Station began life as a "smart browser for busy people": one window that gathered your web apps so you could stop hunting through browser tabs. Today it's an open-source project kept alive by volunteers on GitHub, and its last stable release shipped in December 2024.
WebCatalog Desktop solves the same problem with a dedicated team behind it. If you've been wondering whether Station will keep up with the web apps you depend on, here's how the two compare.
At a glance
| WebCatalog Desktop | Station | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Web apps as desktop apps, organized into spaces | An open-source app for web apps, maintained by volunteers |
| Organizing apps | Spaces, each in its own window, with folders inside | A dock that groups pages by app, in one window |
| Multiple accounts | Every account signed in side by side, each with its own session | Multiple accounts, added in 2024 |
| Standalone apps | Any app can also run on its own, with its own Dock or taskbar icon | Apps live inside the Station window |
| Sync | Your setup syncs across your computers | Not available |
| Updates | Updates installed automatically | Last stable release in December 2024 |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux |
What is WebCatalog Desktop?
WebCatalog Desktop is an actively developed app that turns websites into desktop apps and keeps them current: both WebCatalog Desktop and every app you install update on their own. You organize those apps into spaces, separate windows for each client or project, and your whole setup follows you from one computer to the next.
What is Station?
Station is an open-source app that brings web apps together in one window, with a dock that groups pages by app and a quick search to jump between them. It added support for multiple accounts in 2024 and is maintained by volunteers.
1. Updates you don't have to wait for
Web apps like Gmail, Slack, and Notion change all the time, and the browser engine underneath has to keep pace. With Station, new releases arrive when volunteers have time to make them.
WebCatalog Desktop runs on Chromium, the engine behind Chrome and Edge, and a dedicated team keeps it moving. It updates itself in the background, and so do your apps, so you get engine fixes and new features without thinking about it.
2. A window for each client, not one for everything
Station's dock groups everything in a single window. That's tidy until you're juggling three clients and every unread badge from all of them is competing for your attention.
In WebCatalog Desktop, each client gets a space of their own. A space for Acme holds Acme's Slack, Gmail, and project tracker, and nothing else. Open it when you start on Acme's work, close it when you're done, and press its global keyboard shortcut to bring it straight back. Each space has its own Dock or taskbar icon, and folders keep a long list of apps manageable.
Not everything needs to live in a space. Your calendar can run as a standalone desktop app with its own icon, and you can set it as your default calendar or email client.
3. Every account, signed in at once
Station added multiple accounts in 2024. In WebCatalog Desktop, each account has its own isolated session from the start, so your work and personal Gmail sit next to each other in the sidebar, both signed in. Press Cmd or Ctrl plus a number to jump between them, and mute notifications for the account that can wait.
4. The same setup on every computer
Station doesn't sync. If you use a desktop at the office and a laptop at home, you set it up twice and keep both in step by hand.
WebCatalog Desktop syncs your accounts list, folders, bookmarks, and settings across your computers, whether they run macOS, Windows, or Linux. Arrange a new space on one machine and it's waiting on the other. The same idea works for a team: shared spaces give everyone the same list of apps and accounts, while each person's logins stay on their own computer.
5. A few extras worth knowing
A built-in ad and tracker blocker is on from day one, an app lock with Touch ID on Mac protects your inbox when you step away, and 1Password, Bitwarden, and LastPass work inside each app.
Which one should you choose?
Station can make sense if you specifically want open-source code you can modify yourself, and you're comfortable relying on volunteer maintenance.
WebCatalog Desktop is the better fit if you:
- Want an app that a dedicated team keeps current, with updates installed for you
- Work for several clients and want each one's apps in a window you can open and close
- Move between computers and expect the same setup on each
- Want to pick from a catalog of more than 65,000 apps, or add any website
Station helped plenty of people tame their web apps. For a home for your apps that keeps moving forward, try WebCatalog Desktop.
