YabArc vs Safari
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.
Safari is Apple’s browser for Mac, iPhone and iPad, on WebKit, with Apple Intelligence for summaries and tab topics. Safari 27 also lets outside agents like Claude Code drive it over MCP.
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 use a Mac and an iPhone and want your tabs and passwords on both
- if you want AI that runs on your Mac or on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute
- if you build sites and want Claude Code or Codex to test them in WebKit
- 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 Safari, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Arc | Safari | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | The Browser Company (Atlassian) | Apple | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Security fixes only | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac and Windows | Mac and iPhone | Mac |
| Phone app | Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins | Built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud | Not yet |
| Price | Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too | Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later | 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 service | An agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| Driven by outside agents | No | MCP | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | WebKit | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | Yes | No | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | No | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Safari’s, from the App 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.
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. Apple Intelligence sums up pages, sorts tabs into topics and watches a page for price drops, and the Passwords app can change weak passwords for you; no agent that works through sites.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexSafari leads
Arc has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. Safari can be driven over MCP, through safaridriver --mcp in Safari 27, once you allow remote automation and outside agents.
Tabs and windowsArc leads
Arc has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Safari has spaces.
Priceeven
Arc: Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too. Safari: Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.
Where it runseven
Arc runs on Mac and Windows. Safari runs on Mac and iPhone. On a Mac, Arc needs macOS 13 or later and Safari needs macOS 15 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, Safari: built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Arc is built on Chromium, as Chrome is; Safari on WebKit, the engine Safari uses. Arc takes extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Safari from the App Store, as Safari extensions.
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. Apple Intelligence runs on the Mac or on Private Cloud Compute, which Apple says doesn’t store what you ask or make it accessible to Apple.
UpdatesSafari leads
Arc: No new features since May 2025; Chromium security updates still come, the latest on October 8, 2026. Safari 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
Safari
- Apple devices only
- Tabs only across the top, and no Split View of two tabs
- Extensions only from the App Store, in Safari’s format
- Its AI needs a Mac with M1 or later and macOS 27
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
- September 17, 2026Safari: Apple documented Safari 27’s MCP server for outside AI agents
- September 14, 2026Safari: Safari 27 shipped with AI tab topics, Notify Me and Describe an Extension
- 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 Safari free?
Yes. Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.
Which has an AI agent, Arc or Safari?
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. Apple Intelligence sums up pages, sorts tabs into topics and watches a page for price drops, and the Passwords app can change weak passwords for you; no agent that works through sites.
Which runs on Windows, Arc or Safari?
Arc does. Safari runs on Mac and iPhone.
Do Arc and Safari 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, Safari: built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud.
Can I move from Safari to Arc?
Yes: Arc’s own help says it brings in from Safari.
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)
- Apple Support: what’s new in macOS 27 Golden Gate
- Apple Newsroom: software updates available (2026-09-14)
- Apple Newsroom: Apple Intelligence at WWDC26 (requirements, Passwords)
- WebKit: features for Safari 27.0 (Safari MCP server)
- Apple Support: security content of Safari 27 (release date, macOS versions)
- Safari User Guide: Tabs settings (tab layout, organize tabs)
- Safari User Guide: group tabs (Tab Groups, topics)
- Safari User Guide: get extensions
- Safari User Guide: import from Chrome or Firefox
- Mac User Guide: Apple Intelligence summaries in Safari
- Apple Support: Apple Intelligence and privacy on iPhone (Private Cloud Compute)
- iCloud User Guide: Safari data in iCloud
- Apple Support: Set up iCloud Keychain
- 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.