YabAside vs Opera
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.
Opera One is Opera’s free Chromium browser on every desktop and phone, with a free browser VPN, an ad blocker, messengers in the sidebar and Opera AI. Its agents are in a separate browser, Opera Neon.
The short answer
- 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
- if you want a free browser VPN and an ad blocker built in
- if you keep WhatsApp, Telegram or Slack open in a sidebar
- if you sort work into workspaces, Tab Islands and split screen
- 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 Opera, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Aside | Opera | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Aside Computer Inc. (YC Fall 2025) | Opera | 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 and Speed Dials with an Opera 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 Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid | 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 service | An agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| Driven by outside agents | MCP and a command line | MCP | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | Yes | A setting | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Yes | 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 | 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.
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. Opera AI answers about the page, Tab Islands, videos and files, and makes images, with no account; it doesn’t click or fill forms.
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. Opera can be driven over MCP, through Browser Connector, in early testing, which lets ChatGPT or Claude read and open tabs but not click or type.
Tabs and windowsAside leads
Aside has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Opera has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceOpera leads
Aside: Free with 500 AI credits a month; Pro $20/month; Max $200/month; or your own ChatGPT or Claude plan. Opera: Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid.
Where it runsOpera leads
Aside runs on Mac and Windows. Opera runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Aside needs macOS 15 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, Opera: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera 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.
PrivacyOpera 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. Opera has an ad blocker built in and a VPN. Opera AI sends only the current page or Tab Island when you write with page access on; Opera says it doesn’t send your history.
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
Opera
- Opera AI only chats and sums up; agents need Opera Neon at $19.90 a month
- The free VPN covers the browser only, with three locations
- The ad blocker is off until you turn it on
- Browser Connector is in early testing and needs an Opera account
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 23, 2026Opera: Vertical tabs shipped to all Opera One users
- April 16, 2026Opera: Browser Connector lets ChatGPT and Claude read your tabs over MCP (Early Bird)
- February 25, 2026Aside: First Aside Browser release for macOS
- December 11, 2025Opera: Opera AI replaced Aria in Opera One, GX and Air
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 Opera free?
Yes. Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid.
Which has an AI agent, Aside or Opera?
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. Opera AI answers about the page, Tab Islands, videos and files, and makes images, with no account; it doesn’t click or fill forms.
Do Aside and Opera run on Windows?
Yes, both. Aside runs on Mac and Windows; Opera on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Do Aside and Opera have phone apps?
Opera 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, Opera: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera 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 home page
- Aside pricing
- Aside download page (macOS and Windows)
- Aside help: Get started (macOS 15 or later, import)
- Aside help: Manage your subscription
- Aside help: Configure AI providers
- Aside help: CLI, MCP and REPL
- Aside help: Browser basics (split tabs)
- Aside help: Password autofill and AI access policy
- Aside help: Privacy (analytics default on)
- Aside Browser changelog (Chromium, Windows, Memory Saver, imports, Intel fix)
- Aside components changelog (ad blocking, Sept 21 2026)
- Aside privacy policy (June 23 2026)
- Y Combinator company page
- Aside job listing: MTS, Mobile Engineer (iOS), build the iOS app from the ground up
- PiunikaWeb (Jul 20, 2026): Aside team member says a mobile app will ship soon
- Opera blog: Opera AI comes to Opera One, GX and Air
- Opera AI feature page
- Opera blog: Browser Connector
- Opera press: Browser Connector (2026-04-16)
- Opera blog: Opera 133 stable, vertical tabs (2026-07-23)
- Opera blog: how vertical tabs work
- Opera blog: Opera One R3
- Opera blog: new native ad blocker (2026-05-14)
- Opera free VPN page
- Opera Workspaces page (split screen, messengers)
- Opera Help: features (tab snoozing, messengers, workspaces)
- Opera Help: security and privacy (ad blocker, VPN)
- Opera Help: Password Manager
- Opera Help: import browsing data
- Opera Help FAQ: Chrome Web Store extensions
- Opera system requirements
- Opera Neon subscription
- Opera blog: Neon free plan for outside agents (2026-08-14)
- Opera blog: Opera One for iOS brings full synchronization (Jul 9, 2026)
- Opera: Sync your Opera browsers
- Opera: Flow / My Flow
- Opera Help (iOS): Connect your computer and phone with Flow
- Opera Browser with VPN on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Opera: Private Web Browser on Google Play
- 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.