YabHelium vs Safari
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.
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 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 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
Helium and Safari, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Helium | Safari | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | imput | Apple | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows and Linux | Mac and iPhone | Mac |
| Phone app | None; desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought | Built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud | Not yet |
| Price | Free and open source | 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 | 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 | WebKit | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | No | Yes |
| Spaces | No | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | No | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Safari’s, from the App Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | 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.
AISafari leads
Safari has AI built in; Helium has less of it. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. 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 CodexSafari leads
Helium has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. Safari can be driven over MCP, through safaridriver --mcp in Safari 27, once you allow remote automation and outside agents.
Tabs and windowsHelium leads
Helium has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Safari has spaces.
PriceSafari leads
Helium: Free and open source. Safari: Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.
Where it runsHelium leads
Helium runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. Safari runs on Mac and iPhone. On a Mac, Helium needs macOS 13 or later and Safari needs macOS 15 or later. Helium has no phone app: desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought. On the phone, Safari: built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Helium is built on Chromium, as Chrome is; Safari on WebKit, the engine Safari uses. Helium takes extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Safari from the App Store, as Safari extensions.
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. 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.
Helium
- Still in beta
- No password manager or sync yet
- No Widevine, so some streaming services won’t play
- No phone app yet
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 14, 2026Safari: Safari 27 shipped with AI tab topics, Notify Me and Describe an Extension
- 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 Safari free?
Yes. Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.
Which has an AI agent, Helium or Safari?
Neither has an agent that does tasks in your pages. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. 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, Helium or Safari?
Helium does. Safari runs on Mac and iPhone.
Do Helium and Safari have phone apps?
Safari does. Helium has no phone app: desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought. On the phone, Safari: built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud.
Can I move from Safari to Helium?
Yes: Helium’s own help says it brings in from Safari.
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
- 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
- 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.