YabAtlas vs Comet
ChatGPT Atlas was OpenAI’s Chromium browser for the Mac, with ChatGPT beside every page and an agent mode. OpenAI shut it down on August 9, 2026, and points people to the ChatGPT desktop app and its Chrome extension.
Comet is Perplexity’s free Chromium browser for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with Perplexity’s search and an assistant that can act on pages for you.
Atlas is gone: OpenAI shut it down on August 9, 2026. Comet is still made, free, and on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, so it is the nearest thing to Atlas that still works.
The short answer
- OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates
- if you use Perplexity and want its search and agent in the browser
- if you want one AI browser on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android
- if you want a free Chromium browser with an ad blocker built in
- if you already pay for Claude or ChatGPT and want it to work in your signed-in tabs
- if you miss Arc and want spaces, pins and folders kept, on a Mac
At a glance
Atlas and Comet, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | ChatGPT Atlas | Perplexity Comet | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | OpenAI | Perplexity | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Shut down August 9, 2026 | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac | Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android | Mac |
| Phone app | None; Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026 | iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet | Not yet |
| Price | Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans | Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | An agent that works in pages, on its own AI service | 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 | No | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | Not stated | Yes |
| Spaces | Not stated | Not stated | Yes |
| Split View | Not stated | Yes | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Not stated | 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.
AIa matter of taste
Both have an agent that works in your pages. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works. Comet’s assistant answers about pages and open tabs and can click, fill forms and navigate for you, asking before it acts.
Tabs and windowseven
Atlas has tabs down the side as a setting and folders in the sidebar. Comet has Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceComet leads
Atlas: Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans. Comet: Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use.
Where it runsComet leads
Atlas runs on Mac. Comet runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Atlas needs macOS 14.2 or later and Comet needs macOS 13 or later. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026. On the phone, Comet: iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet.
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.
PrivacyComet leads
Atlas has no ad blocker of its own. Atlas summed up pages for browser memories and deleted the originals; training on browsing was off by default. Comet has an ad blocker built in. Comet keeps history, cookies and passwords on your device unless you sync; the assistant sends the page it needs to Perplexity, kept up to 30 days.
UpdatesComet leads
Atlas: OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates. Comet is updated as usual.
What their pages don’t lead with
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
ChatGPT Atlas
- Shut down on August 9, 2026, with no more security updates
- Was Mac only, on Apple silicon
- Bookmarks, tabs and history had to be exported by hand
- Agent mode needed a paid ChatGPT plan
Perplexity Comet
- Free use of the assistant is limited; more agent use is Pro at $20 or Max at $200
- No MCP server or command line from Perplexity for coding agents
- Researchers showed prompt-injection attacks on its agent in 2025 (CometJacking)
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
- August 9, 2026Atlas: Atlas shut down
- August 4, 2026Comet: Ninth Circuit vacated the injunction Amazon won against Comet’s shopping agent
- July 9, 2026Atlas: OpenAI said it will sunset Atlas for the new ChatGPT desktop app
- March 18, 2026Comet: Comet for iPhone released
- October 21, 2025Atlas: Launched for macOS
- October 2, 2025Comet: Browser made free for everyone worldwide
Questions
Is ChatGPT Atlas free?
It no longer works. Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans.
Is Perplexity Comet free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use.
Which has an AI agent, Atlas or Comet?
Both. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works. Comet’s assistant answers about pages and open tabs and can click, fill forms and navigate for you, asking before it acts.
Which runs on Windows, Atlas or Comet?
Comet does. Atlas runs on Mac.
Do Atlas and Comet have phone apps?
Comet does. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026. On the phone, Comet: iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet.
Is ChatGPT Atlas shut down?
OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates.
Is there a third option on a Mac?
Yab, Yet Another Browser, is free for the Mac: tabs down the side as in Arc, with spaces, folders and Split View; an agent in your signed-in tabs like Atlas’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
- OpenAI help: Evolving Atlas into ChatGPT (retirement notice)
- OpenAI help: Atlas release notes (vertical tabs, tab groups, imports, profiles)
- OpenAI help: Getting started with Atlas (macOS 14.2, Apple silicon)
- OpenAI help: Setting up Atlas (imports, password manager)
- OpenAI help: Atlas data controls and privacy
- 9to5Mac: OpenAI is discontinuing Atlas (Jul 9, 2026, James Sun quote)
- 9to5Mac: what happens when Atlas shuts down (Aug 4, 2026)
- TechRepublic: Atlas shuts down Aug 9
- TechCrunch: Atlas launch (Oct 21, 2025)
- Wikipedia: ChatGPT Atlas (Chromium, timeline)
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT Atlas retirement
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT release notes (Jul 9, 2026 deprecation entry)
- TechRadar: Atlas for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android ’coming soon’ (Oct 2025)
- Comet help: Operating System Requirements
- Comet help: What is Comet’s browser engine?
- Comet help: Browser features (split view, ad block, extensions, profiles)
- Comet help: Import data
- Comet help: Key settings (memory saver, tab groups)
- Comet help: Built-in password manager
- Comet help: Local data and device storage
- Comet help: Assistant privacy and data use
- Comet Quick Start Guide (Chrome import)
- Comet Assistant vs Agent
- Perplexity changelog Nov 14, 2025 (assistant asks approval before acting)
- Perplexity blog: Introducing Comet Plus ($5)
- Perplexity help: Perplexity Max
- Perplexity help: Local and remote MCPs
- App Store listing (iOS 18+, Pro $20, Max $200)
- TechCrunch: Comet now free (Oct 2, 2025)
- TechCrunch: Comet on Android (Nov 20, 2025)
- MacRumors: Comet on iPhone (Mar 18, 2026)
- Jones Day: Ninth Circuit vacates injunction (Aug 4, 2026)
- LayerX: CometJacking
- Community comet-mcp (not by Perplexity)
- Google Play: Comet: AI Browser & Assistant (updated Sep 24, 2026)
- Comet Help Center: Sync Between Devices
- Perplexity changelog: Comet iOS launch, pair mobile and desktop with device sync (Mar 27, 2026)
- Perplexity blog: Comet is now available on iOS
- Perplexity blog: Comet for Android is here
- MacStories: Comet for iOS review (sync chain, iPad version)
- 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.