YabArdia vs Opera Neon
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.
Opera Neon is Opera’s agent browser for Mac and Windows. Its own agents act in your live session on a $19.90 plan, and since August 2026 outside agents like Claude Code can use it free through its MCP Connector.
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 Claude Code or another MCP client to use a real signed-in browser, free
- if you want one plan for an in-browser agent, deep research and making apps and media
- if you want a VPN and an ad blocker built in
- 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 Opera Neon, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Ardia | Opera Neon | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Mantra (open-source project) | Opera | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac | Mac and Windows | Mac |
| Phone app | None; Mac only | None yet; Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given | 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, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month | 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 | MCP and a command line | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Not stated | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | Built in | 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.
AIOpera Neon leads
Only Opera Neon has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Ardia has no AI of its own. Neon Chat talks about your tabs, Neon Do acts in your live session, research agents dig, and Make builds apps and media on Opera’s servers.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexOpera Neon leads
Ardia has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. Opera Neon can be driven over MCP and a command line, through its MCP Connector, read-only unless you allow more, and opera-browser-cli.
Tabs and windowsArdia leads
Ardia has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Opera Neon has spaces.
PriceOpera Neon leads
Ardia: Free and open source. Opera Neon: Free, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month.
Where it runsOpera Neon leads
Ardia runs on Mac. Opera Neon runs on Mac and Windows. On a Mac, Ardia needs macOS 14 or later. Ardia has no phone app: Mac only. Opera Neon has no phone app yet: Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Both are built on Chromium, as Chrome is, so sites work as they do in Chrome. Ardia takes extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Opera Neon none.
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. Opera Neon has an ad blocker built in and a VPN. Page content used with Neon’s AI goes to Opera’s and OpenAI’s servers, kept up to 365 days; passwords, cards and cookies stay on your device.
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
Opera Neon
- Opera’s own agents need the $19.90 a month plan
- Mac and Windows only; the phone version isn’t out
- Its AI and the MCP Connector need an Opera account
- Page content used with its AI goes to Opera’s and OpenAI’s servers, kept up to 365 days
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 12, 2026Opera Neon: Free plan: outside agents can use Neon without a subscription
- May 12, 2026Opera Neon: opera-browser-cli command line released
- March 31, 2026Opera Neon: MCP Connector lets outside AI clients act in Neon
Questions
Is Ardia free?
Yes. Free and open source.
Is Opera Neon free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month.
Which has an AI agent, Ardia or Opera Neon?
Opera Neon. Ardia has no AI of its own. Neon Chat talks about your tabs, Neon Do acts in your live session, research agents dig, and Make builds apps and media on Opera’s servers.
Which runs on Windows, Ardia or Opera Neon?
Opera Neon does. Ardia runs on Mac.
Do Ardia and Opera Neon have phone apps?
Ardia has no phone app: Mac only. Opera Neon has no phone app yet: Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given.
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 Opera Neon’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
- Opera Neon home page
- Opera Neon subscription and plan comparison
- Opera Neon FAQ (platforms, models, MCP, privacy, retention)
- Opera Neon news index
- Your AI agents can use Opera Neon free of charge (Aug 12, 2026)
- Opera Neon adds MCP Connector (Mar 31, 2026)
- Introducing opera-browser-cli (May 12, 2026)
- opera-browser-cli README (profile behavior)
- opera-devtools-mcp README (Chromium-based, Claude Code and Cursor setup)
- Opera Neon ships (Sep 30, 2025; Tasks, Do, Make, ad blocker, VPN)
- Opera Neon public early access (Dec 11, 2025)
- Opera press release: MCP Connector
- Prompt injection in Opera Neon: rapid response (Oct 23, 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.