YabArc is The Browser Company’s Chromium browser for Mac and Windows that put tabs down the side, with spaces, folders and Split View. It has had no new features since May 2025; it still gets security fixes, and its makers point people to Dia.
Brave is an open-source Chromium browser that blocks ads and trackers by default, with Leo, an AI chat that needs no account, on every desktop and phone.
The short answer
- if you use it today and want its sidebar, spaces and Split View exactly as they are
- if you want a free browser with no paid AI plans
- if you need the same layout on Windows
- if you want ads and trackers blocked by default
- if you want AI chat without an account, or on your own local model
- if you need the same browser on every desktop and phone
- if you miss Arc and want spaces, pins and folders kept, on a Mac
- if you already pay for Claude or ChatGPT and want it to work in your signed-in tabs
At a glance
Arc and Brave, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Arc | Brave | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | The Browser Company (Atlassian) | Brave Software | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Security fixes only | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac and Windows | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac |
| Phone app | Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account | Not yet |
| Price | Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too | Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | Chat about pages, on its own AI service | Chat about pages, on its own AI or yours | An agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| Driven by outside agents | No | No | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | Yes | A setting | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | No | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | No | Built in | Built in |
| Open source | No | Yes | No |
Checked October 9, 2026 on each maker’s own pages, linked under Sources. Prices are per month, in US dollars.
Where they differ
What separates them, area by area. Where one plainly has more, it says who; where it comes down to taste, it says so.
AIa matter of taste
Both have AI to ask about pages, and neither does the clicking for you. Arc Max helpers tidy tab titles and downloads, preview links and put ChatGPT in the command bar; Ask on Page was removed in August 2025, and there is no agent. Leo chats about your tabs, PDFs and images, with no account, on Brave’s models or your own; an agent is in early testing behind a flag, in a separate profile without your sign-ins.
Tabs and windowsArc leads
Arc has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Brave has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceArc leads
Arc: Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too. Brave: Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month.
Where it runsBrave leads
Arc runs on Mac and Windows. Brave runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Arc needs macOS 13 or later and Brave needs macOS 13 or later. On the phone, Arc: Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins. On the phone, Brave: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Both are built on Chromium, as Chrome is, so sites work as they do in Chrome. Both take extensions from the Chrome Web Store.
PrivacyBrave leads
Arc has no ad blocker of its own. Arc needs an account; The Browser Company says it doesn’t see which sites you visit, and Arc Max sends page data to OpenAI and Anthropic. Brave has an ad blocker built in, a VPN and open code. Brave says Leo doesn’t keep or share chats, doesn’t train on them and doesn’t collect identifiers like IP addresses.
UpdatesBrave leads
Arc: No new features since May 2025; Chromium security updates still come, the latest on October 8, 2026. Brave is updated as usual.
What their pages don’t lead with
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
Arc
- No new features since May 2025, only security updates
- Needs an Arc account
- No ad blocker of its own
- On phones, Arc Search is a separate search app
Brave
- More Leo models and higher limits need Leo Premium at $14.99 a month
- Its AI agent is an early test behind a flag, without your sign-ins
- The VPN is $9.99 a month extra
- Tabs down the side are a setting, and there are no spaces
Yab, honestly
- Mac only: macOS 15.4 or later, no Windows, iPhone or Android
- New: first released in September 2026
- Its AI needs a Claude or ChatGPT plan; ChatGPT’s free plan may work with low limits
- WebKit, as in Safari: a site tested only in Chrome can misbehave
- Closed source
What changed lately
- July 2, 2026Brave: Containers added in Brave 1.92 for separate cookies per tab
- June 4, 2026Brave: Brave Origin launched: a paid, minimal Brave without Leo, Rewards, Wallet and VPN
- May 5, 2026Brave: Leo agentic AI browsing opened for early testing on all release channels, behind a flag
- October 21, 2025Arc: Atlassian completed its purchase of The Browser Company
- August 28, 2025Arc: Ask On Page removed from Arc Max
- May 26, 2025Arc: The Browser Company stopped feature work on Arc to focus on Dia
Questions
Is Arc free?
Yes. Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too.
Is Brave free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month.
Which has an AI agent, Arc or Brave?
Neither has an agent that does tasks in your pages. Arc Max helpers tidy tab titles and downloads, preview links and put ChatGPT in the command bar; Ask on Page was removed in August 2025, and there is no agent. Leo chats about your tabs, PDFs and images, with no account, on Brave’s models or your own; an agent is in early testing behind a flag, in a separate profile without your sign-ins.
Do Arc and Brave run on Windows?
Yes, both. Arc runs on Mac and Windows; Brave on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Do Arc and Brave have phone apps?
On the phone, Arc: Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins. On the phone, Brave: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account.
Can I move from Brave to Arc?
Yes: Arc’s own help says it brings in from Brave.
Is Arc still being updated?
No new features since May 2025; Chromium security updates still come, the latest on October 8, 2026.
Is there a third option on a Mac?
Yab, Yet Another Browser, is free for the Mac: tabs down the side with spaces, folders and Split View, as in Arc; an agent that works in your signed-in tabs, on the Claude or ChatGPT plan you already pay for. Claude Code, Codex and any MCP client can drive it too. It runs on WebKit, the engine Safari uses, and takes Chrome extensions. It is Mac only, and new.
More comparisons
- Arc home page (Chromium updates only, Mac and Windows downloads)
- Letter to Arc members, 2025-05-26
- Arc for macOS release notes
- Arc for Windows release notes
- Arc macOS update feed (minimum macOS 13.0; universal binary)
- Arc unsupported devices
- Arc Max help article
- Arc import help article
- Arc ad blocking and Manifest V3
- Arc saved passwords
- Why Arc needs an account
- Arc Spaces
- Arc Split View
- Arc Folders
- Arc Search for iOS and Android
- Arc Search on the App Store (1.48.0, 2026-08-12)
- Arc Search for Android release notes
- Arc privacy policy
- Atlassian completes acquisition of The Browser Company (Business Wire)
- Arc Help: Arc Sync (what syncs, not on Android)
- Google Play: Arc Search (updated Sep 1, 2026)
- Arc Help: Arc Search for iOS release notes (iPad layout, June 20, 2024)
- TidBITS: Arc Search iPhone app now syncs Arc sidebar tabs (2024-04-29)
- Brave Leo page
- Brave blog: AI browsing early testing (updated 2026-05-05)
- Brave Premium prices
- Brave Origin page
- Brave blog: Brave Origin launch
- Brave blog: Containers (v1.92)
- Brave blog: vertical tabs
- Brave desktop changelog (split view, tab groups, memory)
- What’s new in Brave desktop
- Brave Help: system requirements
- Brave release v1.97.56 notes
- Brave Help: import or export browsing data
- Brave: import passwords via CSV
- brave-browser repository (open source)
- Brave blog: Sync v2 for desktop and Android (Aug 13, 2020)
- Brave Help Center: How do I set up Sync?
- Brave release notes (iOS: Sync Chain and Tabs on Other Devices, 2026)
- Brave iOS source: sync types (bookmarks, history, passwords, open tabs)
- Brave on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Brave on Google Play
- Yab Manual: Bringing in from another browser
- Yab Manual: Connecting Claude or ChatGPT
- Yab Manual: Extensions
- Yab Manual: Yab’s tools over MCP
- Yab Manual: Privacy
Yab, Yet Another Browser.
Free for the Mac. Arc’s sidebar, your own Claude or ChatGPT as the agent, Chrome extensions on WebKit.