Ferdium is a free, open-source app that brings your web services into one window. It's built by its community as a fork of Franz 5, with workspaces, deep customization, and optional self-hosted sync.
Singlebox is made and supported by a dedicated team: one window for your messaging, email, and work apps, with cloud sync built in and every account signed in.
At a glance
| Singlebox | Ferdium | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A dedicated desktop app for your messaging, email, and work apps | A free, open-source, community-built app for web services |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows | macOS, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD |
| Multiple accounts | Every app or account is its own profile with an isolated session | Add the same service more than once |
| Adding apps | Pick from 65,000+ apps in the catalog or add any website | Community recipes, plus any website |
| Browser extensions | 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass, and Dark Reader | No browser extension support listed |
| Sync across computers | Profiles, bookmarks, and settings sync on every plan | Optional, through Ferdium's server or one you host yourself |
| Support | Help from the Singlebox team | Community help through Discord, Reddit, and GitHub |
What is Singlebox?
Singlebox is a desktop app for the apps you work in every day. Pick from 65,000+ apps in the catalog or add any website, and every app or account becomes its own profile with an isolated session, so all your apps and accounts stay signed in side by side. It runs on macOS and Windows.
What is Ferdium?
Ferdium is a free, Apache 2.0-licensed desktop app that brings web services together, with workspaces, community recipes, custom CSS and JavaScript per service, and optional self-hosted sync. It's maintained by volunteers and actively developed. This comparison is based on Ferdium 7.
1. Ready in minutes
Ferdium is highly customizable, and hosting your own sync server takes Docker and a reverse proxy. That suits people comfortable maintaining their own setup.
Singlebox works out of the box. Download it, sign in, and add your apps. There are no servers to run and no recipes to manage.
2. Sync without a server
Your profiles, bookmarks, and settings sync across your computers on every plan, including free, without hosting anything yourself. A new computer is ready as soon as you sign in.
3. Password managers inside your apps
Singlebox supports the 1Password, Bitwarden, and LastPass extensions, plus Dark Reader, so you can fill in passwords inside your apps.
Ferdium doesn't list support for browser extensions, and a request to add password manager extensions has been open on its GitHub issue tracker since 2022.
4. Help when you need it
Ferdium's help comes from its community, through Discord, Reddit, and GitHub. Singlebox is built by a dedicated team, so if something goes wrong, you can reach the Singlebox team directly. And you can still make it your own, with custom CSS and JavaScript, link rules, and proxy settings for each app.
Moving from Ferdium
- Download Singlebox and sign in.
- Add your apps from the catalog, or paste any website's address.
- Sign in to each account. Every account gets its own profile, and you can keep using Ferdium until you're ready.
Which one should you choose?
Ferdium is still a good fit if you:
- Want free, open-source software you can inspect and modify
- Want to host your own sync server or use the app without an account
- Use Linux or FreeBSD
- Want community recipes or scheduled Do Not Disturb
Singlebox is the better fit if you:
- Want an app that works out of the box
- Want sync across computers without running a server
- Use a password manager in your apps
- Want help from the team that builds it
Bring your messaging, email, and work apps into one window that just works: try Singlebox for free.
