Best alternatives to Instant Preview — Open Any Link in Sidebar / Side Panel (2026)
10 Chrome extensions that do a similar job to Instant Preview, closest first. Each shows real store users, its rating, how recently it was updated and how many permissions it asks for.
Instant Preview — Open Any Link in Sidebar / Side Panel today
Instant Preview alternatives, compared
- 1
Page Sidebar | Open any page in side panel
Effortlessly open any website in your web browser's sidebar – streamline your workflow instantly!
≈20K users4.2★ from 97 ratingsUpdated 5 weeks ago5 permissions- About 6.7× more users than Instant Preview
- Rated 0.7 stars higher
- Asks for more permissions (5 vs 4)
- Listed under Functionality & UI
- 2
GetVM: Instant Free Linux and IDE Sidebar
GetVM: Instantly access free Linux, IDEs, and apps from your browser sidebar for coding and learning.
≈4K users4.7★ from 14 ratingsNot updated for 2+ years10 permissions- A similar number of users to Instant Preview
- Updated less recently
- Asks for more permissions (10 vs 4)
- 3
Instant Mobile Preview - Side Panel View
View mobile versions of websites side-by-side in Chrome's side panel.
831 users4.5★ from 4 ratingsUpdated 19 months ago5 permissions- About 3.6× fewer users than Instant Preview
- Updated less recently
- Asks for more permissions (5 vs 4)
- Listed under Developer Tools
- 4
Side Browser | Open page in side panel
Effortlessly open websites in your side browser and streamline your workflow instantly.
≈2K users5.0★ from 4 ratingsUpdated 5 months ago10 permissions- About 1.5× fewer users than Instant Preview
- Updated less recently
- Asks for more permissions (10 vs 4)
- Listed under Functionality & UI
- 5
Open in Sidebar
Drop any link to the sidebar for dual-pane access
≈4K users4.4★ from 30 ratingsNot updated for 2+ years7 permissions- A similar number of users to Instant Preview
- Rated 0.9 stars higher
- Updated less recently
- Asks for more permissions (7 vs 4)
- Listed under Workflow & Planning
- 6
Split View: Open Links in Other Pane
When in Chrome Split View, clicking a link opens it in the other split pane tab (uses splitViewId when available).
304 users4.1★ from 7 ratingsUpdated 5 months ago2 permissions- About 9.9× fewer users than Instant Preview
- Updated less recently
- Asks for fewer permissions (2 vs 4)
- Listed under Functionality & UI
- 7
SidePanel Buddy - Open Any Site in Side Panel
Browse any website in Chrome's side panel alongside your main tab.
710 users4.0★ from 3 ratingsUpdated 11 months ago5 permissions- About 4.2× fewer users than Instant Preview
- Updated less recently
- Asks for more permissions (5 vs 4)
- 8
Vertical Tabs in Side Panel
Display and manage tabs vertically in the browser sidebar.
≈100K users4.1★ from 275 ratingsUpdated 7 months ago5 permissions- About 33× more users than Instant Preview
- Rated 0.7 stars higher
- Updated less recently
- Asks for more permissions (5 vs 4)
- Listed under Functionality & UI
- 9
Google Translate Open SideBar in Chrome
Google Translate Extensions For Chrome. Google Translate Open SideBar in Chrome
821 users4.7★ from 14 ratings6 permissions- About 3.7× fewer users than Instant Preview
- Asks for more permissions (6 vs 4)
- Listed under Accessibility
- 10
Sidebar
Open any web page in the sidebar
341 users2.5★ from 2 ratingsUpdated 20 months ago5 permissions- About 8.8× fewer users than Instant Preview
- Updated less recently
- Asks for more permissions (5 vs 4)
- Listed under Functionality & UI
Instant Preview alternatives: questions
What is the best alternative to Instant Preview?
By users, the most popular alternative is Vertical Tabs in Side Panel with ≈100K users and a 4.1-star rating. The closest match by what it does is Page Sidebar | Open any page in side panel.
Which Instant Preview alternative has the best rating?
Page Sidebar | Open any page in side panel has the highest rating of these alternatives with 50+ ratings: 4.2 out of 5 from 97 ratings.
Is there a Instant Preview alternative that asks for fewer permissions?
Split View: Open Links in Other Pane asks for 2 permissions, against 4 for Instant Preview.
How many alternatives to Instant Preview are there?
We list 10 close alternatives to Instant Preview on the Chrome Web Store, picked by what they do and ranked by how close they are.
Users and ratings are the figures shown on the Chrome Web Store, re-checked continuously. Alternatives are matched on name, description, category and topic. Browse best-of lists by niche.