Aside vs Brave

We make Yab, the third column.facts checked Oct 9 ↓

Aside is an AI agent browser from a Y Combinator startup, on Chromium, for Mac and Windows. Its agent does multi-step work in the sites you are signed in to, on Aside’s own models or your ChatGPT or Claude plan.

Brave is an open-source Chromium browser that blocks ads and trackers by default, with Leo, an AI chat that needs no account, on every desktop and phone.

The short answer

Pick Aside

if you want an agent for multi-step work across your signed-in sites, on Mac or Windows
if you want a free plan with AI credits, or to bring your ChatGPT or Claude plan
if you want Claude Code or Codex to drive it over MCP or its command line

Pick Brave

if you want ads and trackers blocked by default
if you want AI chat without an account, or on your own local model
if you need the same browser on every desktop and phone

Or Yabours

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

Aside and Brave, with Yab beside them for a Mac.

Aside vs Brave
What	Aside	Brave	Yab
Made by	Aside Computer Inc. (YC Fall 2025)	Brave Software	Serafim Korablev
Status	Updated	Updated	Updated
Runs on	Mac and Windows	Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android	Mac
Phone app	None yet; an iPhone app is in the works. Pro runs its agent from Slack or Telegram	iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account	Not yet
Price	Free with 500 AI credits a month; Pro $20/month; Max $200/month; or your own ChatGPT or Claude plan	Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month	Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan
AI	An agent that works in pages, on its own AI or yours	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	MCP and a command line	No	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	Built in	Built in	Built in
Open source	No	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.

AIAside leads

Only Aside has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Aside’s agent runs multi-step tasks in your signed-in sites, signs in from its own password vault without seeing the passwords, and asks before payments, posts and messages. Leo chats about your tabs, PDFs and images, with no account, on Brave’s models or your own; an agent is in early testing behind a flag, in a separate profile without your sign-ins.

Agents like Claude Code and CodexAside leads

Aside can be driven over MCP and a command line, through the aside command line, with aside mcp as its MCP server. Brave has no MCP server or command line for outside agents.

Tabs and windowsAside leads

Aside has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Brave has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.

Priceeven

Aside: Free with 500 AI credits a month; Pro $20/month; Max $200/month; or your own ChatGPT or Claude plan. Brave: Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month.

Where it runsBrave leads

Aside runs on Mac and Windows. Brave runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Aside needs macOS 15 or later and Brave needs macOS 13 or later. Aside has no phone app yet: an iPhone app is in the works. Pro runs its agent from Slack or Telegram. On the phone, Brave: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account.

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.

PrivacyBrave leads

Aside has an ad blocker built in. Aside keeps task transcripts and files on your Mac; model providers get the prompts, page snapshots and screenshots a task needs, and analytics sharing is on by default. Brave has an ad blocker built in, a VPN and open code. Brave says Leo doesn’t keep or share chats, doesn’t train on them and doesn’t collect identifiers like IP addresses.

What their pages don’t lead with

Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.

Aside

The free plan has 500 AI credits a month; more is Pro at $20 or Max at $200
Mac (macOS 15 or later) and Windows only, no phone apps
Young: first released in February 2026, on Windows since September 2026
Agents may use your saved passwords unless you change the default

Brave

More Leo models and higher limits need Leo Premium at $14.99 a month
Its AI agent is an early test behind a flag, without your sign-ins
The VPN is $9.99 a month extra
Tabs down the side are a setting, and there are no spaces

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 21, 2026Aside: Ad blocking with default filter lists turned on during setup
September 14, 2026Aside: Windows version officially available (release 1.0.914.1)
July 2, 2026Brave: Containers added in Brave 1.92 for separate cookies per tab
June 4, 2026Brave: Brave Origin launched: a paid, minimal Brave without Leo, Rewards, Wallet and VPN
May 5, 2026Brave: Leo agentic AI browsing opened for early testing on all release channels, behind a flag
February 25, 2026Aside: First Aside Browser release for macOS

Questions

Is Aside free?

Yes, with limits on its AI. Free with 500 AI credits a month; Pro $20/month; Max $200/month; or your own ChatGPT or Claude plan.

Is Brave free?

Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month.

Which has an AI agent, Aside or Brave?

Aside. Aside’s agent runs multi-step tasks in your signed-in sites, signs in from its own password vault without seeing the passwords, and asks before payments, posts and messages. Leo chats about your tabs, PDFs and images, with no account, on Brave’s models or your own; an agent is in early testing behind a flag, in a separate profile without your sign-ins.

Do Aside and Brave run on Windows?

Yes, both. Aside runs on Mac and Windows; Brave on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.

Do Aside and Brave have phone apps?

Brave does. Aside has no phone app yet: an iPhone app is in the works. Pro runs its agent from Slack or Telegram. On the phone, Brave: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account.

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 Aside; an agent in your signed-in tabs like Aside’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

Aside vs Dia Aside vs Comet Aside vs Atlas Aside vs Opera Neon Aside vs Chrome Aside vs Safari Aside vs Edge Aside alternatives Yab vs Aside Brave vs Chrome Brave vs Safari Brave vs Edge Brave vs Firefox Opera vs Brave Arc vs Brave Dia vs Brave Brave alternatives Yab vs Brave

Sources, read October 9, 2026. Something out of date? Write to hello@serafimlabs.io and we fix it.

Yab, Yet Another Browser.

Free for the Mac. Arc’s sidebar, your own Claude or ChatGPT as the agent, Chrome extensions on WebKit.

it’s freeMove from Aside Download