Station app is gone: the best alternatives in 2026

Station, the free “smart browser” that put Gmail, Slack and other web apps in one window, is discontinued. Its website, getstation.com, now redirects to a Thai-language gambling site (we checked on 20 October 2026), so don’t follow download links in old articles. The closest replacements are Rambox 3 (workspaces and many accounts), Wavebox or Shift (browsers built around web apps) and Ferdium (free and open source).

Below: what happened to Station, whether you can still run it, the alternatives side by side, and how to move your setup. We checked every app’s own site and release notes on 20 October 2026.

What happened to Station?

Station stopped being a supported product and its domain changed hands. As of October 2026:

• The website is gone. getstation.com returns a permanent redirect to an unrelated domain hosting a Thai-language gambling site.
• AlternativeTo marks it discontinued. Its Station page (updated 27 August 2026) says “the website is unavailable and the project no longer appears to be maintained.”
• The code lives on GitHub. Station’s open-source repository (Apache 2.0) still exists, and its homepage link now points to an archived copy of the old site. Occasional builds still appear: version 3.3.0 in December 2024 and a 4.0.0 beta in August 2026 that updated Electron. The Mac downloads come as a zip file; the 3.x release notes say the developer couldn’t build the usual disk image.

Several “best all-in-one messenger” lists still recommend Station and link to its old domain. If you see one, treat the rest of the list with suspicion too.

Can you still use Station?

You can, but we wouldn’t. If it’s already on your Mac it may keep running, but it’s an unmaintained app holding sign-ins to your work accounts, with no company to fix security problems or broken services. If you must keep it, the only place builds come from is its GitHub releases page; never download “Station” from a site that looks like the old one.

The best Station alternatives in 2026

Station’s appeal was many web apps, many accounts, one window. These apps do that today. Prices in US dollars, as of October 2026.

App	Why it’s like Station	Free plan	Paid	AI	Runs on
Rambox 3	Workspaces, multiple logins per service, unlimited web apps	Basic, after a 30-day Pro trial	Pro $7/month or $70/year	Optional side panel for Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini	Mac, Windows, Linux
Wavebox	A Chromium browser built for multi-account sign-in and web apps	2 groups of 2 apps	Pro $8.33/month billed yearly	Optional Brainbox assistant	Mac, Windows, Linux
Shift	A browser with Spaces for separating work and personal apps	5 Spaces, 10 apps each	Advanced $199.99/year	Shift AI (limited on free)	Desktop
Ferdium	Free, open-source app with each service in a tab and workspaces	Everything	None	None	Mac, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD
Franz 6	75+ services in one window, with Signal built in	3 services	Pro $60/year	Summaries, smart replies, transcription	Mac, Windows

Sources: Rambox pricing, Wavebox pricing, Shift pricing, Franz pricing.

Rambox 3: closest for work accounts

Rambox was redesigned as Rambox 3 on 6 October 2026, adding a Command Center, Notification Center, Unified Search and a split sidebar. Workspaces and multiple logins need Pro, but the free Basic plan still allows unlimited apps.

Wavebox: closest if you treated Station as a browser

Wavebox is a full Chromium browser with Chrome Web Store extensions, pitched at people who stay signed in to many accounts of the same service. It’s actively maintained (version 155.3.18 shipped on 19 October 2026).

Shift: a browser with Spaces

Shift has become a customisable browser where “Spaces” separate work, hobbies and side projects. The free plan is generous, but Advanced costs $199.99 a year, the priciest option here.

Ferdium: the free option

Ferdium began as a hard fork of Franz and is free under the Apache 2.0 licence, with no account required and hibernation for idle services. It warns that ferdium.org is its only official domain, so download it there or from GitHub.

Franz 6: if you want AI in your chats

Franz focuses on messaging and, since Franz 6 in May 2026, adds AI summaries and drafts that can run on your device or with your own key. The free plan stops at three services.

Our Franz vs Rambox vs Ferdium vs Wavebox comparison goes into each in more depth.

If you used Station mainly for chats

Station, and every app above, gives each service its own tab. If what you really wanted was one list of conversations, that’s a different kind of app: a unified inbox, which merges chats from different networks so the newest message rises to the top whatever app it came from. Our explainer on unified inboxes covers the difference.

Two unified inboxes work on a Mac in 2026. Tera Chat is our app; we’ve tried to be fair, and we say where others are the better pick.

• Beeper connects about 16 networks, including WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Instagram, Slack, Discord and iMessage in its Mac app, and runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. Free for up to five accounts.
• Tera Chat is a free Mac app that brings iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Tinder into one inbox and drafts replies in your own texting style. It needs an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 15 or later, reads your Messages history on your Mac with Full Disk Access (here’s what that permission allows), and doesn’t support Slack, Signal or Discord. Tinder’s terms restrict third-party apps that connect to your account; see what Tinder’s rules say about AI.

Unlike tab apps, which load each network’s official website, unified inboxes connect as unofficial clients, so read whether all-in-one messaging apps are safe first. For a wider comparison, see our guide to choosing an all-in-one messaging app for Mac.

How to move off Station

1. List what you had. Open Station (if it still runs) and write down every app and account in it, including duplicate accounts for the same service.
2. Pick a replacement from the table above: Rambox for workspaces, Wavebox or Shift for a browser, Ferdium for free.
3. Add each app and sign in again. Your sign-ins don’t carry over, so keep your password manager open and expect two-factor prompts.
4. Recreate your groupings as workspaces (Rambox, Ferdium), groups (Wavebox) or Spaces (Shift).
5. Delete Station and any bookmarks to getstation.com.

Station had a good idea, and several apps still do it well. Pick Rambox, Wavebox, Shift or Ferdium for web apps, or a unified inbox if your real goal was one place for your chats.