diff --git a/qutebrowser/browser/commands.py b/qutebrowser/browser/commands.py
index d1f886a5a..312d20048 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/browser/commands.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/browser/commands.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 """Command dispatcher for TabbedBrowser."""
 
 import os
+import os.path
 import shlex
 import posixpath
 import functools
@@ -1241,6 +1242,8 @@ class CommandDispatcher:
         else:
             data = mainframe.toHtml()
 
+        dest = os.path.expanduser(dest)
+
         try:
             with open(dest, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
                 f.write(data)