YabFirefox vs Safari
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.
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 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
- 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
Firefox and Safari, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Firefox | Safari | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Mozilla | 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, bookmarks, passwords and history | Built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud | Not yet |
| Price | Free; its built-in VPN is free up to 50 GB a month | 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 | Chat about pages, on its own AI or yours | 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 | MCP | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Gecko | WebKit | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | No | Yes |
| Spaces | No | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | No | Yes |
| Extensions | Firefox add-ons | Safari’s, from the App 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.
AIa matter of taste
Both have AI to ask about pages, and neither does the clicking for you. 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. 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 Codexeven
Firefox can be driven over MCP, through Mozilla’s Firefox DevTools MCP, which starts its own Firefox. Safari can be driven over MCP, through safaridriver --mcp in Safari 27, once you allow remote automation and outside agents.
Tabs and windowsFirefox leads
Firefox has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Safari has spaces.
Priceeven
Firefox: Free; its built-in VPN is free up to 50 GB a month. Safari: Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.
Where it runsFirefox leads
Firefox runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. Safari runs on Mac and iPhone. On a Mac, Firefox needs macOS 10.15 or later and Safari needs macOS 15 or later. On the phone, Firefox: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, 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
Firefox is built on Gecko, Firefox’s engine; Safari on WebKit, the engine Safari uses. Firefox takes extensions from Firefox’s add-ons, Safari from the App Store, as Safari extensions.
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. 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.
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
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 16, 2026Firefox: Smart Window beta expanded from the US and Canada to France
- September 14, 2026Safari: Safari 27 shipped with AI tab topics, Notify Me and Describe an Extension
- 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
Questions
Is Firefox free?
Yes. Free; its built-in VPN is free up to 50 GB a month.
Is Safari free?
Yes. Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.
Which has an AI agent, Firefox or Safari?
Neither has an agent that does 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. 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, Firefox or Safari?
Firefox does. Safari runs on Mac and iPhone.
Do Firefox and Safari have phone apps?
Both do. On the phone, Firefox: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history. On the phone, Safari: built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud.
Can I move from Firefox to Safari?
Yes: Safari’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 with spaces, folders and Split View, as in Safari; 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
- Mozilla blog: Smart Window
- Mozilla Support: get started with Smart Window
- Mozilla Support: model choices in Smart Window
- Smart Window privacy notice
- Firefox.com: Smart Window
- Mozilla blog: window types (2026-09-24)
- Mozilla blog: AI on your terms (AI controls)
- Firefox 148 release notes
- Firefox 149 release notes (split view, VPN)
- Mozilla blog: free built-in VPN
- Firefox 136 release notes (vertical tabs)
- Firefox 138 release notes (tab groups)
- Bugzilla 1730066: tab unloading enabled on macOS (Firefox 95)
- Firefox system requirements
- Firefox ESR 115 release notes (import sources)
- Firefox DevTools MCP (Mozilla)
- Firefox.com: Firefox browser sync
- Firefox on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Firefox on Google Play
- Mozilla Support: Sync Firefox data
- 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.