YabBrowserOS vs Dia
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.
Dia is the AI browser The Browser Company builds now instead of Arc. It is Chromium-based, for Macs with Apple silicon and, since October 2026, Windows, and its AI chats with your tabs and the tools you connect.
The short answer
- 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
- if you want the current browser from Arc’s makers, with Arc import and tabs down the side as a setting
- if you want AI that chats across your tabs, Gmail, Slack and Notion, and will pay for it
- if you want a free browser with an ad blocker and no AI
- 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 Dia, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | BrowserOS | Dia | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Felafax, Inc. | The Browser Company (Atlassian) | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows and Linux | Mac and Windows | Mac |
| Phone app | None; desktop only, and no Android plans as of May 2026 | None | Not yet |
| Price | Free and open source; you pay your own AI provider | Browser free; AI on Better Answers $20/month or Better Days $100/month | 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 | No | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | Yes | A setting | Yes |
| Spaces | No | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | No | Built in | 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.
AIBrowserOS leads
Only BrowserOS has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks 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. Dia chats with your tabs and the tools you connect, like Gmail, Slack and Notion, and drafts mail and invites; there is no documented agent that works through sites.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexBrowserOS leads
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. Dia has no MCP server or command line for outside agents.
Tabs and windowseven
BrowserOS has tabs down the side, Split View and folders in the sidebar. Dia has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceBrowserOS leads
BrowserOS: Free and open source; you pay your own AI provider. Dia: Browser free; AI on Better Answers $20/month or Better Days $100/month.
Where it runsBrowserOS leads
BrowserOS runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. Dia runs on Mac and Windows. On a Mac, Dia needs macOS 14 or later. BrowserOS has no phone app: desktop only, and no Android plans as of May 2026. Dia has no phone app.
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.
Privacyeven
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. Dia has an ad blocker built in. Dia’s chat goes through its servers to Anthropic, OpenAI and Google; chats and history stay on your Mac, and content sharing is on by default, kept 30 days.
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
Dia
- AI costs $20 or $100 a month for new users; the free plan has none after a 14-day trial
- On a Mac it needs Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later
- Its AI chats and drafts, but there is no documented agent that works through sites
- No MCP server or command line for outside agents
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 6, 2026Dia: Dia 1.0 for Windows released
- October 5, 2026BrowserOS: Built-in model and account sign-in removed; Chromium 155 (0.51.0)
- August 17, 2026Dia: Paid AI plans started rolling out to new Mac users
- June 17, 2026BrowserOS: Claude Code and Codex built into the agent; Skills and Memory removed (0.46.0)
- March 9, 2026BrowserOS: Vertical tabs became the default (0.42.0)
- October 21, 2025Dia: Atlassian completed its acquisition of The Browser Company
Questions
Is BrowserOS free?
Yes. Free and open source; you pay your own AI provider.
Is Dia free?
The browser is; its AI isn’t. Browser free; AI on Better Answers $20/month or Better Days $100/month.
Which has an AI agent, BrowserOS or Dia?
BrowserOS. BrowserOS’s agent, in the new tab and side panel, clicks, types, fills forms and pulls out data, on the AI you connect. Dia chats with your tabs and the tools you connect, like Gmail, Slack and Notion, and drafts mail and invites; there is no documented agent that works through sites.
Do BrowserOS and Dia run on Windows?
Yes, both. BrowserOS runs on Mac, Windows and Linux; Dia on Mac and Windows.
Do BrowserOS and Dia have phone apps?
BrowserOS has no phone app: desktop only, and no Android plans as of May 2026. Dia has no phone app.
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
- BrowserOS GitHub repo (README)
- BrowserOS README (browser for humans)
- BrowserOS v0.51.0 release notes
- BrowserOS changelog
- BrowserOS docs: vertical tabs
- BrowserOS docs: ad blocking
- BrowserOS docs: getting started
- BrowserOS docs: MCP clients
- BrowserOS site FAQ
- BrowserOS privacy policy (updated 2026-03-13)
- BrowserOS site: macOS, Windows, Linux
- GitHub issue #1030 (May 25, 2026): maintainer says no plans to add Android support
- BrowserOS docs, Sync to Cloud: chats, model settings, schedules and profile sync between desktops
- Dia plans and pricing FAQ
- Dia home page (macOS and Windows, ad and tracker blocking)
- Dia changelog (Chromium M155, Windows 1.0, tab sleep, sidebar or top tabs, AppleScript, memory retired)
- Dia release notes 1.52.0 (Oct 8, 2026)
- Dia download FAQ (import from Chrome, Safari, Edge, Arc)
- Dia security (AI providers, retention, local storage)
- MacRumors: Dia generally available, macOS 14 and Apple silicon
- PiunikaWeb: Dia $20 and $100 plans (Aug 18, 2026)
- Atlassian completes acquisition (Oct 21, 2025)
- Dia home page: ’Available for macOS and Windows’
- PiunikaWeb: Dia ’iPhone Tabs’ menu spotted, no public app (2026-08-25)
- 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.