YabArdia vs Firefox
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.
Firefox is Mozilla’s open-source browser on its own engine, Gecko, on every desktop and phone. Its AI is optional: a Smart Window beta and a sidebar chatbot, all behind one switch.
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
- if you want an open-source browser that isn’t Chromium
- if you want AI off by default, or gone with one switch
- if you want a free browser VPN, where it is offered
- 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
Ardia and Firefox, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Ardia | Firefox | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Mantra (open-source project) | Mozilla | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac |
| Phone app | None; Mac only | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history | Yab for iPhone (TestFlight) and Yab for Android, both in beta; they sync spaces, tabs, bookmarks, history and chats |
| Price | Free and open source | Free; its built-in VPN is free up to 50 GB a month | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | No AI | 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 | MCP | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Gecko | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | Yes | A setting | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | No | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Firefox add-ons | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | No | Built in |
| Open source | Yes | 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.
AIFirefox leads
Firefox has AI built in; Ardia has less of it. Ardia has no AI of its own. Firefox’s Smart Window beta chats with tabs you share and groups them, and a sidebar chatbot can use Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Le Chat or Copilot; it can’t click or fill forms, and one switch turns all AI off.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexFirefox leads
Ardia has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. Firefox can be driven over MCP, through Mozilla’s Firefox DevTools MCP, which starts its own Firefox.
Tabs and windowsArdia leads
Ardia has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Firefox has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceFirefox leads
Ardia: Free and open source. Firefox: Free; its built-in VPN is free up to 50 GB a month.
Where it runsFirefox leads
Ardia runs on Mac. Firefox runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Ardia needs macOS 14 or later and Firefox needs macOS 10.15 or later. Ardia has no phone app: Mac only. On the phone, Firefox: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Ardia is built on Chromium, as Chrome is; Firefox on Gecko, Firefox’s engine. Ardia takes extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Firefox from Firefox’s add-ons.
Privacyeven
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. Firefox has a VPN and open code. Smart Window sends prompts and what you share through Mozilla’s servers to partner models; Mozilla says it keeps no chat logs without permission and doesn’t train on them.
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
Firefox
- Its Smart Window AI is a beta in the US, Canada and France and needs a Mozilla account
- Its AI can’t click, fill forms or buy for you
- The free VPN covers the browser only, up to 50 GB a month, in a few countries
- Firefox add-ons only, not the Chrome Web Store
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
- September 16, 2026Firefox: Smart Window beta expanded from the US and Canada to France
- March 24, 2026Firefox: Firefox 149 added split view and a free built-in VPN
- February 24, 2026Firefox: Firefox 148 added AI Controls with a switch that blocks all AI features
Questions
Is Ardia free?
Yes. Free and open source.
Is Firefox free?
Yes. Free; its built-in VPN is free up to 50 GB a month.
Which has an AI agent, Ardia or Firefox?
Neither has an agent that does tasks in your pages. Ardia has no AI of its own. Firefox’s Smart Window beta chats with tabs you share and groups them, and a sidebar chatbot can use Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Le Chat or Copilot; it can’t click or fill forms, and one switch turns all AI off.
Which runs on Windows, Ardia or Firefox?
Firefox does. Ardia runs on Mac.
Do Ardia and Firefox have phone apps?
Firefox does. Ardia has no phone app: Mac only. On the phone, Firefox: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history.
Can I move from Firefox to Ardia?
Yes: Ardia’s own help says it brings in from Firefox.
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 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, 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
- Mozilla blog: Smart Window
- Mozilla Support: get started with Smart Window
- Mozilla Support: model choices in Smart Window
- Smart Window privacy notice
- Firefox.com: Smart Window
- Mozilla blog: window types (2026-09-24)
- Mozilla blog: AI on your terms (AI controls)
- Firefox 148 release notes
- Firefox 149 release notes (split view, VPN)
- Mozilla blog: free built-in VPN
- Firefox 136 release notes (vertical tabs)
- Firefox 138 release notes (tab groups)
- Bugzilla 1730066: tab unloading enabled on macOS (Firefox 95)
- Firefox system requirements
- Firefox ESR 115 release notes (import sources)
- Firefox DevTools MCP (Mozilla)
- Firefox.com: Firefox browser sync
- Firefox on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Firefox on Google Play
- Mozilla Support: Sync Firefox data
- 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.