YabAtlas vs Opera
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.
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
- OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates
- 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
Atlas and Opera, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | ChatGPT Atlas | Opera | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | OpenAI | Opera | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Shut down August 9, 2026 | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac |
| Phone app | None; Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026 | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account | Not yet |
| Price | Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans | 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 service | Chat about pages, on its own AI service | An agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| Driven by outside agents | No | MCP | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | A setting | Yes |
| Spaces | Not stated | Yes | 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.
AIAtlas leads
Only Atlas has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works. 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 CodexOpera leads
Atlas has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. 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 windowsOpera leads
Atlas has tabs down the side as a setting and folders in the sidebar. Opera has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceOpera leads
Atlas: Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans. Opera: Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid.
Where it runsOpera leads
Atlas runs on Mac. Opera runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Atlas needs macOS 14.2 or later. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026. 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
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. 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.
UpdatesOpera leads
Atlas: OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates. Opera 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
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
- August 9, 2026Atlas: Atlas shut down
- July 23, 2026Opera: Vertical tabs shipped to all Opera One users
- July 9, 2026Atlas: OpenAI said it will sunset Atlas for the new ChatGPT desktop app
- April 16, 2026Opera: Browser Connector lets ChatGPT and Claude read your tabs over MCP (Early Bird)
- December 11, 2025Opera: Opera AI replaced Aria in Opera One, GX and Air
- October 21, 2025Atlas: Launched for macOS
Questions
Is ChatGPT Atlas free?
It no longer works. Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans.
Is Opera free?
Yes. Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid.
Which has an AI agent, Atlas or Opera?
Atlas. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works. Opera AI answers about the page, Tab Islands, videos and files, and makes images, with no account; it doesn’t click or fill forms.
Which runs on Windows, Atlas or Opera?
Opera does. Atlas runs on Mac.
Do Atlas and Opera have phone apps?
Opera does. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026. On the phone, Opera: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account.
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 with spaces, folders and Split View, as in Opera; 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)
- 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.