YabEdge vs Safari
Edge is Microsoft’s Chromium browser on every desktop and phone, with Copilot built in. Since Copilot Mode was retired in May 2026, its agent, Browse with Copilot, comes with Microsoft 365 Premium in the US.
Safari is Apple’s browser for Mac, iPhone and iPad, on WebKit, with Apple Intelligence for summaries and tab topics. Safari 27 also lets outside agents like Claude Code drive it over MCP.
The short answer
- if you use Microsoft 365 and want Copilot in the browser
- if you want tabs down the side, workspaces, split screen and sleeping tabs built in
- if you work on Windows with Edge set up by your company
- if you use a Mac and an iPhone and want your tabs and passwords on both
- if you want AI that runs on your Mac or on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute
- if you build sites and want Claude Code or Codex to test them in WebKit
- 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
Edge and Safari, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Microsoft Edge | Safari | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Microsoft | Apple | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac and iPhone | Mac |
| Phone app | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, favorites, passwords and history | Built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud | Not yet |
| Price | Free, with Copilot; Browse with Copilot needs Microsoft 365 Premium $19.99/month (US) | Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later | 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 | MCP and a command line | MCP | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | WebKit | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | No | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | No | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Safari’s, from the App Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | No | 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.
AIEdge leads
Only Edge has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Copilot reads the page, your tabs and history and sums up videos and PDFs; Browse with Copilot scrolls and types in pages for you, signed in, on Microsoft 365 Premium in the US. Apple Intelligence sums up pages, sorts tabs into topics and watches a page for price drops, and the Passwords app can change weak passwords for you; no agent that works through sites.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexEdge leads
Edge can be driven over MCP and a command line, through Microsoft’s Playwright MCP, which can launch Edge or attach to your running Edge. Safari can be driven over MCP, through safaridriver --mcp in Safari 27, once you allow remote automation and outside agents.
Tabs and windowsEdge leads
Edge has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Safari has spaces.
PriceSafari leads
Edge: Free, with Copilot; Browse with Copilot needs Microsoft 365 Premium $19.99/month (US). Safari: Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.
Where it runsEdge leads
Edge runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. Safari runs on Mac and iPhone. On a Mac, Edge needs macOS 13 or later and Safari needs macOS 15 or later. On the phone, Edge: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, favorites, passwords and history. On the phone, Safari: built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Edge is built on Chromium, as Chrome is; Safari on WebKit, the engine Safari uses. Edge takes extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Safari from the App Store, as Safari extensions.
PrivacyEdge leads
Edge has a VPN. Copilot may use your question, the page, your open tabs and history; Browse with Copilot keeps screenshots up to 30 days, not for training, Microsoft says. Safari has no ad blocker of its own. Apple Intelligence runs on the Mac or on Private Cloud Compute, which Apple says doesn’t store what you ask or make it accessible to Apple.
What their pages don’t lead with
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
Microsoft Edge
- Browse with Copilot needs Microsoft 365 Premium ($19.99 a month) and is US only
- Copilot reads pages, tabs and history unless you turn it off
- Workspaces lost sharing in 2026, and Collections were removed
- No ad blocker of its own
Safari
- Apple devices only
- Tabs only across the top, and no Split View of two tabs
- Extensions only from the App Store, in Safari’s format
- Its AI needs a Mac with M1 or later and macOS 27
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
- September 17, 2026Safari: Apple documented Safari 27’s MCP server for outside AI agents
- September 14, 2026Safari: Safari 27 shipped with AI tab topics, Notify Me and Describe an Extension
- June 4, 2026Edge: Collections removed in Edge 149
- May 13, 2026Edge: Copilot Mode retired; its features moved into Edge, and Copilot Actions became Browse with Copilot for Microsoft 365 Premium (US)
Questions
Is Microsoft Edge free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, with Copilot; Browse with Copilot needs Microsoft 365 Premium $19.99/month (US).
Is Safari free?
Yes. Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.
Which has an AI agent, Edge or Safari?
Edge. Copilot reads the page, your tabs and history and sums up videos and PDFs; Browse with Copilot scrolls and types in pages for you, signed in, on Microsoft 365 Premium in the US. Apple Intelligence sums up pages, sorts tabs into topics and watches a page for price drops, and the Passwords app can change weak passwords for you; no agent that works through sites.
Which runs on Windows, Edge or Safari?
Edge does. Safari runs on Mac and iPhone.
Do Edge and Safari have phone apps?
Both do. On the phone, Edge: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, favorites, passwords and history. On the phone, Safari: built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud.
Can I move from Safari to Edge?
Yes: Edge’s own help says it brings in from Safari.
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 Edge; an agent in your signed-in tabs like Edge’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
- Edge blog: new updates, Copilot Mode retired (2026-05-13)
- Microsoft Support: Browse with Copilot
- Edge policy: AllowBrowsingWithCopilot (macOS 148+)
- Microsoft Support: getting started with Copilot in Edge
- Copilot in Edge page (free limits, upgrade)
- Microsoft 365 plans compared (US prices)
- Edge supported operating systems
- Edge vertical tabs (Windows and macOS)
- Edge policy: SplitScreenEnabled (macOS 117+)
- Edge policy: SleepingTabsEnabled
- Microsoft Support: getting started with Edge Workspaces
- Microsoft Support: Collections retirement
- Edge Secure Network VPN
- Edge for Mac page (Secure Network, password management, sleeping tabs)
- Microsoft Support: Chrome extensions in Edge
- Microsoft Support: what’s imported to Edge (Chrome)
- Microsoft Support: import from Safari on macOS
- Microsoft Learn: Chrome DevTools MCP with Edge
- Playwright MCP (Microsoft, --browser msedge, --extension)
- Playwright CLI (Microsoft)
- Microsoft Support: Sign in to sync Microsoft Edge across devices
- Microsoft Learn: Configure Microsoft Edge enterprise sync
- Microsoft Edge on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Microsoft Edge on Google Play
- Apple Support: what’s new in macOS 27 Golden Gate
- Apple Newsroom: software updates available (2026-09-14)
- Apple Newsroom: Apple Intelligence at WWDC26 (requirements, Passwords)
- WebKit: features for Safari 27.0 (Safari MCP server)
- Apple Support: security content of Safari 27 (release date, macOS versions)
- Safari User Guide: Tabs settings (tab layout, organize tabs)
- Safari User Guide: group tabs (Tab Groups, topics)
- Safari User Guide: get extensions
- Safari User Guide: import from Chrome or Firefox
- Mac User Guide: Apple Intelligence summaries in Safari
- Apple Support: Apple Intelligence and privacy on iPhone (Private Cloud Compute)
- iCloud User Guide: Safari data in iCloud
- Apple Support: Set up iCloud Keychain
- 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.