Comparison of browser synchronizers

The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of web-based browser synchronizers. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. Unless otherwise specified in footnotes, comparisons are based on the stable versions.

Transmute is excluded because it is a MS Windows-based offline tool (with privacy advantages). Xmarks Sync used to provide an option to avoid the Xmarks server, which required using a WebDAV or FTP server to store bookmarks, however this feature is no longer reasonably available. If any other tools offer a privacy advantage, list them in this paragraph or add a column to the tables.

Another aspect of synchronization not covered in this table is OPML import and export. Exporting OPML enables many other tools to read the feeds, bookmarks/favorites and other browser data. There may be significant differences in capability between multiple levels of subscription – some tools such as Transmute have three levels of subscription.

General

Client Creator Software license Latest release
BookmarkSync Jack Dean Proprietary Windows:

3.0.0 (August 2010 (2010-08)) [±]

Mac OS X:
1.0.4 (September 14, 2005 (2005-09-14)) [±]

Opera Link Opera Software Proprietary Opera: 35.0.2066.37 (February 2, 2016 (2016-02-02)[1]) [±]

12.18 (February 16, 2016 (2016-02-16)[2]) [±]
Opera Mini:

Android 13.0.2036.98649[3] (December 9, 2015 (2015-12-09)) [±]
iOS 12.1.1[4] (December 22, 2015 (2015-12-22)) [±]
Windows Phone 9.0.0.201[5] (September 29, 2015 (2015-09-29)) [±]
BlackBerry 8.0[6] (March 12, 2014 (2014-03-12)) [±]
Java ME 8.0[6] (March 12, 2014 (2014-03-12)) [±]
Symbian 7.1 (January 25, 2013 (2013-01-25)) [±]
SiteBar Server Ondrej Brablc GPL 3.4 12 February 2014
Firefox Sync Mozilla Foundation Mozilla Public License 44.0.2 (February 11, 2016 (2016-02-11)[7]) [±]
ESR

38.6.1 (February 11, 2016 (2016-02-11)[8]) [±]

Google Chrome Google Freeware under Google Chrome Terms of Service
Windows, OS X, Linux

48.0.2564.109 (February 9, 2016 (2016-02-09)[9]) [±]

Pale Moon Sync M.C. Straver Mozilla Public License N/A (part of Pale Moon)
Xmarks Sync Xmarks Proprietary Firefox: 4.3.7.1 (May 12, 2015 (2015-05-12)) [±]

IE: 1.3.15 (November 11, 2014 (2014-11-11)) [±]
Safari: 2.0.19 (March 12, 2015 (2015-03-12)) [±]
Chrome: 1.0.32 (March 12, 2015 (2015-03-12)) [±]

Client Creator Software license Latest release

Operating system support

PC operating system Mobile operating system
Client Windows OS X Linux FreeBSD iOS Android BlackBerry OS Symbian Windows Phone other
BookmarkSync Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
Opera Link Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Solaris, Java ME, S60, UIQ3, BREW
Firefox Sync Yes Yes Yes Yes[10] Yes Yes No No Yes OpenSolaris[11]
Xmarks Yes Yes Yes No Xmarks Premium Xmarks Premium Xmarks Premium No Xmarks Premium No
Client Windows OS X Linux FreeBSD iOS Android BlackBerry OS Symbian Windows Phone other

Syncable Browsers

Client Internet Explorer Microsoft Edge Mozilla Firefox Opera Safari Google Chrome other
BookmarkSync Yes No Yes Yes Yes (Mac Only) No SeaMonkey
Opera Link No No No Yes No No Opera Mini, Opera Mobile
Firefox Sync No No Yes No No No Firefox for Mobile[12]SeaMonkey
Xmarks Yes No Yes No, but there is a sync viewer in a menu[13] Yes (Mac Only) Yes No
Client Internet Explorer Microsoft Edge Mozilla Firefox Opera Safari Google Chrome other

Syncable Items

Client Bookmarks Favicons Browsing history Form history Web feed subscriptions Search engine plugins Passwords Dictionary Other
BookmarkSync Yes No No No No No No No No
Opera Link Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Personal bar, speed dial, notes, typed browser history, content blocker list
Firefox Sync Yes No, but planned to be added in future [14] Last 60 days[15] Yes Yes No Yes No open tabs, tab groups, personas, preferences, add-ons (up to 25MB by default)[15]
Google Chrome Yes ? Yes Yes ? ? Yes Yes open tabs, add-ons, preferences
Xmarks Yes Yes Yes (Firefox) No Yes Yes Yes (deprecated) No open tabs
Client Bookmarks Favicons Browsing history Form history Web feed subscriptions Search engine plugins Passwords Dictionary Other

Features

Client Encrypted transfer Encrypted storage Server changing Web-based UI Exporting Link verification Duplicate link checker Notes
Arado Websearch ? No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes It doesn't provide any server for built-in internet based sync.
Bookmark Yes Yes No Yes No No No Server-side backup, restore of bookmarks, sync profiles so that only certain bookmarks sync to certain browsers. Feb 12, 2012: Doesn't work properly with IE9 (bookmarks don't appear on web UI).
BookmarkSync Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Feb 12, 2012: Sync doesn't work properly.
Chipmark ? No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Provides IE plug-in and Firefox extension. Feb 12, 2012: Registration process in official site fails with the following message: "There was an error communicating with our mail server, or the email address entered was not valid. Registration was not successful. Please try again at a later time.".
Link Commander ? No ? ? XBEL ? ? It doesn't provide any server for built-in internet based sync.
Opera Link Yes[16] No No Yes Yes No Yes (only webbased)
Portable Bookmarks ? Yes ? ? XBEL ? ? It doesn't provide any server for built-in internet based sync: its portability is based on USB drives.
Power Favorites ? Yes ? ? XBEL Yes Yes Extensions for Firefox and Opera. Feb 12, 2012: It doesn't automatically sync with IE9 (export/import based).
Firefox Sync Yes Yes Yes No No No No Data is encrypted on the client and not accessible even to Mozilla server operators.[17]
xbelSync ? No ? ? XBEL ? ? It doesn't provide any server for built-in internet based sync.
Xmarks Yes[18] Partial[19] Yes(Firefox only)[20] Yes Yes No Yes (web) Server-side backup, restore of bookmarks, sync profiles so that only certain bookmarks sync to certain browsers; password storage is deprecated, Xmarks recommends using LastPass instead.
Client Encrypted transfer Encrypted storage server changing webbased UI exporting Link Verification Duplicate Link Checker Notes

History

History of bookmarks (favorites) sync:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Better downloads and quieter tabs in Opera 35 for computers". 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  2. ↑ "Opera 12 and Opera Mail security update". 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  3. ↑ "Opera Mini - Fast web browser - Android Apps on APKTrunk". 9 December 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Opera Mini web browser on the App Store on iTunes". 22 December 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "Opera Mini | Windows Phone Store". 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  6. 1 2 "New Opera Mini for Java and BlackBerry - Opera Software". 12 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "Firefox — Notes (44.0.2) — Mozilla". mozilla.org. 2016-02-11. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
  8. ↑ "Firefox — Notes (38.6.1) — Mozilla". mozilla.org. 2016-02-11. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
  9. ↑ "Stable Channel Update". Chrome Releases. Blogger. February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  10. ↑ "weave port". FreshPorts. 2009-10-09. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  11. ↑ mconnor (2009-07-29). "Weave 0.5 Released". Mozilla. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  12. ↑ mconnor (2009-06-27). "Weave 0.4.0 Released". Mozilla. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  13. ↑ https://addons.opera.com/en/addons/extensions/details/xmarks-mini/1.0/?display=en
  14. ↑ https://wiki.mozilla.org/Services/Sync/FxSync/FaviconSync
  15. 1 2 "What is Firefox Sync?". Firefox Help. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  16. ↑ "Opera Link explained". Opera Software. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
  17. ↑ "How secure is my Sync data?". Firefox Help. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  18. ↑ http://wiki.foxmarks.com/wiki/Foxmarks:_Frequently_Asked_Questions#Is_encryption_supported.3F
  19. ↑ Encrypted password storage is supported
  20. ↑ https://helpdesk.xmarks.com/bookmark-manager-basics/byos/
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