# LinkRouter vs Velja vs Choosy vs Finicky: Best Browser Picker for Mac

> LinkRouter, Velja, Choosy and Finicky compared on price, Chrome profiles, rules, email links and privacy, with an honest pick for each kind of Mac user.

Updated 2026-11-11. https://snugbits.com/compare/linkrouter-vs-velja

**Short answer:** get **LinkRouter** if your links keep opening as the wrong you: a work link in your personal Chrome profile, or a mailto: link composing from the wrong Gmail account. It handles both web and email links, starts at $5 and runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

Get **Velja** ($10) if you are on macOS 26, only need browser links, and want extras like sending Zoom, Teams and Figma links to their apps. Get **Choosy** ($10) if you want one key for every Mac you own and very detailed rule conditions. Get **Finicky** (open source, no cost) if you would rather write your rules in JavaScript and don't need a picker.

|  | LinkRouter | Velja | Choosy | Finicky |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $5 one-time (1 Mac), $10 (3 Macs), $15 (5 Macs) | $10 one-time | $10 | Free (open source) |
| Requires | macOS 14 or later | macOS 26 or later | macOS 15.6 or later | Not stated |
| Macs per purchase | 1, 3 or 5, by tier | Not stated | All the Macs you use | Any (open source) |
| Shows a picker when you click a link | Yes, at the mouse | Yes | Yes, row or circle under the mouse | No (suggests Browserosaurus) |
| Pick with the keyboard | Number keys, arrows, type to filter | Letter keys, arrows | Not stated | No picker |
| Chrome, Edge, Brave and Vivaldi profiles | Yes | Yes | Yes | Chromium profiles, by name in the config |
| Firefox and Zen profiles | Yes, classic and new-style | New-style only (Firefox 138+, Zen) | Not stated | Firefox, in the 4.4 alpha |
| Safari or Arc profiles | No | No | Not stated | Not stated |
| Rules by website | Yes: host, path, wildcards | Yes | Yes: text, patterns, regex | Yes: wildcards, regex, JS functions |
| Rules by the app you clicked in | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, in the config |
| Save a rule while picking | Hold ⌘ while picking | ⌘-click a browser | Not stated | No picker |
| Opens mailto: email links | Yes | No (suggests Mailway) | Not stated | Not stated |
| mailto: as the right Gmail account, in the profile that owns it | Yes | No | Not stated | Not stated |
| Email rules by recipient domain | Yes | No | Not stated | Not stated |
| Removes tracking parameters | Yes, built in, add your own | Yes, 200+ parameters | Not stated | Write your own rewrite rule |
| Unwraps redirect links | Safe Links, Proofpoint, Google, Slack and more, on your Mac | Yes; short URLs are looked up online | Expands short URLs online | Write your own rewrite rule |
| Move an open tab to another browser or profile | ⌃⌥B shortcut, closes the original tab | Browser extension | Browser extensions | Not stated |
| Private windows | Hold ⇧ (Chromium and Firefox family) | Yes | Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi | Not stated |
| Opens links in non-browser apps | No | Yes: Zoom, Teams, Figma built in | Not stated | Yes, in the config |
| Set up without writing code | Yes | Yes | Yes | No: JavaScript config (visual editor in the 4.4 alpha) |
| Privacy | Links never leave your Mac; only a license check goes online | "No personal data collected"; App Store lists crash data, not linked to you | App stores nothing about you; short-URL lookups go online | Not stated |

## Where LinkRouter stands out

- **Email links open as the right you.** LinkRouter finds every Google account signed in to each Chrome, Brave or Edge profile. Pick one and Gmail compose opens inside the profile that owns it, with the address, subject and body filled in. Email rules by recipient domain (mail to @yourcompany.com always composes from your work account) come with it. Velja's FAQ says it handles browser links only, and Choosy's and Finicky's pages don't mention email links.
- **The lowest price for one Mac.** $5 for 1 Mac, $10 for 3 and $15 for 5, paid once. Velja and Choosy are $10 each.
- **It runs on older macOS.** LinkRouter needs macOS 14 Sonoma. The current Velja needs macOS 26 and the current Choosy needs macOS 15.6.
- **Cleaning that never goes online.** Outlook and Teams Safe Links, Proofpoint, Google, Slack, Facebook and LinkedIn redirects are unwrapped on your Mac, and tracking parameters are stripped, before your rules see the link. A rule for github.com still works when your company's mail scanner wraps the link.
- **A keyboard-first picker at the mouse.** Press 1 to 9 or type to filter. Hold ⇧ for a private window, hold ⌘ to make it a rule, press ⌘C to copy the link instead.
- **Bounce without an extension.** Opened in the wrong profile anyway? ⌃⌥B moves the front tab of Chrome, Brave, Edge, Vivaldi, Arc or Safari to another browser or profile and closes the original.

## Where Velja is better

Velja is a polished, focused browser picker by Sindre Sorhus, and on macOS 26 it is a strong choice.

- **More browsers with profiles.** Besides Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Firefox and Zen, it lists profiles for Comet, Helium, Thorium, Wavebox and Brave Origin. LinkRouter opens Comet without choosing a profile.
- **Links to apps, not only browsers.** Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Figma links go to their desktop apps out of the box, and Google Meet links go to Chrome.
- **Automation.** Shortcuts actions (open URLs, open a browser profile, remove tracking parameters), a URL scheme, macOS Services and Handoff. LinkRouter has none of these.
- **A bigger tracking list.** Velja removes 200+ tracking parameters from clicked and copied links, and it can expand short URLs. LinkRouter's list is shorter and it never expands short links, because that means asking the shortening service over the internet.
- **Browser extensions** for Safari, Chrome and Firefox, and private windows in Opera too.
- **Bought through the Mac App Store**, if you prefer buying that way.

## Where Choosy is better

Choosy has been making this kind of app for a long time and it shows in its rule system.

- **One key for every Mac you use.** Choosy is $10 and its help page says you can use the same key on all your Macs. If you have four or more Macs, that is cheaper than LinkRouter's $15 tier, and LinkRouter's largest tier covers 5 Macs.
- **Richer rule conditions.** Besides web address and source app, Choosy rules can check modifier keys, how many browsers are running, the link type, URL shortening services, and links from AirDrop, the Share menu or Handoff. A rule can open a link in several browsers at once or send it to a Share menu service.
- **Prompt styles.** A row or a circle of browser icons under the mouse, with several looks.
- **Extensions and an API.** Extensions for Safari, Chromium browsers, Edge and Firefox send the current page to another browser, and a URL-based API works from Terminal or AppleScript.

## Where Finicky is better

Finicky is an open-source tool for people who like their setup in code.

- **It costs nothing and the source is open** (MIT license). Install it from GitHub or with Homebrew.
- **Fully programmable.** Rules can use wildcards, regular expressions or JavaScript functions, and can look at the app that opened the link. A rewrite step can change any URL before it opens: force HTTPS, strip parameters, or send x.com links to another site.
- **Apps and background opening.** One config can send links to apps as well as browsers, and it can open links in the background.
- If you never want a picker and enjoy editing a config file, Finicky is the natural pick. It suggests pairing with Browserosaurus when you do want a picker. The 4.4 alpha adds a visual rules editor and Firefox profiles.

## What about OpenIn and Bumpr?

Two more apps are worth knowing about, because both handle email links too.

- **OpenIn 4** is $11.99 on the Mac App Store and needs macOS 15.1 or later. It opens links in profiles of Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Brave, sends mailto: links to a mail app or to webmail like Gmail or Fastmail, and routes by domain, source app, modifier keys or Focus mode, with JavaScript for advanced rewriting. **If you need Safari profiles, pick OpenIn**: LinkRouter can't do that.
- **Bumpr** is $2.99 on the Mac App Store and runs on macOS 10.13 or later. It lets you pick a browser or an email app per click, can open mailto: links in Gmail in your browser, and has domain rules. Its page doesn't mention browser profiles.

What LinkRouter adds over both is the identity part: it finds each Google account in each Chrome-family profile by itself and opens compose inside the profile that owns the account you chose.

## Where LinkRouter falls short

To be fair about our own app:

- **No Safari, Arc or Dia profiles.** LinkRouter opens these as a whole browser. (Velja doesn't support their profiles either; OpenIn supports Safari profiles.)
- **No links to desktop apps** like Zoom or Figma, no Shortcuts actions and no browser extension.
- **No short-link expansion.** bit.ly-style links open as they are, because expanding them means contacting the shortening service.
- **Gmail account routing needs a Chromium browser** such as Chrome, Brave or Edge. With Firefox, email links go to a mail app or a webmail template instead.
- **Links clicked inside a browser** stay in that browser (that's macOS); Bounce with ⌃⌥B is the fix.
- **Updates are a download**, not automatic. They are included with your license.

## The verdict

**For most people, LinkRouter is the better pick.** If the problem you want solved is "this link opened as the wrong me" (a Slack link in your personal Chrome profile, an email composing from the wrong Gmail account), LinkRouter covers both web and email links. Of the four, it is the only one whose own page says it handles mailto: links, and it composes as the exact Gmail account inside the profile that owns it. It starts at $5, runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, and its cleaning and rules never leave your Mac.

**Pick something else if:**

- you are on macOS 26, only care about browser links, and want app routing (Zoom, Teams, Figma) and Shortcuts: **Velja**;
- you use more than five Macs, or want rule conditions like "how many browsers are running": **Choosy**;
- you want open source and like writing rules in JavaScript: **Finicky**;
- you need Safari profiles: **OpenIn**.

## Questions

### Which Mac browser picker also handles mailto: email links?

LinkRouter does: it opens Gmail compose as the account you pick, inside the Chrome profile that owns it, or hands the link to a mail app or webmail. Velja's FAQ says it handles browser links only and points to a separate app, and Choosy's and Finicky's pages don't mention email links. OpenIn and Bumpr can also send mailto: links to a mail app or to Gmail in a browser.

### What is the cheapest browser picker for Mac?

Finicky costs nothing, but it is set up in a JavaScript file and has no picker. Among the paid apps we checked on 11 November 2026: Bumpr is $2.99, LinkRouter is $5 for one Mac ($10 for 3, $15 for 5), Velja is $10, Choosy is $10 for all your Macs, and OpenIn is $11.99.

### Which browser pickers can open a link in a specific Chrome profile?

All four. LinkRouter, Velja and Choosy let you choose Chrome, Edge, Brave and Vivaldi profiles; Finicky takes the profile name in its config file. LinkRouter and Velja also handle Firefox and Zen profiles.

### Can any of them open a specific Safari or Arc profile?

LinkRouter can't, and Velja lists Safari, Arc, Dia and Opera profiles as not supported. OpenIn says it supports Safari profiles. Choosy's and Finicky's pages don't mention Safari or Arc profiles.

### Which one works on an older version of macOS?

LinkRouter needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later. The current Choosy needs macOS 15.6, OpenIn needs macOS 15.1 and Velja needs macOS 26. Bumpr's App Store page says macOS 10.13 or later, and Finicky doesn't state a requirement.

### Do these apps send my links over the internet?

LinkRouter doesn't: cleaning and rules run on your Mac, and only the license check goes online. Velja and Choosy can expand short links, which means asking the shortening service. Velja's page says no personal data is collected, and Choosy's privacy page says the app stores nothing about you.

### Can I bring my Velja, Choosy or Finicky rules over to LinkRouter?

Not automatically: LinkRouter has no importer. Hold ⌘ while you pick and rules build up as you go, or add them in Settings → Rules with patterns like github.com or *.atlassian.net.

## Sources

- [LinkRouter product page](https://snugbits.com/linkrouter) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Velja product page and FAQ](https://sindresorhus.com/velja) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Velja on the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/velja/id1607635845) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Choosy home page](https://choosy.app) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Choosy buy page](https://choosy.app/buy) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Choosy help: registration](https://choosy.app/help/misc/registration) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Choosy help: rules](https://choosy.app/help/settings/rules) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Choosy help: browsers](https://choosy.app/help/settings/browsers) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Choosy help: prompt](https://choosy.app/help/settings/prompt) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Choosy browser extensions](https://choosy.app/browsers) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Choosy releases](https://choosy.app/releases) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Choosy privacy policy](https://choosy.app/privacy) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Finicky on GitHub](https://github.com/johnste/finicky) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Finicky configuration docs (v4)](https://github.com/johnste/finicky/wiki/Configuration-(v4)) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Finicky releases](https://github.com/johnste/finicky/releases) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [OpenIn 4 product page](https://loshadki.app/openin4/) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [OpenIn 4 on the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/openin-4-advanced-link-handler/id1643649331) (checked 2026-11-11)
- [Bumpr on the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bumpr/id1166066070) (checked 2026-11-11)