where Profile Porter is better](https://profileporter.com/compare/finicky/#pp-better) 5. [Price and platforms](https://profileporter.com/compare/finicky/#price) 6. [Which to choose](https://profileporter.com/compare/finicky/#choose) ## In short **Finicky** is a free, open-source Mac app for people who like to write their own rules. You keep a JavaScript (or TypeScript) file, ~/.finicky.js, that says which browser and profile each link opens in. Nothing happens that the file doesn't say. **Profile Porter** is for people who don't want to keep a list. It reads which profiles are signed in to a site and where you use it, opens the link there, and asks when two profiles are about even. Rules are there if you want one. ## Side by side | | Profile Porter | Finicky | | --- | --- | --- | | 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: wildcards, regular expressions or JavaScript functions, by link, app, modifier keys and more | | Asks you | When two profiles are about even, or when you hold Shift | No picker | | Learns from your picks | Yes, from each pick and each Undo | No | | Chrome, Edge, Brave profiles | Yes | Yes, named in a rule | | Firefox profiles | Yes, old and new style | Only in the 4.4 alpha | | Firefox containers | Yes, with the _Open external links in a container_ add-on | No | | Safari profiles | Yes, on a Mac (Safari 17 or later) | No | | Opens links in apps | Yes, when the site says its app opens the link (Zoom, Figma) | Yes, with a rule that rewrites the link (Zoom, Spotify, Teams) | | Removes tracking from links | Yes, built in | Yes, with a rewrite rule you write | | Expands short links | Yes, if you turn it on | Yes, built in (bit.ly, t.co, Outlook Safe Links and more) | | Undo a wrong pick | Yes | No | | Private window | Yes: hold Shift as you pick (not Safari) | With launch arguments you add yourself | | Price | €12 once for 1.x, on up to 3 computers; 14-day refund | Free | | Platforms | macOS 14 or later; Windows 10 or 11 | macOS 12 or later | | Open source | No | Yes (MIT) | ## Where Finicky is better - **It's free and open source.** MIT licensed, on GitHub, installed with brew install --cask finicky. - **Rules can do anything.** Match a link by wildcard, regular expression or your own function; by the app it came from; by the keys you hold; even by whether your Mac is on battery. Profile Porter's rules are only "this site" or "this app". - **It can change links before they open.** Force HTTPS, strip any parameter, turn a web link into a zoommtg: link. Profile Porter removes tracking and sends links to apps, but you can't write your own rewrites. - **Short links are always expanded**, Outlook's Safe Links included, so rules see the real address. In Profile Porter that's a setting you turn on. - **Your setup is a text file.** Keep it in git, copy it to a new Mac, comment it. - **It reads nothing of yours.** It doesn't look at your browsing history or cookies, so it needs no Full Disk Access. Profile Porter does read them, on your computer. - **Older Macs:** it runs on macOS 12; Profile Porter needs macOS 14. ## 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. A site you already use works on the first click, with nothing to set up. - **It asks when it isn't sure.** Finicky has no picker: a link no rule matches goes to your default browser. - **It learns, and you can undo.** Each pick and each Undo teaches it. A wrong pick is one key away from the right one. - **More kinds of profile.** Firefox profiles (old and new style) and containers, and Safari profiles on a Mac. Finicky's stable release opens Chrome-family profiles only; Firefox profiles are in its 4.4 alpha. - **Windows too.** Finicky is Mac only. ## Price and platforms **Finicky** is free. It's for macOS 12 or later. The latest stable version is 4.2.2, from 3 October 2025. Version 4.4.0-alpha (26 April 2026) adds a rules editor in the app and Firefox profiles. **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 macOS 14 or later, or Windows 10 or 11. ## Which to choose ### Choose Finicky if… - you like writing your setup as code, and want it in a file you control; - you need rules on more than the site and the app, or links rewritten your way; - you want something free and open source, or you're on macOS 12 or 13. ### Choose Profile Porter if… - you'd rather not write or keep up rules; - you want it to ask on a close call, and learn from what you pick; - you use Firefox containers, Safari profiles, or Windows. 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: [Finicky on GitHub](https://github.com/johnste/finicky); [releases](https://github.com/johnste/finicky/releases); [configuration (v4)](https://github.com/johnste/finicky/wiki/Configuration-\(v4\)); [configuration ideas](https://github.com/johnste/finicky/wiki/Configuration-ideas). Something out of date? Tell us at [support@profileporter.com](mailto:support@profileporter.com).