How to sync bookmarks between Chrome, Safari, and Firefox
Browsers only sync with themselves. How to keep bookmarks in sync across Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge with iCloud, an export, or a bookmark manager.
TLDR
- Every browser syncs with itself: Chrome with Chrome, Safari with Safari, Firefox with Firefox. They don’t sync with each other.
- One-off move: every browser can import from the others. Two minutes.
- Ongoing sync: iCloud Bookmarks (Safari plus Chrome, Edge, or Firefox on Windows), or skip syncing entirely by keeping bookmarks in a web app that opens in any browser.
One-off: move them once
If you’re switching browsers, you don’t need sync. Import once:
- Into Chrome:
chrome://settings/importData, pick the browser, tick Favorites/Bookmarks. - Into Firefox: Library (⌘⇧O or Ctrl+Shift+O) → Import and Backup → Import Data from Another Browser.
- Into Safari: File → Import From → Google Chrome (or Firefox, or a bookmarks HTML file).
- Into Edge:
edge://settings/importData.
If the browsers are on different computers, export an HTML file from one and import it into the other. The export bookmarks guide has the steps for each.
Ongoing: iCloud Bookmarks
Apple’s iCloud for Windows includes an iCloud Bookmarks extension for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. Turn on Bookmarks in iCloud for Windows, install the extension, and Safari on your Mac and iPhone stays in sync with the browser on your PC.
It’s the one official cross-browser sync, and it’s Windows plus Apple only. Chrome on a Mac and Safari on the same Mac can’t sync through it.
Ongoing: don’t sync, centralise
The other approach is to stop keeping bookmarks in the browser at all. A web-based bookmark manager opens in whatever browser you’re in, so there’s nothing to sync.
- Raindrop has extensions for every browser and apps for every phone. Free, unlimited links.
- Savepad works in any browser and installs as an app. Every link gets a full-page snapshot and search reads the page’s text. Import a bookmarks HTML file from each browser and the folders come with it. On your phone, email links to your Savepad address.
The upside: your bookmarks survive switching browsers, computers, and jobs. The downside: no star icon in the address bar.
Clean up while you’re at it
Merging bookmarks from three browsers is how you end up with every link three times. Before you import, look at how to organize bookmarks, and if you’ve got 80 tabs open in each browser too, too many tabs is the post for you. For picking a manager, the best bookmark managers has them side by side.
FAQ
Can Chrome and Safari share bookmarks?
Yes, with iCloud. On Windows, iCloud for Windows adds an iCloud Bookmarks extension to Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. On a Mac, the simplest route is a bookmark manager that isn't tied to either browser.
How do I move bookmarks from Chrome to Firefox once?
Firefox can import straight from Chrome. Open the Library (Ctrl+Shift+O or ⌘⇧O), then Import and Backup, then Import Data from Another Browser.
What's the easiest way to have the same bookmarks in every browser?
Keep them in a web-based bookmark manager like Raindrop or Savepad. It opens in any browser, so there's nothing to sync.