Firefox vs Chrome

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

Firefox is Mozilla’s open-source browser on its own engine, Gecko, on every desktop and phone. Its AI is optional: a Smart Window beta and a sidebar chatbot, all behind one switch.

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.

Firefox is the one big browser not built on Chromium, with its own add-ons. Its AI is optional and goes away with one switch; Chrome’s Gemini is built in.

The short answer

Pick Firefox

if you want an open-source browser that isn’t Chromium
if you want AI off by default, or gone with one switch
if you want a free browser VPN, where it is offered

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 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

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

Firefox vs Chrome
What	Firefox	Google Chrome	Yab
Made by	Mozilla	Google	Serafim Korablev
Status	Updated	Updated	Updated
Runs on	Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android	Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android	Mac
Phone app	iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history	iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history	Not yet
Price	Free; its built-in VPN is free up to 50 GB a 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 or yours	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	MCP	MCP and a command line	MCP and a command line
Engine	Gecko	Chromium	WebKit
Tabs down the side	A setting	A setting	Yes
Spaces	No	No	Yes
Split View	Yes	Yes	Yes
Extensions	Firefox add-ons	Chrome Web Store	Chrome Web Store
Ad blocker	No	No	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.

AIChrome leads

Only Chrome has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Firefox’s Smart Window beta chats with tabs you share and groups them, and a sidebar chatbot can use Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Le Chat or Copilot; it can’t click or fill forms, and one switch turns all AI off. 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

Firefox can be driven over MCP, through Mozilla’s Firefox DevTools MCP, which starts its own Firefox. 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 windowseven

Both have tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.

PriceFirefox leads

Firefox: Free; its built-in VPN is free up to 50 GB a month. Chrome: Free, with Gemini; its auto browse agent needs Google AI Pro $19.99/month or Ultra.

Where it runseven

Both run on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Firefox needs macOS 10.15 or later and Chrome needs macOS 13 or later. On the phone, Firefox: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history. On the phone, Chrome: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history.

Engine and extensionsa matter of taste

Firefox is built on Gecko, Firefox’s engine; Chrome on Chromium, as Chrome is. Firefox takes extensions from Firefox’s add-ons, Chrome from the Chrome Web Store.

PrivacyFirefox leads

Firefox has a VPN and open code. Smart Window sends prompts and what you share through Mozilla’s servers to partner models; Mozilla says it keeps no chat logs without permission and doesn’t train on them. 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.

Firefox

Its Smart Window AI is a beta in the US, Canada and France and needs a Mozilla account
Its AI can’t click, fill forms or buy for you
The free VPN covers the browser only, up to 50 GB a month, in a few countries
Firefox add-ons only, not the Chrome Web Store

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

September 16, 2026Firefox: Smart Window beta expanded from the US and Canada to France
April 7, 2026Chrome: Vertical tabs began rolling out as an option
March 24, 2026Firefox: Firefox 149 added split view and a free built-in VPN
February 24, 2026Firefox: Firefox 148 added AI Controls with a switch that blocks all AI features
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

Questions

Is Firefox free?

Yes. Free; its built-in VPN is free up to 50 GB a 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, Firefox or Chrome?

Chrome. Firefox’s Smart Window beta chats with tabs you share and groups them, and a sidebar chatbot can use Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Le Chat or Copilot; it can’t click or fill forms, and one switch turns all AI off. 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 Firefox and Chrome run on Windows?

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

Do Firefox and Chrome have phone apps?

Both do. On the phone, Firefox: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history. On the phone, Chrome: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history.

Can I move from Firefox to Chrome?

Yes: Chrome’s own help says it brings in from Firefox.

Is there a third option on a Mac?

Yab, Yet Another Browser, is free for the Mac: tabs down the side as in Arc, with spaces, folders and Split View; 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

Firefox vs Safari Firefox vs Edge Brave vs Firefox Opera vs Firefox Arc vs Firefox Dia vs Firefox Comet vs Firefox Firefox alternatives Yab vs Firefox Safari vs Chrome Edge vs Chrome Brave vs Chrome Opera vs Chrome Arc vs Chrome Dia 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.

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