The start.me alternative that lives in your new tab

Everything you open every day, as visual tiles in groups, right on the new tab page. No ads, no page limit, and a real extension for Firefox as well as Chrome, Edge and Brave.

Try Speed Dial 2 – it's free See the comparison ↓

Speed Dial 2 new tab page with visual bookmarks in groups

Switch to Speed Dial 2 if…

✓You want your links on the new tab page itself, not on a website
✓You need more than three pages without paying
✓You'd rather have no ads on your start page
✓You use Firefox and want a real new tab extension

Stay with start.me if…

–You open your start page from many shared or public computers without installing anything
–You manage start pages for a whole team or school

Speed Dial 2 vs start.me

Green marks the stronger option. Rows without one come down to taste.

Feature	Speed Dial 2	start.me
Price	Speed Dial 2 Stronger option: Free. Pro is $12 a year	start.meFree. PRO is $25 a year
Ads on the free plan	Speed Dial 2 Stronger option: None	start.meYes, removed with PRO
Pages or groups on the free plan	Speed Dial 2 Stronger option: As many groups as you need	start.meUp to 3 start pages
How links look	Speed Dial 2Visual tiles with logos or page screenshots	start.meLinks inside widgets on a dashboard
Where it runs	Speed Dial 2Your new tab page, as a browser extension	start.meA website, with a new tab extension for Chrome and Edge
Firefox new tab	Speed Dial 2 Stronger option: Yes, native extension	start.meNo new tab extension. start.me suggests a third-party add-on as a workaround
Sync across devices	Speed Dial 2Built in, with Pro	start.me Stronger option: Built in, through your account
Widgets	Speed Dial 2Clock, tasks and notes free; weather, calendar and countdown with Pro	start.meBasic widgets free; premium widgets with PRO
Sharing	Speed Dial 2Share a group with a public link, with Pro	start.meShare pages; team plans available

Based on each product's own website and store listing as of October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

start.me is a start page that lives on a website: dashboards of links and widgets you open in the browser. It works, especially for teams. But if what you want is your links the moment you open a new tab, a start.me alternative that lives in the new tab itself is faster. That is what Speed Dial 2 is.

Why people look for a start.me alternative

The free plan's limits

As of October 2026, start.me's free plan allows up to three start pages and shows ads. Removing the ads and the page limit takes start.me PRO, which costs $25 a year.

Firefox

start.me's own help center says it has no new tab extension for Firefox, and its Firefox new tab add-on was removed from the Firefox Add-ons site in May 2021. The suggested workaround is a third-party add-on that loads start.me on new tabs.

Lists instead of pictures

Speed Dial 2 bookmarks shown as page screenshots — Every bookmark can show the site’s logo or a screenshot of the page.

start.me shows bookmarks as links inside widgets. Some people find it quicker to recognize a site by its logo or a screenshot of the page than by a line of text.

What Speed Dial 2 does differently

It is the new tab page. Press Ctrl+T or Cmd+T and your sites are there, with no website to load first.
Visual tiles. Each bookmark shows the site's logo or a screenshot of the page, at a size you choose.
As many groups as you need. One for each project, client or hobby, free.
No ads. Not on the free plan, not on Pro.
Firefox, natively. A real Firefox extension, plus Chrome, Edge and Brave.
Search, widgets and focus. Type "saved this week" to find a bookmark, keep tasks and notes next to your links, and block distracting sites with Focus Mode.

What it costs

Speed Dial 2 is free, including groups, search, Focus Mode and the clock, tasks and notes widgets. Speed Dial 2 Pro is $12 a year and adds sync across your computers, automatic daily backups, the iOS and Android app, weather, calendar and countdown widgets, shared groups and password-protected groups.

When start.me is the better choice

start.me runs in any browser without installing anything, which helps on shared or public computers, and it has plans for managing start pages across a team or school. If that is how you use it, stay. If start.me is your personal home base on your own computers, Speed Dial 2 puts the same links one keystroke closer.

Bring your bookmarks with you

Moving your start.me links takes a few minutes.

Install Speed Dial 2 and create a group for each start.me page or widget you use, like Work or News.
Copy the addresses from a start.me widget.
In Speed Dial 2, use Add multiple bookmarks and paste them, one per line. Speed Dial 2 adds logos or screenshots for you.

See all the ways to add bookmarks.

Questions about switching

What is the best start.me alternative for the new tab page?

If you want your links on the new tab page itself, Speed Dial 2 shows them as visual tiles in groups, with no ads and no page limit on the free plan. It works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Brave.

Is there a start.me alternative for Firefox?

Yes. start.me has no new tab extension for Firefox, so it suggests a third-party add-on as a workaround. Speed Dial 2 has a native Firefox extension that replaces the new tab page directly.

Does Speed Dial 2 have ads?

No. There are no ads on the new tab page, on the free plan or on Pro.

How do I move my links from start.me?

Copy the addresses from your start.me widgets and paste them into Speed Dial 2 with Add multiple bookmarks, one per line. Each group in Speed Dial 2 can hold one start.me page or widget.

Can I use Speed Dial 2 on my phone?

Yes, with Speed Dial 2 Pro. The iOS and Android apps show your synced bookmarks and let you save pages from any app.

Try it on your next new tab

Speed Dial 2 is free for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Brave, and has been making new tabs better since 2011.

Download Speed Dial 2

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