YabHelium vs Opera Neon
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 Neon is Opera’s agent browser for Mac and Windows. Its own agents act in your live session on a $19.90 plan, and since August 2026 outside agents like Claude Code can use it free through its MCP Connector.
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 Claude Code or another MCP client to use a real signed-in browser, free
- if you want one plan for an in-browser agent, deep research and making apps and media
- if you want a VPN and an ad blocker built in
- 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 Neon, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Helium | Opera Neon | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | imput | Opera | 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; Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given | Not yet |
| Price | Free and open source | Free, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month | 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 | MCP and a command line | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | Not stated | Yes |
| Spaces | No | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Not stated | 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 Neon leads
Only Opera Neon has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. Neon Chat talks about your tabs, Neon Do acts in your live session, research agents dig, and Make builds apps and media on Opera’s servers.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexOpera Neon leads
Helium has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. Opera Neon can be driven over MCP and a command line, through its MCP Connector, read-only unless you allow more, and opera-browser-cli.
Tabs and windowsHelium leads
Helium has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Opera Neon has spaces.
PriceOpera Neon leads
Helium: Free and open source. Opera Neon: Free, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month.
Where it runsHelium leads
Helium runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. Opera Neon runs on Mac and Windows. 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. Opera Neon has no phone app yet: Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Both are built on Chromium, as Chrome is, so sites work as they do in Chrome. Helium takes extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Opera Neon none.
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 Neon has an ad blocker built in and a VPN. Page content used with Neon’s AI goes to Opera’s and OpenAI’s servers, kept up to 365 days; passwords, cards and cookies stay on your device.
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 Neon
- Opera’s own agents need the $19.90 a month plan
- Mac and Windows only; the phone version isn’t out
- Its AI and the MCP Connector need an Opera account
- Page content used with its AI goes to Opera’s and OpenAI’s servers, kept up to 365 days
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 12, 2026Opera Neon: Free plan: outside agents can use Neon without a subscription
- May 12, 2026Opera Neon: opera-browser-cli command line released
- March 31, 2026Opera Neon: MCP Connector lets outside AI clients act in Neon
- March 13, 2026Helium: Vertical tabs left experimental status (0.10.3)
- February 15, 2026Helium: Vertical tabs layout added (0.9.1)
Questions
Is Helium free?
Yes. Free and open source.
Is Opera Neon free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month.
Which has an AI agent, Helium or Opera Neon?
Opera Neon. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. Neon Chat talks about your tabs, Neon Do acts in your live session, research agents dig, and Make builds apps and media on Opera’s servers.
Do Helium and Opera Neon run on Windows?
Yes, both. Helium runs on Mac, Windows and Linux; Opera Neon on Mac and Windows.
Do Helium and Opera Neon have phone apps?
Helium has no phone app: desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought. Opera Neon has no phone app yet: Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given.
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 Neon; an agent in your signed-in tabs like Opera Neon’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
- Opera Neon home page
- Opera Neon subscription and plan comparison
- Opera Neon FAQ (platforms, models, MCP, privacy, retention)
- Opera Neon news index
- Your AI agents can use Opera Neon free of charge (Aug 12, 2026)
- Opera Neon adds MCP Connector (Mar 31, 2026)
- Introducing opera-browser-cli (May 12, 2026)
- opera-browser-cli README (profile behavior)
- opera-devtools-mcp README (Chromium-based, Claude Code and Cursor setup)
- Opera Neon ships (Sep 30, 2025; Tasks, Do, Make, ad blocker, VPN)
- Opera Neon public early access (Dec 11, 2025)
- Opera press release: MCP Connector
- Prompt injection in Opera Neon: rapid response (Oct 23, 2025)
- 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.