Helium vs Aside

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

Helium is a free, open-source Chromium browser by imput, still in beta, with ads blocked by default and Google’s AI and telemetry taken out, on Mac, Windows and Linux.

Aside is an AI agent browser from a Y Combinator startup, on Chromium, for Mac and Windows. Its agent does multi-step work in the sites you are signed in to, on Aside’s own models or your ChatGPT or Claude plan.

The short answer

Pick Helium

if you want Chrome’s extensions without Google’s AI or telemetry
if you want ads blocked from the first launch
if you use Linux too

Pick Aside

if you want an agent for multi-step work across your signed-in sites, on Mac or Windows
if you want a free plan with AI credits, or to bring your ChatGPT or Claude plan
if you want Claude Code or Codex to drive it over MCP or its command line

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

Helium and Aside, with Yab beside them for a Mac.

Helium vs Aside
What	Helium	Aside	Yab
Made by	imput	Aside Computer Inc. (YC Fall 2025)	Serafim Korablev
Status	Updated	Updated	Updated
Runs on	Mac, Windows and Linux	Mac and Windows	Mac
Phone app	None; desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought	None yet; an iPhone app is in the works. Pro runs its agent from Slack or Telegram	Not yet
Price	Free and open source	Free with 500 AI credits a month; Pro $20/month; Max $200/month; or your own ChatGPT or Claude plan	Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan
AI	No AI	An agent that works in pages, on its own AI or yours	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	Yes	Yes
Spaces	No	Yes	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	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.

AIAside leads

Only Aside has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. Aside’s agent runs multi-step tasks in your signed-in sites, signs in from its own password vault without seeing the passwords, and asks before payments, posts and messages.

Agents like Claude Code and CodexAside leads

Helium has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. Aside can be driven over MCP and a command line, through the aside command line, with aside mcp as its MCP server.

Tabs and windowsAside leads

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

PriceAside leads

Helium: Free and open source. Aside: Free with 500 AI credits a month; Pro $20/month; Max $200/month; or your own ChatGPT or Claude plan.

Where it runsHelium leads

Helium runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. Aside runs on Mac and Windows. On a Mac, Helium needs macOS 13 or later and Aside needs macOS 15 or later. Helium has no phone app: desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought. Aside has no phone app yet: an iPhone app is in the works. Pro runs its agent from Slack or Telegram.

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.

PrivacyHelium leads

Helium has an ad blocker built in and open code. Helium makes no requests on first launch and has no analytics; updates, filter lists and extensions go through its services only once you approve. Aside has an ad blocker built in. Aside keeps task transcripts and files on your Mac; model providers get the prompts, page snapshots and screenshots a task needs, and analytics sharing is on by default.

What their pages don’t lead with

Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.

Helium

Still in beta
No password manager or sync yet
No Widevine, so some streaming services won’t play
No phone app yet

Aside

The free plan has 500 AI credits a month; more is Pro at $20 or Max at $200
Mac (macOS 15 or later) and Windows only, no phone apps
Young: first released in February 2026, on Windows since September 2026
Agents may use your saved passwords unless you change the default

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 21, 2026Aside: Ad blocking with default filter lists turned on during setup
September 14, 2026Aside: Windows version officially available (release 1.0.914.1)
March 13, 2026Helium: Vertical tabs left experimental status (0.10.3)
February 25, 2026Aside: First Aside Browser release for macOS
February 15, 2026Helium: Vertical tabs layout added (0.9.1)

Questions

Is Helium free?

Yes. Free and open source.

Is Aside free?

Yes, with limits on its AI. Free with 500 AI credits a month; Pro $20/month; Max $200/month; or your own ChatGPT or Claude plan.

Which has an AI agent, Helium or Aside?

Aside. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. Aside’s agent runs multi-step tasks in your signed-in sites, signs in from its own password vault without seeing the passwords, and asks before payments, posts and messages.

Do Helium and Aside run on Windows?

Yes, both. Helium runs on Mac, Windows and Linux; Aside on Mac and Windows.

Do Helium and Aside have phone apps?

Helium has no phone app: desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought. Aside has no phone app yet: an iPhone app is in the works. Pro runs its agent from Slack or Telegram.

Can I move from Helium to Aside?

Yes: Aside’s own help says it brings in from Helium.

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 Aside; an agent in your signed-in tabs like Aside’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

Helium vs Chrome Helium vs Safari Helium vs Edge Helium vs Firefox Helium vs Brave Helium vs Opera Helium vs Arc Helium alternatives Yab vs Helium Aside vs Dia Aside vs Comet Aside vs Atlas Aside vs Opera Neon Aside vs Chrome Aside vs Safari Aside vs Edge Aside alternatives Yab vs Aside

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 Helium Download