YabHelium vs Comet
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.
Comet is Perplexity’s free Chromium browser for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with Perplexity’s search and an assistant that can act on pages for you.
The short answer
- 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
- if you use Perplexity and want its search and agent in the browser
- if you want one AI browser on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android
- if you want a free Chromium browser with an ad blocker built in
- if you already pay for Claude or ChatGPT and want it to work in your signed-in tabs
- if you miss Arc and want spaces, pins and folders kept, on a Mac
At a glance
Helium and Comet, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Helium | Perplexity Comet | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | imput | Perplexity | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows and Linux | Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android | Mac |
| Phone app | None; desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought | iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet | Not yet |
| Price | Free and open source | Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | No AI | 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 | No | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | Not stated | Yes |
| Spaces | No | Not stated | 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.
AIComet leads
Only Comet has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. Comet’s assistant answers about pages and open tabs and can click, fill forms and navigate for you, asking before it acts.
Tabs and windowsHelium leads
Helium has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Comet has Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceComet leads
Helium: Free and open source. Comet: Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use.
Where it runsComet leads
Helium runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. Comet runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Helium needs macOS 13 or later and Comet needs macOS 13 or later. Helium has no phone app: desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought. On the phone, Comet: iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet.
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. Comet has an ad blocker built in. Comet keeps history, cookies and passwords on your device unless you sync; the assistant sends the page it needs to Perplexity, kept up to 30 days.
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
Perplexity Comet
- Free use of the assistant is limited; more agent use is Pro at $20 or Max at $200
- No MCP server or command line from Perplexity for coding agents
- Researchers showed prompt-injection attacks on its agent in 2025 (CometJacking)
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
- August 4, 2026Comet: Ninth Circuit vacated the injunction Amazon won against Comet’s shopping agent
- March 18, 2026Comet: Comet for iPhone released
- March 13, 2026Helium: Vertical tabs left experimental status (0.10.3)
- February 15, 2026Helium: Vertical tabs layout added (0.9.1)
- October 2, 2025Comet: Browser made free for everyone worldwide
Questions
Is Helium free?
Yes. Free and open source.
Is Perplexity Comet free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use.
Which has an AI agent, Helium or Comet?
Comet. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. Comet’s assistant answers about pages and open tabs and can click, fill forms and navigate for you, asking before it acts.
Do Helium and Comet run on Windows?
Yes, both. Helium runs on Mac, Windows and Linux; Comet on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android.
Do Helium and Comet have phone apps?
Comet does. Helium has no phone app: desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought. On the phone, Comet: iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet.
Can I move from Comet to Helium?
Yes: Helium’s own help says it brings in from Comet.
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 Comet’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 home page and FAQ
- Helium main repo (beta, GPL-3.0, ungoogled-chromium base, uBlock fork)
- Helium for macOS releases (arm64 and x86_64)
- Helium macOS update feed (minimum 13.0)
- Helium for Windows releases
- Helium for Linux releases
- Helium 0.9.1 release (vertical tabs)
- Helium 0.10.3 release (vertical tabs no longer experimental)
- Helium patch: Memory Saver on by default
- Helium patch: AI features disabled
- Helium patch: browser importers
- Helium patch: Zen importer
- Helium blog: transparency
- PiunikaWeb (Aug 18, 2026): developer teases an iOS build, says Helium targets all platforms
- Developer’s teaser on X (Aug 17, 2026)
- PiunikaWeb (Sep 11, 2026): developer says he dislikes the iOS build and may rethink mobile
- Developer’s follow-up on X
- Comet help: Operating System Requirements
- Comet help: What is Comet’s browser engine?
- Comet help: Browser features (split view, ad block, extensions, profiles)
- Comet help: Import data
- Comet help: Key settings (memory saver, tab groups)
- Comet help: Built-in password manager
- Comet help: Local data and device storage
- Comet help: Assistant privacy and data use
- Comet Quick Start Guide (Chrome import)
- Comet Assistant vs Agent
- Perplexity changelog Nov 14, 2025 (assistant asks approval before acting)
- Perplexity blog: Introducing Comet Plus ($5)
- Perplexity help: Perplexity Max
- Perplexity help: Local and remote MCPs
- App Store listing (iOS 18+, Pro $20, Max $200)
- TechCrunch: Comet now free (Oct 2, 2025)
- TechCrunch: Comet on Android (Nov 20, 2025)
- MacRumors: Comet on iPhone (Mar 18, 2026)
- Jones Day: Ninth Circuit vacates injunction (Aug 4, 2026)
- LayerX: CometJacking
- Community comet-mcp (not by Perplexity)
- Google Play: Comet: AI Browser & Assistant (updated Sep 24, 2026)
- Comet Help Center: Sync Between Devices
- Perplexity changelog: Comet iOS launch, pair mobile and desktop with device sync (Mar 27, 2026)
- Perplexity blog: Comet is now available on iOS
- Perplexity blog: Comet for Android is here
- MacStories: Comet for iOS review (sync chain, iPad version)
- 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.