YabAside vs Vivaldi
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.
Vivaldi is a Chromium browser with a setting for nearly everything, mail, calendar and feeds built in, a free Proton VPN and no AI by design, on every desktop and phone.
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 mail, calendar, feeds, notes and a VPN in the browser
- if you want to customize nearly everything, and no AI
- if you need one browser on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android
- 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 Vivaldi, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Aside | Vivaldi | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Aside Computer Inc. (YC Fall 2025) | Vivaldi Technologies | 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, history and notes | Not yet |
| Price | Free with 500 AI credits a month; Pro $20/month; Max $200/month; or your own ChatGPT or Claude plan | Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | An agent that works in pages, on its own AI or yours | No AI | 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 | 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. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice.
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. Vivaldi 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. Vivaldi has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceAside leads
Aside: Free with 500 AI credits a month; Pro $20/month; Max $200/month; or your own ChatGPT or Claude plan. Vivaldi: Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account.
Where it runsVivaldi leads
Aside runs on Mac and Windows. Vivaldi runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Aside needs macOS 15 or later and Vivaldi 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, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes.
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.
PrivacyVivaldi 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. Vivaldi has an ad blocker built in and a VPN. Vivaldi sends a daily ping with a unique ID, version and rough location to count users; crash logs only if you opt in.
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
Vivaldi
- No AI assistant or agent, by design
- Tabs down the side are a setting, not the default
- Its interface code isn’t open source
- Sends a daily usage ping with a unique ID
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)
- May 21, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 8.0 redesigned the interface
- February 25, 2026Aside: First Aside Browser release for macOS
- January 29, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 7.8 restated its no-AI stance
- March 27, 2025Vivaldi: Proton VPN built into Vivaldi on desktop
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 Vivaldi free?
Yes. Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account.
Which has an AI agent, Aside or Vivaldi?
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. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice.
Do Aside and Vivaldi run on Windows?
Yes, both. Aside runs on Mac and Windows; Vivaldi on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Do Aside and Vivaldi have phone apps?
Vivaldi 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, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes.
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
- Vivaldi features
- Vivaldi download (macOS 13+, universal; Windows, Linux, Android, iOS)
- Vivaldi macOS update feed (8.2.4133.84, minimum 13.0)
- Vivaldi desktop releases
- Vivaldi 8.2 release
- Vivaldi 8.0 release
- Vivaldi 7.8 release (no AI)
- Proton VPN built into Vivaldi, 2025-03-27
- Proton VPN for Vivaldi help
- Vivaldi tracker and ad blocker
- Vivaldi Memory Saver (automatic tab hibernation)
- Vivaldi Workspaces
- Vivaldi Tab Tiling
- Vivaldi Tab Stacks
- Vivaldi Tab Bar position
- Vivaldi import and export
- Is Vivaldi open source?
- Vivaldi browser privacy policy
- Vivaldi Help: Sync browser data on iOS
- Vivaldi Help: Sync browser data on Android
- Vivaldi blog: Introducing Vivaldi on iOS (Sep 28, 2023)
- Vivaldi on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Vivaldi 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.