YabArdia vs Atlas
Ardia is a free, open-source Chromium browser for the Mac that pairs Arc’s sidebar with Dia’s look: pinned tabs, profiles you swipe between, Split View, the Chrome Web Store and uBlock Origin built in.
ChatGPT Atlas was OpenAI’s Chromium browser for the Mac, with ChatGPT beside every page and an agent mode. OpenAI shut it down on August 9, 2026, and points people to the ChatGPT desktop app and its Chrome extension.
The short answer
- if you want Arc’s sidebar on Chromium, free and open source
- if you want Chrome extensions and uBlock Origin built in
- if you don’t want AI in your browser
- OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates
- 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
Ardia and Atlas, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Ardia | ChatGPT Atlas | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Mantra (open-source project) | OpenAI | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Shut down August 9, 2026 | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac | Mac | Mac |
| Phone app | None; Mac only | None; Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026 | Yab for iPhone (TestFlight) and Yab for Android, both in beta; they sync spaces, tabs, bookmarks, history and chats |
| Price | Free and open source | Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | No AI | 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 | No | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | Yes | A setting | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | Not stated | Built in |
| Open source | Yes | 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.
AIAtlas leads
Only Atlas has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Ardia has no AI of its own. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works.
Tabs and windowsArdia leads
Ardia has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Atlas has tabs down the side as a setting and folders in the sidebar.
PriceArdia leads
Ardia: Free and open source. Atlas: Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans.
Where it runseven
Both run on Mac. On a Mac, Ardia needs macOS 14 or later and Atlas needs macOS 14.2 or later. Ardia has no phone app: Mac only. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026.
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.
PrivacyArdia leads
Ardia has an ad blocker built in and open code. Ardia syncs end to end encrypted through a folder in your own iCloud Drive, with no server of its maker in between; crash reports are opt-in. Atlas has no ad blocker of its own. Atlas summed up pages for browser memories and deleted the originals; training on browsing was off by default.
UpdatesArdia leads
Ardia is updated as usual. Atlas: OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates.
What their pages don’t lead with
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
Ardia
- Mac only, Apple Silicon, macOS 14 or later
- New: first public in 2026, from a small open-source team
- No phone app
- No AI of its own
ChatGPT Atlas
- Shut down on August 9, 2026, with no more security updates
- Was Mac only, on Apple silicon
- Bookmarks, tabs and history had to be exported by hand
- Agent mode needed a paid ChatGPT plan
Yab, honestly
- Mac only on the desktop: macOS 15.4 or later, no Windows; the iPhone and Android apps are in beta
- New: first released in September 2026
- Its AI needs a Claude or ChatGPT plan; ChatGPT’s free plan may work with low limits
- WebKit by default, as in Safari; Chrome’s engine is a choice in beta (Nightly) for sites made only for Chrome
- Closed source
What changed lately
- October 27, 2026Ardia: 0.2.42 released, with a nightly channel beside it
- August 9, 2026Atlas: Atlas shut down
- July 9, 2026Atlas: OpenAI said it will sunset Atlas for the new ChatGPT desktop app
- October 21, 2025Atlas: Launched for macOS
Questions
Is Ardia free?
Yes. Free and open source.
Is ChatGPT Atlas free?
It no longer works. Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans.
Which has an AI agent, Ardia or Atlas?
Atlas. Ardia has no AI of its own. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works.
Which runs on Windows, Ardia or Atlas?
Neither. Ardia runs on Mac; Atlas on Mac.
Do Ardia and Atlas have phone apps?
Ardia has no phone app: Mac only. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026.
Is ChatGPT Atlas shut down?
OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates.
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 Ardia; an agent in your signed-in tabs like Atlas’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, with Chrome’s engine as a choice in beta, and takes Chrome extensions. It is new, and its iPhone and Android apps are in beta.
More comparisons
- Ardia home page
- Ardia repo (GPL-3.0, Chromium, README features)
- Ardia 0.2.42 release
- OpenAI help: Evolving Atlas into ChatGPT (retirement notice)
- OpenAI help: Atlas release notes (vertical tabs, tab groups, imports, profiles)
- OpenAI help: Getting started with Atlas (macOS 14.2, Apple silicon)
- OpenAI help: Setting up Atlas (imports, password manager)
- OpenAI help: Atlas data controls and privacy
- 9to5Mac: OpenAI is discontinuing Atlas (Jul 9, 2026, James Sun quote)
- 9to5Mac: what happens when Atlas shuts down (Aug 4, 2026)
- TechRepublic: Atlas shuts down Aug 9
- TechCrunch: Atlas launch (Oct 21, 2025)
- Wikipedia: ChatGPT Atlas (Chromium, timeline)
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT Atlas retirement
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT release notes (Jul 9, 2026 deprecation entry)
- TechRadar: Atlas for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android ’coming soon’ (Oct 2025)
- 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 for iPhone on TestFlight
Yab, Yet Another Browser.
Free for the Mac. Arc’s sidebar, your own Claude or ChatGPT as the agent, Chrome extensions on WebKit.