Question 1

What is Portara?

Accepted Answer

Portara is a personal start page and new tab replacement. Instead of a blank new tab, you get a page you build yourself from cards: bookmarks, local weather, recipes and sticky notes, the family calendar, news feeds, tasks, timers, world clocks, photo slideshows and event countdowns. It is built for everyday personal use rather than for work, and it runs two ways — as a browser extension that overrides the new tab page, or as a start page you set to portara.me in any browser. Layouts sync across every device you sign in on.

Question 2

How is Portara different from start.me?

Accepted Answer

start.me is built primarily around bookmark and link management for work and teams, with business plans and shared company start pages. Portara is built for one person's everyday life instead: alongside bookmarks it has local weather, a family calendar with iCal sync, recipes and rich-text notes, task lists, news and RSS feeds, sports scores, photo slideshows, world clocks and event countdowns — 25 card types in total. It also puts far more weight on appearance, with adjustable glass styling, wallpapers and separate desktop and mobile layouts. Portara has no team or business tier; it is a personal product at $34 per year with a free plan.

Question 3

How do I change my new tab page in Chrome?

Accepted Answer

Chrome does not let you set a custom new tab URL in its settings — an extension is required to override it. Install the Portara extension and every new tab opens your Portara start page instead of Chrome's default. Alternatively, skip the extension and set portara.me as your homepage and startup page under Chrome Settings > On startup > Open a specific page, which controls what loads when Chrome launches.

Question 4

What is the best new tab replacement for Chrome?

Accepted Answer

The best new tab replacement depends on what you check most often. Portara is built for people who open tabs to look up the same handful of things — bookmarks, weather, calendar, stock prices, headlines, notes. It puts all of them on one page with 25 card types, drag-and-drop layout, multiple pages for different contexts, and cloud sync. It is free to start, with a Pro plan at $34 per year, and shows no ads.

Question 5

Can I use a custom start page without installing an extension?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Portara is a full web app at portara.me, so you can set it as your browser homepage or startup page, or pin it as a tab, without installing anything. The extension adds exactly two things: overriding the new tab page, and reading your native browser bookmarks for one-click import. Every other feature — all cards, layouts, wallpapers, and cloud sync — works identically without it.

Question 6

Does Portara work in Edge, Brave, and Arc?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Portara extension is Manifest V3 and works in Chrome and all Chromium-based browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Brave, Arc, Vivaldi, and Opera. The portara.me web app works as a start page or homepage in any modern browser, including Safari and Firefox.

Question 7

Is Portara free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Portara has a free plan with no time limit and no card required. It includes 14 card types — weather, bookmarks, clock and calendar, sticky notes, task lists, timers, RSS feed, world clocks, daily quote, calculator, Top Sites, Recently Closed, LinkDrop, and Virtual Pet — plus drag-and-drop layouts, wallpapers, and cloud sync. Free is capped at one page with five cards on it. Pro costs $34 per year, removes the caps, and adds the other 11 card types including stocks, sports scores, AI news digest, astronomy, and calendar feed sync, plus wallpaper search, per-card tinting, and the glass sliders. There are no ads and no tracking on either plan.

Question 8

Does Portara sync across devices?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Layouts, cards, bookmarks, notes, and settings are stored in Portara's cloud database and load on any device you sign in on. Mobile is a separate page rather than a responsive reflow: any page can be marked as a phone page where cards stack into one column, you set a different default page for phone and desktop, and Portara opens whichever matches the device you are on. Same account and same cards, but a layout that suits the screen.

Question 9

How is Portara different from Momentum?

Accepted Answer

Momentum centers on a daily photo, a focus prompt, and a short to-do list. Portara centers on the information you actually open tabs to check. It has 25 card types against Momentum's smaller set, including live stocks, RSS and news feeds, sports scores, world clocks, calendar feed sync, timers, and embedded web pages. Portara also supports multiple pages for different contexts, resizable drag-and-drop layouts, and separate desktop and mobile layouts.

Question 10

How do I set up Portara?

Accepted Answer

Sign up at portara.me with Google or a magic-link email — no password required. You land on a working start page immediately with default cards in place. From there, add or remove cards, drag to rearrange, resize, and set a wallpaper. Installing the browser extension is optional and takes about a minute if you want Portara on every new tab.

YOUR NEW TAB,
YOUR WHOLE LIFE.

A CLOSER LOOK

THE BLANK PAGE PROBLEM

You open a tab.

So you type the same six sites.

Forty times a day.

MEET YOUR GUIDES

THE WALKTHROUGH

YOUR PHONE GETS
ITS OWN PAGE.

TWO WAYS IN

With the extension

Without it

PICK YOUR RANK

YOUR NEXT TAB
COULD ALREADY
HAVE IT ALL.

YOUR NEW TAB,
YOUR WHOLE LIFE.

A CLOSER LOOK

THE BLANK PAGE PROBLEM

You open a tab.

So you type the same six sites.

Forty times a day.

MEET YOUR GUIDES

THE WALKTHROUGH

YOUR PHONE GETS
ITS OWN PAGE.

TWO WAYS IN

With the extension

Without it

PICK YOUR RANK

YOUR NEXT TAB
COULD ALREADY
HAVE IT ALL.

A CLOSER LOOK

THE BLANK PAGE PROBLEM

You open a tab.

So you type the same six sites.

Forty times a day.

MEET YOUR GUIDES

THE WALKTHROUGH

YOUR PHONE GETSITS OWN PAGE.

TWO WAYS IN

With the extension

Without it

PICK YOUR RANK

YOUR NEXT TABCOULD ALREADYHAVE IT ALL.

A CLOSER LOOK

THE BLANK PAGE PROBLEM

You open a tab.

So you type the same six sites.

Forty times a day.

MEET YOUR GUIDES

THE WALKTHROUGH

YOUR PHONE GETSITS OWN PAGE.

TWO WAYS IN

With the extension

Without it

PICK YOUR RANK

YOUR NEXT TABCOULD ALREADYHAVE IT ALL.

YOUR PHONE GETS
ITS OWN PAGE.

YOUR NEXT TAB
COULD ALREADY
HAVE IT ALL.

YOUR PHONE GETS
ITS OWN PAGE.

YOUR NEXT TAB
COULD ALREADY
HAVE IT ALL.