Best Tampermonkey Alternatives in 2026 — An Honest Roundup
If you are searching for Tampermonkey alternatives, you probably already know what a userscript manager does — and you want to know what else is out there. This is an honest roundup. Tampermonkey is genuinely good, so we will start by saying why, then walk through the real alternatives and the situations each one suits best.
What Tampermonkey actually does well
Let us be fair before we compare anything. Tampermonkey is one of the most polished extensions in the browser ecosystem, and there are good reasons it has tens of millions of users:
- The userscript ecosystem. It runs the de-facto standard userscript format. Sites like Greasy Fork host thousands of community scripts you can install in two clicks.
- Mature metadata handling. The
// ==UserScript==header block —@match,@require,@grant,@run-at— is expressive and well documented. - Powerful privileged APIs.
GM_xmlhttpRequest,GM_setValue, menu commands and cross-origin requests give scripts capabilities ordinary page JavaScript cannot have. - Reliable updates. Scripts with an
@updateURLrefresh themselves automatically.
If your use case is "install community userscripts and occasionally tweak them," Tampermonkey is hard to beat. The honest answer to "should I switch?" is sometimes "no." But there are real reasons people look — licensing preferences, wanting open source, or wanting something simpler.
Why people look for an alternative
Common, legitimate reasons we hear:
- A preference for a fully open-source codebase.
- Wanting CSS-first styling without writing a script wrapper.
- Wanting built-in developer tooling rather than an external editor workflow.
- Wanting sync or sharing without tying it to a heavyweight account.
None of those make Tampermonkey "bad." They just point to a different tool for a different job.
Violentmonkey — the open-source userscript manager
If you want the userscript model but prefer open source, Violentmonkey is the obvious pick. It is MIT-licensed, runs the same standard userscript format, and supports the common GM_* APIs. Most scripts from Greasy Fork install and run unchanged.
It is a touch leaner than Tampermonkey and its editor is slightly more minimal, but for everyday userscript use the difference is small. Pick Violentmonkey when: you like the userscript workflow and want a transparent, community-driven codebase.
Greasemonkey — the original, Firefox only
Greasemonkey started it all. It is the original userscript manager and the reason the format is sometimes called "Greasemonkey scripts." The one thing to know: Greasemonkey is Firefox-only. If you are on Chrome, Edge or Brave it is simply not an option, and you should look at Violentmonkey or Tampermonkey instead. We cover the Chrome side in detail in a separate guide linked below.
Stylus — for CSS-only styling
If you never actually need JavaScript and only want to restyle pages, a userscript manager is more machinery than you need. Stylus is an open-source extension built specifically for user styles — CSS only. It has a good editor, supports the UserCSS format, and integrates with the UserStyles community catalog.
Pick Stylus when: your goal is purely visual — dark themes, font changes, hiding elements — and you want a focused CSS tool.
JustZix — rules plus in-tab developer tools
JustZix takes a different shape. Instead of script files with metadata headers, you create rules matched on URL patterns, and each rule can carry both CSS and JavaScript. It is a free Chrome extension (also Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi) and needs no account.
Where it differs from a classic userscript manager:
- Folders, groups and rules give you a real hierarchy instead of a flat script list.
- In-tab developer windows — a CSS pane, a JS pane, a JS Console REPL and a six-tab Output Console with Network and DataLayer views — so you prototype on the live page without opening DevTools.
- A one-click action bar and a
window.JZAPI for triggering things programmatically. - Optional cross-device sync via a locally generated key — the backend stores only a SHA-256 hash of it — and rule-bundle sharing through short links with a 1–48h TTL.
- No telemetry.
A small rule looks like this — pattern https://example.com/*, CSS in one pane and JS in the other:
/* CSS pane */
.promo-bar { display: none !important; }
// JS pane
document.title = 'Focused: ' + document.title;See the full list on the features page. Pick JustZix when: you want CSS and JS together, prefer URL-pattern rules over script headers, and value built-in dev tooling, no-account sync and quick sharing.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Model | Open source | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tampermonkey | Userscripts | Partly | Installing community scripts |
| Violentmonkey | Userscripts | Yes (MIT) | Userscripts, open source |
| Greasemonkey | Userscripts | Yes | Firefox users only |
| Stylus | User styles | Yes | CSS-only styling |
| JustZix | URL-pattern rules | No | CSS+JS, dev tools, sync/share |
Where Tampermonkey is still the better pick
We will say it plainly: if your workflow is built around installing and maintaining community userscripts from Greasy Fork, Tampermonkey (or Violentmonkey) remains the right choice. The userscript ecosystem is huge, and JustZix does not aim to replace that catalog. JustZix is for writing and managing your own CSS and JS, organized as rules. Different jobs, different tools — pick the one that matches yours.
See also
If the rule-based approach sounds like the fit for you, JustZix is free and installs in a couple of minutes — head to the download page to get started, no account needed.
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