Compare Humble New Tab and Merlin AI: Which Extension is the Best?
Humble offers a simple and customizable interface for your browser's new tab. It’s open-source, lightweight, and focuses on functionality, making it ideal for users seeking efficiency over aesthetics. | ||
| Key Features A summary of the most important features offered by each extension. |
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| Our Rating Tooltivity's expert review score for each extension, based on hands-on testing and research. | 8.5 Winner in this category | 8.4 |
| Total users Total active users across all major browsers: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. | 20,993 | 1,000,000 Winner in this category |
| Total ratings Total number of user ratings received across all supported browsers. | 1,220 | 8,802 Winner in this category |
| Average rating Average user rating across all browsers, calculated from available store ratings. | 4.8 ⭐ | 4.8 ⭐ Winner in this category |
| Entry Level Price The minimum price required to start using the extension. "Free" means a free tier is available. | Free | Free |
| Chrome User rating and stats for the extension on Chrome browser. |  4.7 4.86 Average Chrome Web Store rating from the last 100 reviews 20.0K+Users | 4.8 3.24 Average Chrome Web Store rating from the last 100 reviews 1.0M+Users Winner in this category |
| Edge User rating and stats for the extension on Edge browser. | - | - |
| Firefox User rating and stats for the extension on Firefox browser. |  4.8 4.80 Average Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Store rating from the last 100 reviews 993Users Winner in this category | - |
| Safari User rating and stats for the extension on Safari browser. | - | - |
| Features Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Features' aspect of each extension. | 7.0 Humble New Tab Page shines in its simplicity and customization options. You can easily rearrange bookmarks, apps, and other elements using its intuitive drag-and-drop feature. It’s not overloaded with unnecessary bells and whistles, which keeps it fast and efficient. However, compared to other tools, it lacks more advanced features like integrated to-do lists or news feeds. If you’re looking for a straightforward way to manage your new tab content, it’s hard to beat. But for power users, the simplicity might feel like a limitation. | 8.0 Merlin AI offers a variety of features including summarizing, writing, coding, diagramming and more. It supports multiple AI models such as GPT-4, Claude and Gemini and allows users to create custom AI chatbots and knowledge bases. The platform also integrates with the web and files in real time. However, some features, such as PDF summarization, are not as robust as those of specialized tools. It also lacks what we consider to be the important function of direct communication between AI and the current website. In addition, the function of direct communication between AI and the current website, which we consider important, is missing.  Winner in this category |
| Performance Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Performance' aspect of each extension. | 10 Performance is where Humble New Tab Page really excels. It’s incredibly lightweight, ensuring that your browser’s speed isn’t compromised. The extension loads quickly and doesn’t introduce any noticeable lag, even with multiple elements on the page. This efficiency makes it a great choice for users with older or less powerful computers. Winner in this category | 7.5 Merlin is generally fast and responsive, but it can slow down browsers, especially on older hardware. There are occasional bugs and crashes, though the team releases frequent updates and improvements. |
| Design Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Design' aspect of each extension. | 7.0 The design of Humble New Tab Page is, well, humble. It’s clear that the focus is on function over form. While it’s not going to win any awards for aesthetics, the design is clean, uncluttered, and gets the job done. For users who value a visually rich experience, this might be a drawback. The minimalist design is fully customizable, allowing you to change the font style, background colors, and overall layout. You can even set your own background image. Here's a screenshot showing how easy it is to adjust the tool's appearance:  So, if you prefer a simple, distraction-free workspace, this tool might be the way to go. | 9.1 The design has a modern look and feel, with handy keyboard shortcuts and sidebar integration that make navigation easier. That said, the user interface can feel cluttered and overwhelming, especially for new users, and there are inconsistencies between the extension, web, and mobile versions.  Winner in this category |
| Value for Money Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Value for Money' aspect of each extension. | 9.5 It’s hard to argue with the value provided by a free, open-source tool that does exactly what it promises. Humble New Tab Page delivers solid performance without any hidden costs or premium upgrades. It’s a fantastic option for users who want a customizable new tab experience without spending a dime. The only reason it doesn’t get a perfect score is that there are other free options with more features, albeit at the cost of simplicity and speed. Winner in this category | 8.2 The free plan is generous for light users, offering a substantial daily quota and access to a wide range of basic features. The Pro plan is competitively priced, especially when compared to the cost of subscribing to multiple separate AI tools, and unlocks unlimited access to all models and advanced features. However, the absence of a free trial for premium features means users must commit before experiencing the full capabilities of Merlin AI. Additionally, some users report that the query system—where different models and features consume varying amounts of daily queries—can be confusing or feel restrictive, particularly for those trying to understand how far their usage will go on each plan. |
| Ease of Use Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Ease of Use' aspect of each extension. | 7.5 Setting up and using Humble New Tab Page is simple. There's no need to sign up, and it provides a lightweight bookmark manager right in your new tab. The options menu is easy to navigate, making it intuitive to customize things like fonts, colors, and spacing. That said, it might take a bit of time to discover that you can drag and drop everything around, and not everyone may realize that you can adjust columns by right-clicking. Once you figure this out, the drag-and-drop interface makes customization easy, even for those who aren’t tech-savvy. However, advanced features like injecting custom CSS may be more suited for developers. Overall, though, the experience is very user-friendly. | 8.5 Getting started with Merlin AI is straightforward—installation is quick, and the onboarding process is simple enough for most users to begin using core features right away. However, the platform’s extensive feature set can be overwhelming at first, leading to a noticeable learning curve as users explore everything it offers. Some users have expressed confusion about how the daily query limits work, how different models are selected or switched, and which features are available on each plan. Occasional bugs and log-in issues can also disrupt the workflow, requiring users to troubleshoot or reach out to support. Overall, while Merlin AI is accessible, mastering its full capabilities may take some time and patience, especially for those new to AI tools. Winner in this category |
| Security & Privacy Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Security & Privacy' aspect of each extension. | 10 Humble New Tab Page respects your privacy by not collecting or storing any user data, which is a significant plus in today’s digital age. As it is open-source you can always double-check. Winner in this category | 9.3 Merlin does not sell user data to third parties and only uses data for core functionality. The privacy policy is transparent, but some users remain concerned about the amount of data collected and the permissions required. |
| Conclusion A summary of our findings and final thoughts for each extension. | Humble New Tab Page is a fantastic choice for users who value simplicity, speed, and customization. While it may not offer the rich visuals or advanced features of other new tab extensions, its focus on functionality and user control makes it a standout tool. If you’re looking for a no-frills extension that just works, and you appreciate the transparency of open-source software, Humble New Tab Page is definitely worth considering. It’s not the flashiest option, but it gets the job done. | Merlin AI is a powerful and versatile tool that can really boost the productivity of a wide range of users. The integration of multiple AI models and functions into a single extension is ideal for this p However, Merlin is not completely perfect. We encountered occasional bugs, inconsistencies in the user interface and some performance issues. Pricing can also be confusing, and some features are locked behind a paywall.. Overall, Merlin AI is a good choice for anyone looking for an all-in-one AI assistant for the browser - especially if you value having multiple AI models and tools in one place. |
| Our Recommendation | In our comparison between Humble New Tab and Merlin AI, Humble New Tab came out on top, scoring 8.5. Merlin AI is the most widely used, with over 1 million users and 9k+ reviews, but Humble New Tab outperformed it in our review. We rate Humble New Tab and Merlin AI lower than users do. Notably, Merlin AI has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.80, which is even higher than our rating of 8.4. In the end, the differences between these extensions are minimal, so your choice may come down to personal preference or specific features.
If you want a quick recommendation, Humble New Tab is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you. | |
