YabDia 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.
Brave is an open-source Chromium browser that blocks ads and trackers by default, with Leo, an AI chat that needs no account, on every desktop and phone.
The short answer
- 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 want ads and trackers blocked by default
- if you want AI chat without an account, or on your own local model
- if you need the same browser on every desktop and phone
- 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
Dia and Brave, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Dia | Brave | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | The Browser Company (Atlassian) | Brave Software | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac and Windows | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac |
| Phone app | None | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account | Not yet |
| Price | Browser free; AI on Better Answers $20/month or Better Days $100/month | Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | Chat about pages, on its own AI service | Chat about pages, on its own AI or yours | 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 | A setting | A setting | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | No | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | Built in | Built in |
| Open source | No | Yes | 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 AI to ask about pages, and neither does the clicking for you. 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. Leo chats about your tabs, PDFs and images, with no account, on Brave’s models or your own; an agent is in early testing behind a flag, in a separate profile without your sign-ins.
Tabs and windowsDia leads
Dia has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Brave has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceBrave leads
Dia: Browser free; AI on Better Answers $20/month or Better Days $100/month. Brave: Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month.
Where it runsBrave leads
Dia runs on Mac and Windows. Brave runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Dia needs macOS 14 or later and Brave needs macOS 13 or later. Dia has no phone app. On the phone, Brave: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no 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.
PrivacyBrave leads
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. Brave has an ad blocker built in, a VPN and open code. Brave says Leo doesn’t keep or share chats, doesn’t train on them and doesn’t collect identifiers like IP addresses.
What their pages don’t lead with
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
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
Brave
- More Leo models and higher limits need Leo Premium at $14.99 a month
- Its AI agent is an early test behind a flag, without your sign-ins
- The VPN is $9.99 a month extra
- Tabs down the side are a setting, and there are no spaces
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
- August 17, 2026Dia: Paid AI plans started rolling out to new Mac users
- July 2, 2026Brave: Containers added in Brave 1.92 for separate cookies per tab
- June 4, 2026Brave: Brave Origin launched: a paid, minimal Brave without Leo, Rewards, Wallet and VPN
- May 5, 2026Brave: Leo agentic AI browsing opened for early testing on all release channels, behind a flag
- October 21, 2025Dia: Atlassian completed its acquisition of The Browser Company
Questions
Is Dia free?
The browser is; its AI isn’t. Browser free; AI on Better Answers $20/month or Better Days $100/month.
Is Brave free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month.
Which has an AI agent, Dia or Brave?
Neither has an agent that does tasks in your pages. 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. Leo chats about your tabs, PDFs and images, with no account, on Brave’s models or your own; an agent is in early testing behind a flag, in a separate profile without your sign-ins.
Do Dia and Brave run on Windows?
Yes, both. Dia runs on Mac and Windows; Brave on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Do Dia and Brave have phone apps?
Brave does. Dia has no phone app. On the phone, Brave: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account.
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 Dia; an agent that works in your signed-in tabs, 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
- 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)
- Brave Leo page
- Brave blog: AI browsing early testing (updated 2026-05-05)
- Brave Premium prices
- Brave Origin page
- Brave blog: Brave Origin launch
- Brave blog: Containers (v1.92)
- Brave blog: vertical tabs
- Brave desktop changelog (split view, tab groups, memory)
- What’s new in Brave desktop
- Brave Help: system requirements
- Brave release v1.97.56 notes
- Brave Help: import or export browsing data
- Brave: import passwords via CSV
- brave-browser repository (open source)
- Brave blog: Sync v2 for desktop and Android (Aug 13, 2020)
- Brave Help Center: How do I set up Sync?
- Brave release notes (iOS: Sync Chain and Tabs on Other Devices, 2026)
- Brave iOS source: sync types (bookmarks, history, passwords, open tabs)
- Brave on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Brave 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.