Why You Should Use Vertical Tabs in Your Browser
Most popular browsers display a thin strip of tabs at the top of the window. This is great until you open dozens of tabs and all you see are tiny site icons. There’s a better way—arranging tabs vertically in a sidebar—but browsers resisted it for years. Arc was the first popular browser to implement a sidebar-based navigation system , and it has since spread to Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Arc’s spiritual successor, the Zen browser. If you use one of these browsers, I highly recommend switching.
Why vertical tabs are more convenient
Most websites are optimized for vertical reading, while laptops and desktops have widescreen displays. When reading articles on sites like Lifehacker, there’s a fair amount of empty space on the left and right sides, while vertical space is actually at a premium. Depending on your screen size, tabs can end up squashed at the top of the screen, taking up space that would otherwise be available for viewing the website itself. Moving the tab bar to the sidebar frees up useful space at the top and also allows you to see the titles of all your tabs—even if you have 30 tabs open at once.
How to enable vertical tabs in Google Chrome
Chrome was the last major browser to add support for vertical tabs, introducing the feature in April 2026. To enable vertical tabs in Chrome, update the browser to the latest version, then go to Settings > Appearance > Tab Bar Position and switch to Side . All your tabs will be moved to a new vertical bar on the left. The address bar with extensions will move to the top, and most of the Chrome interface will disappear.
Chrome also offers a compact mode. You can click the “Collapse Tabs” icon at the top of the vertical sidebar to display only site icons as tabs, saving even more space (hovering over a tab reveals its title). You can still create tab groups at the top of the sidebar, and there’s a handy button for searching between tabs. Pinned tabs also appear at the top in a separate section.
How to enable vertical tabs in Firefox
Firefox includes a sidebar that lets you add features like an AI chatbot, browser history, and quick access to tabs from other devices. Firefox also lets you move the sidebar to the right side of the screen if needed. To enable vertical tabs, go to Preferences > General > Browser Layout > Vertical Tabs (and make sure “Show Sidebar” is enabled). When the sidebar is open, click “Customize Sidebar” to customize shortcuts , including the option to remove all Firefox features and the AI chatbot shortcuts . There’s also a compact mode that displays only page icons (favicons), but hovering over them expands the entire sidebar. Use “Expand sidebar on hover” to switch to this mode.
How to enable vertical tabs in Edge
To enable vertical tabs in Microsoft Edge, go to Settings > Appearance > Tab Actions > Show Vertical Tabs . Once configured, you’ll be able to toggle the sidebar from the top toolbar. Since Edge is based on Chromium, the vertical sidebar works similarly to the one in Chrome. Pinned tabs appear at the top, and the sidebar can be collapsed for a compact view.
Zen Browser uses vertical tabs by default.
If you like vertical tabs, you really should consider Zen Browser . Currently in beta, it’s the spiritual successor to Arc ( RIP ), based on Firefox rather than Chromium, with an emphasis on privacy and speed. But what’s especially important for this article is that Zen Browser uses a sidebar by default. Zen uses workspaces to separate your work, personal life, or projects. Each workspace can have its own pinned tabs and its own workspace. You can add tabs to the “Primary” workspace, which will remain unchanged regardless of your settings. There’s also a compact mode that hides the entire sidebar unless you hover over the edge of the window. For more information, check out our in-depth guide to Zen Browser .