BrowserOS vs Chrome

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

BrowserOS is an open-source Chromium agent browser for Mac, Windows and Linux. Its agent runs on the AI you connect: an API key, a ChatGPT or Copilot plan, Claude Code or Codex, or a local model.

Chrome is Google’s browser on every desktop and phone, with Gemini built in. Its auto browse agent works in your own signed-in Chrome on a paid Google AI plan, in the US and India.

The short answer

Pick BrowserOS

if you want an open-source agent browser on your own AI keys or local models
if you want Claude Code, Codex or Cursor to drive a signed-in browser over MCP
if you use Linux

Pick Chrome

if you live in Google’s apps and want Gemini across Gmail, Calendar and your tabs
if you pay for Google AI Pro and want an agent in your own signed-in browser
if you need the same browser on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android

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

BrowserOS and Chrome, with Yab beside them for a Mac.

BrowserOS vs Chrome
What	BrowserOS	Google Chrome	Yab
Made by	Felafax, Inc.	Google	Serafim Korablev
Status	Updated	Updated	Updated
Runs on	Mac, Windows and Linux	Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android	Mac
Phone app	None; desktop only, and no Android plans as of May 2026	iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history	Not yet
Price	Free and open source; you pay your own AI provider	Free, with Gemini; its auto browse agent needs Google AI Pro $19.99/month or Ultra	Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan
AI	An agent that works in pages, on its own AI or yours	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	MCP and a command line	MCP and a command line	MCP and a command line
Engine	Chromium	Chromium	WebKit
Tabs down the side	Yes	A setting	Yes
Spaces	No	No	Yes
Split View	Yes	Yes	Yes
Extensions	Chrome Web Store	Chrome Web Store	Chrome Web Store
Ad blocker	No	No	Built in
Open source	Yes	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. BrowserOS’s agent, in the new tab and side panel, clicks, types, fills forms and pulls out data, on the AI you connect. Gemini chats about your tabs and sums up pages and videos; auto browse clicks, types and fills forms in your own Chrome, on Google AI Pro or Ultra, in the US and India.

Agents like Claude Code and Codexeven

BrowserOS can be driven over MCP and a command line, through a built-in MCP server with one-click setup for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor, and a command line. Chrome can be driven over MCP and a command line, through Google’s Chrome DevTools MCP, which starts its own profile unless you let it attach to your Chrome.

Tabs and windowsBrowserOS leads

BrowserOS has tabs down the side, Split View and folders in the sidebar. Chrome has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.

PriceBrowserOS leads

BrowserOS: Free and open source; you pay your own AI provider. Chrome: Free, with Gemini; its auto browse agent needs Google AI Pro $19.99/month or Ultra.

Where it runsChrome leads

BrowserOS runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. Chrome runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Chrome needs macOS 13 or later. BrowserOS has no phone app: desktop only, and no Android plans as of May 2026. On the phone, Chrome: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history.

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.

PrivacyBrowserOS leads

BrowserOS has open code. BrowserOS sends prompts and pages only to the AI you connect, or keeps them local with Ollama or LM Studio; it sends anonymous usage analytics. Chrome has no ad blocker of its own. Tabs you share with Gemini go to Google; with Keep Activity on, chats are kept 18 months by default and may be reviewed and used to train models.

What their pages don’t lead with

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

BrowserOS

No built-in model since version 0.51: connect a provider before the agent works
Its own docs say local models are too weak for agent tasks
Before 1.0 and changing fast: Skills and Memory were pulled in June 2026
No phone apps

Google Chrome

Auto browse needs Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month) or Ultra, in the US and India only
Gemini needs a signed-in Google account
With Keep Activity on, people may review your Gemini chats and Google may train on them
No ad blocker of its own

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

October 5, 2026BrowserOS: Built-in model and account sign-in removed; Chromium 155 (0.51.0)
June 17, 2026BrowserOS: Claude Code and Codex built into the agent; Skills and Memory removed (0.46.0)
April 7, 2026Chrome: Vertical tabs began rolling out as an option
March 9, 2026BrowserOS: Vertical tabs became the default (0.42.0)
February 19, 2026Chrome: Split view for two tabs in one window
January 28, 2026Chrome: Auto browse agent launched in preview for Google AI Pro and Ultra in the US

Questions

Is BrowserOS free?

Yes. Free and open source; you pay your own AI provider.

Is Google Chrome free?

Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, with Gemini; its auto browse agent needs Google AI Pro $19.99/month or Ultra.

Which has an AI agent, BrowserOS or Chrome?

Both. BrowserOS’s agent, in the new tab and side panel, clicks, types, fills forms and pulls out data, on the AI you connect. Gemini chats about your tabs and sums up pages and videos; auto browse clicks, types and fills forms in your own Chrome, on Google AI Pro or Ultra, in the US and India.

Do BrowserOS and Chrome run on Windows?

Yes, both. BrowserOS runs on Mac, Windows and Linux; Chrome on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.

Do BrowserOS and Chrome have phone apps?

Chrome does. BrowserOS has no phone app: desktop only, and no Android plans as of May 2026. On the phone, Chrome: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history.

Can I move from Chrome to BrowserOS?

Yes: BrowserOS’s own help says it brings in from Chrome.

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

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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.

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