Unlimited shortcuts and groups, free
Every site you work with, one click away, sorted into groups you name. Open a whole group at once and your working context is up in seconds.
LaunchPad vs Momentum: calm start page or working dashboard?
Last updated August 2026.
Quick answer: Momentum turns your new tab into a calm start page: a beautiful photo, a quote, one typed intention for the day. LaunchPad turns it into a working dashboard: your shortcuts, your tasks, and a measured record of where your time actually went. Their paid tiers cost within a dollar of each other, about $39 a year. Pick Momentum if you want your new tab to feel good. Pick LaunchPad if you want it to tell you the truth about your time.
What's the difference between LaunchPad and Momentum?
Momentum is the most popular aesthetic new tab extension there is, with around two million users. It replaces your new tab with a full-screen photograph, a clock, a greeting, a daily quote, and a single question: what is your main focus for today? You type an intention, and the page holds it in front of you. The free tier adds a to-do list, weather, and quick links. Momentum Plus adds custom photos and mantras, soundscapes, AI writing tools, a Pomodoro timer, a site blocker, habit Metrics, and integrations with task managers like Todoist and fitness apps like Strava.
LaunchPad starts from the other end. The free tier is a launcher: unlimited shortcuts sorted into groups, drag and drop, open a whole group at once, wallpapers, history, session restore. Pro adds the working layer: tasks and goals that live on the new tab, a clock attached to whichever task is active, focus sessions that block the sites you choose, and a tracking engine that turns your browsing into Deep Work Time, time by site, and a 30-day Insights board.
The shortest honest version: Momentum asks you to declare your focus. LaunchPad measures it.
How do LaunchPad and Momentum compare?
| Feature | LaunchPad | Momentum |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Unlimited shortcuts, groups, wallpapers, history, session restore | Photo, quote, daily focus, to-dos, weather, links |
| Paid tier | Pro: $4.99/mo or $39/year | Plus: $39.95/year, about $3.33 a month |
| Account required | Never, Pro included | Yes for Plus and sync |
| Where your data lives | Your browser's local storage | Momentum's servers, synced to your account |
| Open a group of tabs at once | Yes | No |
| Tasks and goals | Daily, weekly and monthly goals with tasks and tags | To-do list; daily focus intention |
| A clock attached to each task | Yes | No |
| Automatic time measurement | Yes: Deep Work Time, time by site, top tasks | No. Metrics tracks habits you log or sync from fitness apps |
| Focus timer | Attached to your active task, with breaks and chimes | Pomodoro timer (Plus) |
| Site blocking | During focus sessions, with a quiet reminder page | Site blocker (Plus) |
| Photos and wallpapers | Unsplash gallery, your own uploads, solid colors | Curated daily photography, custom photos on Plus |
| Quotes and mantras | No | Yes, and it does them beautifully |
| Soundscapes | No | Yes (Plus) |
| AI features | None, on purpose | AI writing and brainstorming tools (Plus) |
| Third-party integrations | None, on purpose | Todoist, Trello, Fitbit, Strava and more (Plus) |
| Productivity scores | Never. Real numbers, your conclusions | No scores either |
What makes LaunchPad different?
A clock on the task you're actually doing
Activate a task and a stopwatch rides along on your new tab. You can see what a piece of work actually cost you, not what you guessed it cost.
Focus sessions attached to real work
A timer attached to the task you're actually on, not a generic countdown. Breaks that start themselves, work that never does.
Blocking that stays calm
Sites you've listed get a quiet reminder page instead of your attention. No red, no lecture. Snooze it or end the session anytime.
Time you never had to log
Deep Work Time, time by tag and site, your top tasks over 30 days. Measured while you work, with nothing to fill in.
No account, anywhere, ever
There is no LaunchPad server. Your tasks and your time data live in your browser's local storage and never leave your machine. Pro included.
What does Momentum do well?
The best-looking new tab in the store
Momentum's daily photography and typography set the standard every other new tab extension gets compared to, including this one.
Calm as a feature
Soundscapes, mantras, a greeting by name. If what you want from a new tab is a deep breath, Momentum delivers it better than anyone.
It plugs into your other tools
Plus connects your to-dos to Todoist or Trello and your habits to Fitbit or Strava, so the dashboard reflects systems you already run.
Does Momentum track your time?
No, not automatically. Momentum Plus has Metrics, which tracks habits and actions you log yourself or sync from fitness apps. Nothing in Momentum measures where your browser time went. LaunchPad's core is exactly that measurement: a tracking engine that attributes your time to tasks and sites while you work, producing Deep Work Time, time by site, and a 30-day Insights board. You never fill anything in, and the numbers never leave your browser.
Can Momentum block distracting sites?
Yes. Momentum Plus includes a site blocker and a Pomodoro-style Focus Mode, and if that is all you need, it works. The difference is what blocking is attached to. In LaunchPad, blocking belongs to a focus session, and a focus session belongs to a specific task. When the session ends you don't just get quiet back, you get a number: how much focused time that task actually received. Blocking produces evidence, not just silence.
Does Momentum work without an account?
Momentum Plus requires an account, and your dashboard syncs through Momentum's servers. LaunchPad has no account to create, on free or Pro. There is no LaunchPad server. A Pro purchase gives you a license key, the key lives in your browser, and everything else, tasks, goals, tracked time, settings, stays in local storage on your machine. The 7-day Pro trial needs no card and no sign-up either; it is written to your own browser storage.
Is Momentum Plus worth it compared to LaunchPad Pro?
They cost nearly the same, $39.95 against $39 a year, and buy two different things. Momentum Plus spends your money on how the page feels: custom photos, mantras, soundscapes, AI tools, integrations. LaunchPad Pro spends it on what the page knows: tasks with their own clocks, focus sessions, blocking, and a month of measured time. Neither is wrong. If your new tab's job is to set your mood, Plus is the better buy. If its job is to keep you honest about your working day, that is what Pro was built for.
Can you use LaunchPad and Momentum together?
No, and that is the point. Both extensions replace the same new tab page, so Chrome will only show one of them. Choosing between them is really choosing what that page is for: a moment of calm before you start, or the working state of your day while you're in it.
Which one is right for you?
Choose Momentum if...
You want your new tab to be a calm, beautiful pause. Daily photography, a quote, one intention, soundscapes if you upgrade. You measure your day elsewhere, or you'd rather not measure it at all, and that is a legitimate choice.
Choose LaunchPad if...
You want your new tab to carry your working day. Shortcuts that launch it, tasks and goals that structure it, focus sessions that protect it, and measured time that tells you afterwards what actually happened. All of it stored on your machine, with no account anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Is LaunchPad a good Momentum alternative?
If what you liked about Momentum is the idea of your new tab doing more than showing bookmarks, yes. If what you liked is the photography and the calm, be honest with yourself: LaunchPad is a working dashboard, not a mood. It has wallpapers, not art direction.
Does Momentum track time automatically?
No. Its Metrics feature tracks habits you log or sync from fitness apps. LaunchPad measures browser time automatically: per task, per site, per day, stored locally.
Does LaunchPad have photos and quotes like Momentum?
Wallpapers, yes: an Unsplash gallery, your own uploads, or solid colors. Quotes and mantras, no, deliberately. LaunchPad's new tab carries your tasks and your numbers instead.
Is there a free version of both?
Yes. Momentum's free tier is the photo, quote, daily focus, to-dos and weather. LaunchPad's free tier is the full launcher: unlimited shortcuts and groups, wallpapers, history, session restore, backup and export.
Which one is more private?
LaunchPad. Momentum is a cloud product with accounts and sync. LaunchPad has no server, no account and no analytics; everything lives in your browser's local storage, and the only network call the paid tier makes is validating your license key.