OpenIn alternative

A free, focused OpenIn alternative for browser profiles

OpenIn routes every kind of link for $11.99. If all you want is to get web links into the right browser profile, for free, with a fast picker and nothing to configure, Burly is the alternative to try.

By Matt Senter, who builds Burly

Why people switch from OpenIn

OpenIn is the most capable app in this comparison, and that is exactly why people look for something else. It routes links, mail, files, and phone numbers, rewrites URLs with regex, and can call out to shell scripts, all of which has to be set up. If the only job you actually need done is getting a web link into the right browser profile, you are paying $11.99 and doing rule configuration for a fraction of the app. Burly does that one job, for free, with nothing to configure. Note that OpenIn does reach Safari profiles, so unlike the others this is a comparison about scope and price, not capability.

Is Burly a good OpenIn alternative?

OpenIn is the rare competitor that, like Burly, can target Safari profiles, so an OpenIn alternative search is usually about scope and price. OpenIn routes everything: web links, mail, files, phone numbers, with regex rewriting and scripts, for $11.99. If all you actually want is to get web links into the right browser profile, that is a lot of utility to pay for and configure. Burly does that one job for free, with a picker and zero setup. If you also need to route non-web links, OpenIn is the better tool and worth its price.

How to switch from OpenIn to Burly

1. Download Burly and drag it to Applications.
2. Set Burly as your default web browser in System Settings, under Desktop & Dock.
3. Burly discovers your browsers and profiles on its own, so there are no OpenIn rules to recreate.
4. Leave OpenIn installed if you still want it handling files, mail, or phone links; only the web-link handler changes.

What you give up

You are trading breadth for focus, knowingly. OpenIn handles link types Burly ignores entirely, rewrites URLs with regex, and can route to scriptable targets in zsh or JavaScript. If you route more than web links, or you have rules doing real work, OpenIn is worth its price and Burly will feel narrow by comparison.

Want the full feature-by-feature breakdown, including where OpenIn wins? Read Burly vs. OpenIn.