RefreshWatchA free Auto Refresh Plus alternative
Auto Refresh Plus is a popular, well-rated extension. If you mainly want its page monitoring, keyword alerts and auto-click without a subscription, RefreshWatch covers those for free. Here is an honest comparison, including what RefreshWatch doesn't do.
Where the two differ
Auto Refresh Plus | Page Monitor has about 1,000,000 users and a 4.9-star rating from 22.6K ratings. Its free version refreshes tabs on a timer. Its paid plans, listed at $3.99 a month or $35.91 a year for individuals, add page-area monitoring with keyword highlighting, auto-click, macros and custom scripts, webhooks, captcha and error-page detection, and XHR refresh, among others.
RefreshWatch is free with no paid tier, and makes no network requests. It covers the everyday monitoring features and leaves out the server-based ones.
| Feature | Auto Refresh Plus | RefreshWatch |
|---|---|---|
| Auto refresh on a timer | Free | Free |
| Watch a part of the page | Paid plans | Free |
| Keyword alerts | Paid plans | Free (appears or disappears) |
| Click a button after reload | Paid plans | Free |
| Saved rules that start on their own | Not compared | Free |
| Change log with before and after | Not compared | Free |
| Macros and custom scripts | Paid plans | Not available |
| Webhooks | Paid plans | Not available |
| Email alerts | More than 10 a day on paid plans | Not available |
| Captcha and error-page detection | Paid plans | Not available |
| XHR refresh | Paid plans | Not available |
“Not compared” means we didn't verify how Auto Refresh Plus handles it, so we don't claim either way.
Who should pick which
- Pick RefreshWatch if you want timed refresh plus element or keyword alerts, auto-click and saved rules, without paying, without an account, and with nothing sent off your computer.
- Stay with Auto Refresh Plus if you rely on macros, webhooks, email alerts or captcha detection. RefreshWatch doesn't offer them.
Other extensions people compare
Easy Auto Refresh (about 1,000,000 users) keeps saved per-site settings, random intervals, refreshing at set times of day and auto-click in its paid plans. Saved per-site rules, random intervals and clicking a button after reload are free in RefreshWatch. RefreshWatch doesn't refresh at set times of day; it can stop at a set time.
Distill Web Monitor (about 400,000 users) also checks pages from the cloud while your computer is off, and can send email and SMS alerts. Its free plan allows 25 monitors; paid plans were listed from $15 a month. If you need cloud checks or text messages, a cloud service like Distill does that and RefreshWatch doesn't. If your monitoring happens in open tabs, RefreshWatch has no monitor limit.
Switching takes a minute
- Add RefreshWatch to Chrome.
- Turn off the other extension's timer on the tab, so two extensions don't reload the same page.
- Open each page you monitor, set the interval and the watch in the RefreshWatch popup, and choose Save as rule for this site. There is no import, so rules are set up again by hand.
See the website change alert guide for the watch options in detail.