YabArc vs Chrome
Arc 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.
Chrome is Google’s browser on every desktop and phone, with Gemini built in. Its auto browse agent works in your own signed-in Chrome on a paid Google AI plan, in the US and India.
Arc is Chromium underneath, like Chrome, with the same Chrome Web Store and a different way of keeping tabs. Chrome added Split View and tabs down the side as an option in 2026; Arc has had both for years but gets no new features.
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 live in Google’s apps and want Gemini across Gmail, Calendar and your tabs
- if you pay for Google AI Pro and want an agent in your own signed-in browser
- if you need the same browser on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android
- 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
- if you want Claude Code, Codex or Cursor to drive a real browser over MCP
At a glance
Arc and Chrome, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Arc | Google Chrome | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | The Browser Company (Atlassian) | 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 | Not yet |
| Price | Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too | Free, with Gemini; its auto browse agent needs Google AI Pro $19.99/month or Ultra | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | Chat about pages, on its own AI service | An agent that works in pages, on its own AI service | An agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| Driven by outside agents | No | MCP and a command line | 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 | No | Built in |
| Open source | No | No | 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.
AIChrome leads
Only Chrome has an agent that clicks, types and finishes 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. Gemini chats about your tabs and sums up pages and videos; auto browse clicks, types and fills forms in your own Chrome, on Google AI Pro or Ultra, in the US and India.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexChrome leads
Arc has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. Chrome can be driven over MCP and a command line, through Google’s Chrome DevTools MCP, which starts its own profile unless you let it attach to your Chrome.
Tabs and windowsArc leads
Arc has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Chrome 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. Chrome: Free, with Gemini; its auto browse agent needs Google AI Pro $19.99/month or Ultra.
Where it runsChrome leads
Arc runs on Mac and Windows. Chrome runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Arc needs macOS 13 or later and Chrome 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, Chrome: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history.
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.
Privacyeven
Neither has an 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. Tabs you share with Gemini go to Google; with Keep Activity on, chats are kept 18 months by default and may be reviewed and used to train models.
UpdatesChrome leads
Arc: No new features since May 2025; Chromium security updates still come, the latest on October 8, 2026. Chrome 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
Google Chrome
- Auto browse needs Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month) or Ultra, in the US and India only
- Gemini needs a signed-in Google account
- With Keep Activity on, people may review your Gemini chats and Google may train on them
- No ad blocker of its own
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
- April 7, 2026Chrome: Vertical tabs began rolling out as an option
- February 19, 2026Chrome: Split view for two tabs in one window
- January 28, 2026Chrome: Auto browse agent launched in preview for Google AI Pro and Ultra in the US
- 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 Google Chrome free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, with Gemini; its auto browse agent needs Google AI Pro $19.99/month or Ultra.
Which has an AI agent, Arc or Chrome?
Chrome. 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. Gemini chats about your tabs and sums up pages and videos; auto browse clicks, types and fills forms in your own Chrome, on Google AI Pro or Ultra, in the US and India.
Do Arc and Chrome run on Windows?
Yes, both. Arc runs on Mac and Windows; Chrome on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Do Arc and Chrome 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, Chrome: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history.
Can I move from Chrome to Arc?
Yes: Arc’s own help says it brings in from Chrome.
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 in your signed-in tabs like Chrome’s, 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)
- Google blog: Gemini auto browse in Chrome
- 9to5Google: auto browse launch date (2026-01-28)
- Google blog: Gemini in Chrome for US desktop users (Sept 2025)
- Google blog: auto browse comes to India
- Chrome AI features page
- Chrome Help: Gemini in Chrome requirements
- Google AI plans and prices
- Google blog: split view, PDF notes (2026-02-19)
- Google blog: vertical tabs and reading mode (2026-04-07)
- Chrome Help: manage tabs, vertical tabs, tab groups
- Chrome Help: Memory Saver
- Chrome Help: system requirements
- Chrome Help: import bookmarks and settings
- Gemini Apps Privacy Hub
- Chrome DevTools MCP (GitHub)
- Chrome DevTools MCP configuration (autoConnect, profile)
- Chrome DevTools CLI
- Google Chrome Help: Sign in and sync in Chrome
- Google Chrome on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Google Chrome 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.