BrowserOS vs Vivaldi

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.

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

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 Vivaldi

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

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 Vivaldi, with Yab beside them for a Mac.

BrowserOS vs Vivaldi
What	BrowserOS	Vivaldi	Yab
Made by	Felafax, Inc.	Vivaldi Technologies	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, history and notes	Not yet
Price	Free and open source; you pay your own AI provider	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	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. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice.

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. Vivaldi 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. Vivaldi 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. Vivaldi: Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account.

Where it runsVivaldi leads

BrowserOS runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. Vivaldi runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Vivaldi needs macOS 13 or later. BrowserOS has no phone app: desktop only, and no Android plans as of May 2026. 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

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. 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.

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

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

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)
May 21, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 8.0 redesigned the interface
March 9, 2026BrowserOS: Vertical tabs became the default (0.42.0)
January 29, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 7.8 restated its no-AI stance
March 27, 2025Vivaldi: Proton VPN built into Vivaldi on desktop

Questions

Is BrowserOS free?

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

Is Vivaldi free?

Yes. Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account.

Which has an AI agent, BrowserOS or Vivaldi?

BrowserOS. BrowserOS’s agent, in the new tab and side panel, clicks, types, fills forms and pulls out data, on the AI you connect. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice.

Do BrowserOS and Vivaldi run on Windows?

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

Do BrowserOS and Vivaldi have phone apps?

Vivaldi does. BrowserOS has no phone app: desktop only, and no Android plans as of May 2026. 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 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 vs Dia BrowserOS vs Comet BrowserOS vs Atlas BrowserOS vs Opera Neon BrowserOS vs Chrome BrowserOS vs Safari BrowserOS vs Edge BrowserOS alternatives Yab vs BrowserOS Vivaldi vs Arc Zen vs Vivaldi Orion vs Vivaldi SigmaOS vs Vivaldi Vivaldi vs Chrome Vivaldi vs Safari Vivaldi vs Edge Vivaldi alternatives Yab vs Vivaldi

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.

it’s freeMove from Vivaldi Download