A Better New Tab for Chrome: Acropolis vs. the Alternatives

Acropolis gives you a new tab worth opening: sharp shortcut icons, your calendar and tasks, your saved reading, and a layout you control. It’s free, small, and private. No Doodles, sponsored shortcuts, or subscription to unlock the settings.

I built Acropolis because Chrome’s new tab is frustratingly limited, and I don’t find the other new-tab extensions elegant. I wanted something that looked better, opened quickly, and let me decide what belongs on the page.

Acropolis vs. Chrome’s default new tab

Chrome’s default new tab wastes a screen you open all day. Its shortcut icons are low-resolution and blurry. Google puts a Doodle in the middle of your page with no switch to turn it off in Customize Chrome. The built-in Calendar card is only for Workspace accounts. You can’t add your Todoist tasks or Readwise highlights, or arrange your own dashboard.

Acropolis fixes those everyday frustrations:

• Sharp shortcut icons. Acropolis automatically fetches high-resolution website icons. When a site has no usable icon, it displays a clean letter tile. You can drag shortcuts into order and show your native bookmarks bar with its folders.
• Your personal Google Calendar. Connect your own Google account and see your next meeting, a countdown, and a Join button. You don’t need a corporate Workspace account. Calendar works across supported browsers.
• No Google Doodles. Your wallpaper and your dashboard stay yours. Acropolis doesn’t put Google’s changing artwork in the middle of them.
• Cards you actually want. Add Todoist, Readwise highlights, saved articles, notes, weather, a second time zone, and controls for music playing in your browser. Show or hide cards, reorder them, and move them between two columns.

Chrome’s customization options leave you with Google’s selection of cards, including its enterprise Calendar card. Acropolis gives you your personal calendar, your services, and control over the layout.

Acropolis vs. Momentum

Acropolis includes Google Calendar, Todoist, custom wallpaper, notes, and all appearance settings for free. You can build the dashboard you want without finding an upgrade button next to the feature you came for.

Momentum Plus puts task-service integrations such as Todoist and custom photos in its paid plan. Acropolis adds no subscription on top of the tools you already use.

It also brings your reading into view. Readwise Daily Review, your Reader inbox, Instapaper saves, and Matter or Shiori links can sit beside your next meeting. A new tab becomes a chance to read something you deliberately saved.

Acropolis vs. Bonjourr

Bonjourr is free and open source, with backgrounds, quick links, a clock, and notes. I don’t find its design elegant. Acropolis reflects the design I wanted: consistent cards, sharper icons, clear typography, and deliberate spacing.

It also puts your calendar, Todoist tasks, Readwise highlights, and connected reading lists on that page. Show only what you use, choose light or dark mode and an accent color, and add your own wallpaper.

Acropolis vs. Tabliss

Tabliss offers a clock, weather, quick links, backgrounds, and a standalone to-do list. It’s free, but I wanted a more coherent design and the tasks and reading I already keep in other apps.

Acropolis connects to those existing accounts. Your Todoist list stays in Todoist; Acropolis shows what’s due and lets you complete it. Your saved articles stay in Reader, Instapaper, Matter, or Shiori; their cards bring them back into view. You don’t have to maintain another to-do list just for your new tab.

Acropolis vs. Infinity New Tab

Acropolis gives you shortcut tiles with sharp icons and no affiliate links. Your page isn’t a place to advertise shopping sites.

Infinity New Tab Pro’s listing discloses partner shortcuts that can earn affiliate commissions. It also offers a separate sign-in for backup and sync. Acropolis needs no dashboard account: settings and shortcut tiles can use your browser’s existing sync, while notes and integration tokens stay local.

Alongside your shortcuts, you get Calendar, Todoist, reading cards, and media controls in the same configurable layout.

Acropolis vs. start.me

Acropolis has no ads and no paid tier. Its cards, themes, wallpaper, and integrations are all included.

start.me includes advertising in its free plan and charges for an ad-free experience and additional features. Acropolis puts your bookmarks, personal calendar, tasks, notes, and reading together without that upgrade path or another service account.

Small, quick, and private

Acropolis is about a 100 KB download. Its interface and fonts are bundled locally, and cached calendar and reading data appear while connected services refresh. You don’t start every new tab by waiting for an empty dashboard to fill up.

Acropolis has no backend or analytics. Your notes, service tokens, and cached data stay in the browser. Weather, icons, and integrations contact their respective providers; the privacy policy explains those connections.

Every Acropolis feature is free. Optional integrations use your own accounts with those services, whose pricing still applies. Matter’s API, for example, requires Matter Pro.

Install Acropolis, or see the product page for a screenshot and the full feature list.