YabHelium vs Opera
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.
Opera One is Opera’s free Chromium browser on every desktop and phone, with a free browser VPN, an ad blocker, messengers in the sidebar and Opera AI. Its agents are in a separate browser, Opera Neon.
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 want a free browser VPN and an ad blocker built in
- if you keep WhatsApp, Telegram or Slack open in a sidebar
- if you sort work into workspaces, Tab Islands and split screen
- 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 Opera, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Helium | Opera | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | imput | Opera | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows and Linux | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac |
| Phone app | None; desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account | Not yet |
| Price | Free and open source | Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | No AI | Chat about pages, on its own AI service | An agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| Driven by outside agents | No | MCP | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | A setting | 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.
AIOpera leads
Opera has AI built in; Helium has less of it. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. Opera AI answers about the page, Tab Islands, videos and files, and makes images, with no account; it doesn’t click or fill forms.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexOpera leads
Helium has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. Opera can be driven over MCP, through Browser Connector, in early testing, which lets ChatGPT or Claude read and open tabs but not click or type.
Tabs and windowsOpera leads
Helium has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Opera has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceOpera leads
Helium: Free and open source. Opera: Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid.
Where it runsOpera leads
Helium runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. Opera runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Helium 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, Opera: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account.
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.
Privacyeven
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. Opera has an ad blocker built in and a VPN. Opera AI sends only the current page or Tab Island when you write with page access on; Opera says it doesn’t send your history.
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
Opera
- Opera AI only chats and sums up; agents need Opera Neon at $19.90 a month
- The free VPN covers the browser only, with three locations
- The ad blocker is off until you turn it on
- Browser Connector is in early testing and needs an Opera account
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
- July 23, 2026Opera: Vertical tabs shipped to all Opera One users
- April 16, 2026Opera: Browser Connector lets ChatGPT and Claude read your tabs over MCP (Early Bird)
- March 13, 2026Helium: Vertical tabs left experimental status (0.10.3)
- February 15, 2026Helium: Vertical tabs layout added (0.9.1)
- December 11, 2025Opera: Opera AI replaced Aria in Opera One, GX and Air
Questions
Is Helium free?
Yes. Free and open source.
Is Opera free?
Yes. Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid.
Which has an AI agent, Helium or Opera?
Neither has an agent that does tasks in your pages. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. Opera AI answers about the page, Tab Islands, videos and files, and makes images, with no account; it doesn’t click or fill forms.
Do Helium and Opera run on Windows?
Yes, both. Helium runs on Mac, Windows and Linux; Opera on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Do Helium and Opera have phone apps?
Opera does. Helium has no phone app: desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought. On the phone, Opera: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account.
Can I move from Opera to Helium?
Yes: Helium’s own help says it brings in from Opera.
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 Opera; 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
- 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
- Opera blog: Opera AI comes to Opera One, GX and Air
- Opera AI feature page
- Opera blog: Browser Connector
- Opera press: Browser Connector (2026-04-16)
- Opera blog: Opera 133 stable, vertical tabs (2026-07-23)
- Opera blog: how vertical tabs work
- Opera blog: Opera One R3
- Opera blog: new native ad blocker (2026-05-14)
- Opera free VPN page
- Opera Workspaces page (split screen, messengers)
- Opera Help: features (tab snoozing, messengers, workspaces)
- Opera Help: security and privacy (ad blocker, VPN)
- Opera Help: Password Manager
- Opera Help: import browsing data
- Opera Help FAQ: Chrome Web Store extensions
- Opera system requirements
- Opera Neon subscription
- Opera blog: Neon free plan for outside agents (2026-08-14)
- Opera blog: Opera One for iOS brings full synchronization (Jul 9, 2026)
- Opera: Sync your Opera browsers
- Opera: Flow / My Flow
- Opera Help (iOS): Connect your computer and phone with Flow
- Opera Browser with VPN on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Opera: Private Web Browser on Google Play
- 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.