Dia vs Chrome

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

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.

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.

Dia is Chromium too, so sites and extensions work as in Chrome. The difference is the AI and its price: Gemini in Chrome is free and Chrome’s agent needs Google AI Pro, while Dia’s AI needs a $20 or $100 plan.

The short answer

Pick Dia

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

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

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

Dia vs Chrome
What	Dia	Google Chrome	Yab
Made by	The Browser Company (Atlassian)	Google	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	Not yet
Price	Browser free; AI on Better Answers $20/month or Better Days $100/month	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	Chat about pages, on its own AI service	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	No	MCP and a command line	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	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.

AIChrome leads

Only Chrome has an agent that clicks, types and finishes 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. 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 CodexChrome leads

Dia has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. 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 windowsDia leads

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

PriceChrome leads

Dia: Browser free; AI on Better Answers $20/month or Better Days $100/month. Chrome: Free, with Gemini; its auto browse agent needs Google AI Pro $19.99/month or Ultra.

Where it runsChrome leads

Dia runs on Mac and Windows. Chrome runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Dia needs macOS 14 or later and Chrome needs macOS 13 or later. Dia has no phone app. 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.

PrivacyDia 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. 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.

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

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 6, 2026Dia: Dia 1.0 for Windows released
August 17, 2026Dia: Paid AI plans started rolling out to new Mac users
April 7, 2026Chrome: Vertical tabs began rolling out as an option
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
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 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, Dia or Chrome?

Chrome. 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. 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 Dia and Chrome run on Windows?

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

Do Dia and Chrome have phone apps?

Chrome does. Dia has no phone app. On the phone, Chrome: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history.

Can I move from Chrome to Dia?

Yes: Dia’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 Dia; an agent in your signed-in tabs like Chrome’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 vs Dia Atlas vs Dia Opera Neon vs Dia Aside vs Dia Dia vs Safari Dia vs Edge Dia vs Firefox Dia alternatives Yab vs Dia Safari vs Chrome Edge vs Chrome Firefox vs Chrome Brave vs Chrome Opera vs Chrome Arc vs Chrome Comet vs Chrome Chrome alternatives Yab vs Chrome

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 Dia Download