Every major browser places a thin strip of tabs at the top of the window. That’s great until you open dozens of tabs, and all you can really see are a few website favicons. A better way exists – placing tabs vertically in the sidebar – but browsers have been resisting it for years. Arch was the first mainstream browser that Introduced a sidebar-based navigation systemAnd it has since propagated to Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Arch’s spiritual successor, the Zen browser. If you’re using one of these browsers, I highly recommend switching.
Why vertical tabs make more sense
Too much wasted space left and right.
Credit: Khamosh Pathak
Most websites are optimized for a vertical reading experience, while laptops and desktops have widescreen displays. When you read articles on a website like Lifehacker, there’s a lot of white space on the left and right, while vertical space is really at a premium. Depending on the size of your display, your tabs may crunch at the top of the display, space that would otherwise be available to view the site in question. Moving the tab bar to the sidebar means you’ve freed up some usable space above, with the added benefit of being able to see the names of all your tabs—even if you have 30 tabs open at once.
How to Enable Vertical Tabs in Google Chrome
Credit: Khamosh Pathak
Chrome was the last major browser to add support for vertical tabs, Introducing this feature in April 2026. To enable vertical tabs in Chrome, update to the latest version, then go to settings > Appearance > Tab strip position and switch to side. All your tabs will shift to the new vertical bar on the left. The URL bar with the extension will move to the top and much of Chrome’s interface will disappear.
Chrome also offers a compact mode. You can click Collapse tabs icon at the top of the vertical sidebar to show only website favicons as tabs to save more space (hovering over a tab will show the tab title). You can still create tab groups from the top of the sidebar, and there’s also a handy button to search between tabs. Pinned tabs also appear at the top in their own separate section.
How to Enable Vertical Tabs in Firefox
Credit: Khamosh Pathak
Firefox has a sidebar that lets you add features like an AI chatbot, browser history, and quick access to tabs from other devices. Firefox lets you move the sidebar to the right if you want. To enable vertical tabs here, go to settings > General > Browser layout > Vertical tabs (And sure Show sidebar is enabled). When the sidebar is open, click Customize the sidebar Button to Customize Shortcuts-Including all the features of Firefox and the ability to remove AI chatbot shortcuts. There’s also a compact mode that only shows favicons, but reveals the entire sidebar when you hover over it. use the Expand sidebar on hover A facility to switch to this mode.
What do you think so far?
How to enable vertical tabs in Edge
To enable vertical tabs in Microsoft Edge, go to settings > Appearance > Tab Actions > Show vertical tabs. Once set up, you can toggle the sidebar from the top of the toolbar. Because Edge is based on Chromium, the vertical sidebar works just like in Chrome. Pinned tabs appear at the top, and you can collapse the sidebar for compact mode.
Zen Browser has vertical tabs by default
Credit: Justin Pott
If you’re in favor of vertical tabs, you should really consider using one Zen Browser. Currently in beta, it is the spiritual successor to Ark (RIP) which is based on Firefox rather than Chromium with a focus on privacy and speed. But what is particularly relevant to this piece is that Zen Browser uses a sidebar interface by default. Zen uses workspaces to compartmentalize your work, personal life, or projects. Each space can have its own pinned tabs and its own workspace. You can add tabs in the “required” space that stays the same no matter what. There’s also a compact mode that hides the entire sidebar unless you hover over the edge of the window. To know more, take a look at us A detailed guide on Zen Browser.
