Auto Refresh Plus Alternative for Chrome
Auto Refresh Plus is one of the most installed Chrome refresh extensions, but several of its standout features sit behind a paid tier. Auto Refresh Master is a free alternative where nothing is paywalled — and it adds two things the free Auto Refresh Plus tier does not offer at all: hard refresh and random intervals.
The short version
- 💰 Pricing — Auto Refresh Master is free in full; Auto Refresh Plus is freemium
- ⚡ Hard refresh — only Auto Refresh Master bypasses the cache
- 🎲 Random intervals — only Auto Refresh Master varies the gap between reloads
- 🔔 Content monitoring & keyword alerts — Auto Refresh Plus has these (paid); Auto Refresh Master does not
- 🔒 Privacy — Auto Refresh Master collects nothing and runs entirely locally
Side by side
| Feature | Auto Refresh Master | Auto Refresh Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — all features | Freemium — key features paid |
| Custom intervals | Yes | Yes |
| Hard refresh (bypass cache) | Yes | No |
| Random intervals | Yes | No |
| Wildcard URL matching | Yes | No |
| Multi-tab jobs | Yes | Yes, in the free tier |
| Persistent across restarts | Yes | Not documented |
| Page-content monitoring | No | Yes (paid) |
| Keyword alerts | No | Yes (paid) |
| Sound notifications | No | Yes (paid) |
| Account required | No | No |
| Data collection | None — fully local | Privacy policy is less explicit |
| Install base | Smaller, newer | Very large, mature |
Based on our testing for the 2026 Chrome auto refresh extension comparison. Extensions update often — check the current Chrome Web Store listing before relying on any single row.
What sits behind the paywall
Auto Refresh Plus — paid tier
- • Page-content monitoring
- • Keyword alerts
- • Sound notifications
The free tier still does the core job — reload a tab on a timer, across multiple tabs. If content monitoring or keyword alerts are what you actually need, Auto Refresh Plus is the better fit, because Auto Refresh Master does not offer those features at all.
Auto Refresh Master — nothing paid
- • Custom and random intervals
- • Hard refresh (cache bypass)
- • Wildcard URL matching
- • Independent per-tab jobs
- • Persistent jobs across restarts
- • Refresh limits, interaction detection
No tier, no trial, no account. It is a smaller feature set in one direction and a larger one in another — which is the real trade-off here.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Auto Refresh Master if…
- • You want every feature without paying
- • You need hard refresh for live prices or dashboards
- • You want random intervals rather than a fixed timer
- • You manage many similar URLs and want wildcard rules
- • You care that nothing is collected about your browsing
Pick Auto Refresh Plus if…
- • You specifically need page-content monitoring
- • You want keyword alerts when text appears on a page
- • You want sound notifications on change
- • You are happy to pay for those features
We would rather tell you this plainly than pretend one tool wins everything.
How to switch
Nothing to export — jobs live in your browser, per tab.
- 1
Install Auto Refresh Master
Add it from the Chrome Web Store. No account or sign-up.
- 2
Disable Auto Refresh Plus first
Disable rather than uninstall at this stage. Two extensions refreshing the same tab will fight and reload far more often than either is set to.
- 3
Recreate your jobs
Open each tab you were monitoring, click the icon, set the interval or a min/max pair for a random one.
- 4
Turn on hard refresh where it matters
This is the main thing you gain. Enable it for price, dashboard and restock pages so nothing is served from cache.
- 5
Remove the old extension
Once your jobs are running as expected, uninstall Auto Refresh Plus.
Frequently asked questions
Is Auto Refresh Master really free?
Yes. Every feature is available at no cost, with no paid tier, no trial and no account. There are no ads in the extension and no upsells.
What does Auto Refresh Plus charge for?
Its page-content monitoring, keyword alerts and sound notifications are on a paid tier. The core refresh-on-a-timer behaviour, including multi-tab support, is free.
What can Auto Refresh Plus do that Auto Refresh Master cannot?
Page-content monitoring, keyword alerts and sound notifications. Auto Refresh Master does not offer these at all. If watching for specific text on a page is your main need, Auto Refresh Plus is the better choice.
What does Auto Refresh Master do that Auto Refresh Plus does not?
Hard refresh to bypass the cache, random intervals between a minimum and maximum, and wildcard URL pattern matching. All three are free.
Will I lose my existing refresh settings if I switch?
Refresh jobs are stored locally by each extension, so there is nothing to export or import. Recreating a handful of tabs takes about a minute.
Can I run both extensions at once?
You can have both installed, but do not point them at the same tab. Two extensions refreshing one page will reload it far more often than either interval suggests.
Which is better for trading or dashboard pages?
Auto Refresh Master, because hard refresh bypasses the cache and returns genuinely fresh data rather than a stored copy. A plain reload can show you the same prices you already had.
Try the free alternative
Hard refresh, random intervals, wildcard URLs and per-tab jobs — with nothing locked behind a paid tier.
Add to Chrome — Free