YabComet 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.
Arc is The Browser Company’s Chromium browser for Mac and Windows that put tabs down the side, with spaces, folders and Split View. It has had no new features since May 2025; it still gets security fixes, and its makers point people to Dia.
The short answer
- 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 use it today and want its sidebar, spaces and Split View exactly as they are
- if you want a free browser with no paid AI plans
- if you need the same layout on Windows
- 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
At a glance
Comet and Arc, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Perplexity Comet | Arc | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Perplexity | The Browser Company (Atlassian) | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Security fixes only | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android | Mac and Windows | Mac |
| Phone app | iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet | Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins | Not yet |
| Price | Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use | Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too | 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 | No | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | Not stated | Yes | Yes |
| Spaces | Not stated | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | No | 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.
AIComet leads
Only Comet has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Comet’s assistant answers about pages and open tabs and can click, fill forms and navigate for you, asking before it acts. Arc Max helpers tidy tab titles and downloads, preview links and put ChatGPT in the command bar; Ask on Page was removed in August 2025, and there is no agent.
Tabs and windowsArc leads
Comet has Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Arc has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceArc leads
Comet: Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use. Arc: Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too.
Where it runsComet leads
Comet runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. Arc runs on Mac and Windows. On a Mac, Comet needs macOS 13 or later and Arc needs macOS 13 or later. On the phone, Comet: iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet. On the phone, Arc: Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins.
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
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. Arc has no ad blocker of its own. Arc needs an account; The Browser Company says it doesn’t see which sites you visit, and Arc Max sends page data to OpenAI and Anthropic.
UpdatesComet leads
Comet is updated as usual. Arc: No new features since May 2025; Chromium security updates still come, the latest on October 8, 2026.
What their pages don’t lead with
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
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)
Arc
- No new features since May 2025, only security updates
- Needs an Arc account
- No ad blocker of its own
- On phones, Arc Search is a separate search app
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 4, 2026Comet: Ninth Circuit vacated the injunction Amazon won against Comet’s shopping agent
- March 18, 2026Comet: Comet for iPhone released
- October 21, 2025Arc: Atlassian completed its purchase of The Browser Company
- October 2, 2025Comet: Browser made free for everyone worldwide
- August 28, 2025Arc: Ask On Page removed from Arc Max
- May 26, 2025Arc: The Browser Company stopped feature work on Arc to focus on Dia
Questions
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.
Is Arc free?
Yes. Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too.
Which has an AI agent, Comet or Arc?
Comet. Comet’s assistant answers about pages and open tabs and can click, fill forms and navigate for you, asking before it acts. Arc Max helpers tidy tab titles and downloads, preview links and put ChatGPT in the command bar; Ask on Page was removed in August 2025, and there is no agent.
Do Comet and Arc run on Windows?
Yes, both. Comet runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android; Arc on Mac and Windows.
Do Comet and Arc have phone apps?
On the phone, Comet: iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet. On the phone, Arc: Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins.
Is Arc still being updated?
No new features since May 2025; Chromium security updates still come, the latest on October 8, 2026.
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 Arc; an agent in your signed-in tabs like Comet’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
- 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)
- Arc home page (Chromium updates only, Mac and Windows downloads)
- Letter to Arc members, 2025-05-26
- Arc for macOS release notes
- Arc for Windows release notes
- Arc macOS update feed (minimum macOS 13.0; universal binary)
- Arc unsupported devices
- Arc Max help article
- Arc import help article
- Arc ad blocking and Manifest V3
- Arc saved passwords
- Why Arc needs an account
- Arc Spaces
- Arc Split View
- Arc Folders
- Arc Search for iOS and Android
- Arc Search on the App Store (1.48.0, 2026-08-12)
- Arc Search for Android release notes
- Arc privacy policy
- Atlassian completes acquisition of The Browser Company (Business Wire)
- Arc Help: Arc Sync (what syncs, not on Android)
- Google Play: Arc Search (updated Sep 1, 2026)
- Arc Help: Arc Search for iOS release notes (iPad layout, June 20, 2024)
- TidBITS: Arc Search iPhone app now syncs Arc sidebar tabs (2024-04-29)
- 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.