A Biscuit browser review and what replaced it on Mac

Biscuit is a free desktop browser for the web apps people keep open all day, and as of October 18, 2026 it is still being maintained. Its site lists it as free, with no tracking and no account required, and offers installers for macOS on Intel and Apple silicon, Windows and Linux. Anyone searching for the Biscuit browser usually wants to know three things: whether it is still alive, whether it handles several accounts of the same service, and what the alternatives cost if it does not fit. This review answers those in order, based on Biscuit's own help pages and download listings, then compares it with the tools people most often move to. This site is run by the developer of SpaceDeck, an app aggregation browser for macOS that appears in the comparison below.

Is Biscuit still maintained?

The question comes up because Biscuit is a small project and its updates are not announced loudly. The evidence on October 18, 2026 points to active maintenance.

• The Biscuit download releases on GitHub list 2.1.2 as the newest version, following 2.1.1, 2.1.0 and 2.0.0.
• The Apple silicon installer linked from the home page was last modified on August 19, 2026, according to the download server's headers.
• The MacUpdate listing shows version 2.1.1, a 139.5 MB download, support for Intel and Apple silicon, and macOS 12 or later. Its release note for 2.1.1 describes a fix for top tabs that stopped shrinking to fit the window.

So "what replaced it" is a question about fit rather than about the project ending. People still move on from Biscuit, but usually because of a specific need it does not cover, not because it stopped working.

How Biscuit is organised

The Biscuit help center describes three levels: groups, apps and tabs.

• Groups separate projects, teams or contexts such as work and personal life. A new group is added with Command+G.
• Apps are saved web apps in the sidebar, each with its own settings and session behaviour. A new app is added with Command+N, either from the app directory or as a custom app by URL.
• Tabs belong to an app. Links opened inside an app stay attached to it, so a Google Drive link clicked in Gmail opens as a tab under Gmail rather than in a separate browser.

The help center also gives a sensible piece of advice: Biscuit works best for app-like services, with general browsing left to the default browser. It is not trying to replace Safari or Chrome.

Notifications are set per app with a right-click, a global button mutes everything, and the unread badge can be shown as a dot or a number in Settings. Passwords can be saved after sign-in and reviewed in a Password Manager, and camera and microphone requests are asked for per site and listed in Settings afterwards.

Sessions and multiple accounts

This is the part that matters most for people comparing tools in this category, and Biscuit's default is clear. Apps do not share sign-in state with each other. Each app keeps its own session, so two Gmail apps can hold two different accounts at the same time without any extra setting.

There is one switch that changes this. A group can turn on Shared Session, which makes the apps inside it behave like one shared browser profile. The help center notes that turning it on requires signing in to the apps again, because the session model really changes. It is useful for tightly connected tools in one workspace, such as a project tracker and its document store, and should stay off whenever accounts need to stay apart.

For most users this is a strong point. Isolation is the default rather than a paid add-on, and it is set per app rather than per window.

What sync does and does not carry

Biscuit's cloud sync is described as intentionally limited. According to the help center:

• Included: top-level tab structure, notification settings, shortcut settings and other device-independent workspace settings.
• Excluded: credentials, cookies, saved passwords, sign-in state, the URLs of local child tabs, and other local-only state.

In practice, a second computer gets the same layout of groups and apps but needs every account signed in again. When another device has synced first, Biscuit can restore the latest synced workspace and asks for a review before overwriting it.

For moving a setup by hand, there are backups with a restore list and an Import / Export option for app and tab settings. None of these carry sessions either, which is consistent with keeping passwords and cookies on the device.

This is worth knowing before choosing any tool in this category. Tools that keep credentials local will always ask for sign-ins on a new machine. Tools that sync sessions through their own servers avoid that, at the cost of storing session data off the device.

A practical first setup in Biscuit

A setup that holds up past the first week follows the structure the help center describes, rather than adding every service into one long list.

1. Create one group per context with Command+G, such as "Work", "Client A" and "Personal". Rename each group to match the project, since the group names are what the sidebar shows when switching.
2. Inside each group, add apps with Command+N. Pick supported services from the app directory, and paste a URL for anything missing, such as an internal dashboard.
3. For a second account of a service already added, add the same service again as a new app. Because sessions are isolated per app by default, the new app opens signed out and can be signed in to the other account.
4. Leave Shared Session off unless two apps in one group genuinely need the same login.
5. Right-click any app that sends more alerts than it deserves and turn its notifications off, then decide in Settings whether badges should be a dot or a number.
6. Once the layout is stable, make an export so the structure can be restored on another machine or after a reinstall.

The help center suggests a group-per-project layout for people who work across many clients or products, because it keeps the sidebar easy to scan and reduces notification overload. That matches the most common reason setups in this category fall apart: too many apps in one flat list, all sending notifications at the same level.

Where Biscuit stops, and why people look elsewhere

Biscuit covers the core of the job well: apps in a sidebar, isolated sessions by default, per-app notifications and a free price. The reasons people search for something else tend to be narrower.

• They want more than one window layout. Biscuit is built around one sidebar of groups. People who want a whole separate window per context sometimes prefer a tool with a stronger workspace concept.
• They want extensions or deeper customisation. Some alternatives offer browser extensions inside apps, or custom CSS per app.
• They want sessions to follow them between computers. Biscuit deliberately does not sync sign-ins.
• They want paid support or team management. As a free project, Biscuit offers a help center, an FAQ and contact through X rather than a support plan.

None of these is a flaw. They are trade-offs that come with a free tool focused on one job.

Biscuit compared with the usual alternatives

The table below uses each vendor's pricing page as checked on October 18, 2026. Plans change, so confirm on the vendor's site before buying.

Tool	Free plan	Paid price	Multiple accounts of one service	Platforms
Biscuit	Free, no account required	None listed	Yes, isolated per app by default	macOS, Windows, Linux
Ferdium	Free, community built	None, open source	Yes, add the same service twice or more	macOS, Windows, Linux
Rambox	Basic: unlimited apps, up to 2 instances per app	Pro $7/month or $70/year	Session and multi-login in Pro	macOS, Windows, Linux
Wavebox	Basic: 2 groups with 2 apps each, 1 extension	Pro $8.33/month, paid annually	Yes	macOS, Windows, Linux
SpaceDeck	1 workspace, up to 3 apps	Pro from $5/month billed yearly, or $129 one-time	Pro feature, and in the 14-day trial	macOS

Sources: the Ferdium home page, the Rambox pricing page and the Wavebox pricing page. Rambox starts every new account with a 30-day Pro trial and moves to Basic afterwards. Wavebox starts with a 7-day Pro trial with no credit card required.

Read across the rows, Biscuit and Ferdium are the two options that cost nothing for multiple accounts. Ferdium also lists workspaces, a built-in Todo panel, hibernation of services to save resources, and use without an account. The paid tools add things such as extensions, unlimited workspaces, cloud sync of more state, and team features.

Who should stay on Biscuit

Biscuit is a good fit for a specific profile of user, and moving to a paid tool would add little for them.

• People with a stable set of web apps, such as mail, chat, a project tracker and a calendar, who want them out of the general browser.
• People who need two or three accounts of the same service and do not want to pay for that ability.
• People who prefer that passwords, cookies and sign-ins never leave the device.
• People who use more than one operating system, since the same tool runs on macOS, Windows and Linux.

It is a weaker fit for teams that need central management or billing, and for anyone whose main reason for an app browser is extensions or per-app scripting.

Choosing between them

A few questions settle the choice quickly.

How many accounts of the same service are needed? If it is two or more, Biscuit and Ferdium already handle it for free. Rambox's Basic plan allows up to two instances per app.

Does the setup need to move between Macs? Biscuit syncs layout but not sign-ins. Check what each alternative's sync carries before assuming it will be different.

Is a single platform enough? Biscuit, Ferdium, Rambox and Wavebox run on macOS, Windows and Linux. A Mac-only tool is fine if every machine in use is a Mac.

Is anything beyond web apps needed? Some tools in this category add extras. The macOS example in the last row of the table includes a built-in terminal on its free plan, which matters to developers who keep a shell next to their web apps. Its comparison with Ferdium and comparison with Rambox set out the differences in more detail.

What to change first

If Biscuit's free, per-app isolation already covers the accounts in daily use, keep it and add groups for each project. If the gap is a Mac-native setup with workspaces, separate sessions and a terminal beside the apps, try SpaceDeck during its 14-day trial and compare it side by side with the current setup.