YabHelium vs Vivaldi
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.
Vivaldi is a Chromium browser with a setting for nearly everything, mail, calendar and feeds built in, a free Proton VPN and no AI by design, on every desktop and phone.
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 mail, calendar, feeds, notes and a VPN in the browser
- if you want to customize nearly everything, and no AI
- if you need one browser on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android
- 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
At a glance
Helium and Vivaldi, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Helium | Vivaldi | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | imput | Vivaldi Technologies | 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, passwords, history and notes | Not yet |
| Price | Free and open source | Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | No AI | No AI | 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 | 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.
AIeven
Neither has AI built in. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice.
Tabs and windowsVivaldi leads
Helium has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Vivaldi has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
Priceeven
Helium: Free and open source. Vivaldi: Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account.
Where it runsVivaldi leads
Helium runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. Vivaldi runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Helium needs macOS 13 or later and Vivaldi 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, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes.
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. Vivaldi has an ad blocker built in and a VPN. Vivaldi sends a daily ping with a unique ID, version and rough location to count users; crash logs only if you opt in.
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
Vivaldi
- No AI assistant or agent, by design
- Tabs down the side are a setting, not the default
- Its interface code isn’t open source
- Sends a daily usage ping with a unique ID
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
- May 21, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 8.0 redesigned the interface
- March 13, 2026Helium: Vertical tabs left experimental status (0.10.3)
- February 15, 2026Helium: Vertical tabs layout added (0.9.1)
- January 29, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 7.8 restated its no-AI stance
- March 27, 2025Vivaldi: Proton VPN built into Vivaldi on desktop
Questions
Is Helium free?
Yes. Free and open source.
Is Vivaldi free?
Yes. Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account.
Which has an AI agent, Helium or Vivaldi?
Neither has an agent that does tasks in your pages. Helium has no AI: Chromium’s Gemini features are taken out. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice.
Do Helium and Vivaldi run on Windows?
Yes, both. Helium runs on Mac, Windows and Linux; Vivaldi on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Do Helium and Vivaldi have phone apps?
Vivaldi does. Helium has no phone app: desktop only. An iOS build teased in Aug 2026 is being rethought. On the phone, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes.
Can I move from Vivaldi to Helium?
Yes: Helium’s own help says it brings in from Vivaldi.
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 Vivaldi; 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
- Vivaldi features
- Vivaldi download (macOS 13+, universal; Windows, Linux, Android, iOS)
- Vivaldi macOS update feed (8.2.4133.84, minimum 13.0)
- Vivaldi desktop releases
- Vivaldi 8.2 release
- Vivaldi 8.0 release
- Vivaldi 7.8 release (no AI)
- Proton VPN built into Vivaldi, 2025-03-27
- Proton VPN for Vivaldi help
- Vivaldi tracker and ad blocker
- Vivaldi Memory Saver (automatic tab hibernation)
- Vivaldi Workspaces
- Vivaldi Tab Tiling
- Vivaldi Tab Stacks
- Vivaldi Tab Bar position
- Vivaldi import and export
- Is Vivaldi open source?
- Vivaldi browser privacy policy
- Vivaldi Help: Sync browser data on iOS
- Vivaldi Help: Sync browser data on Android
- Vivaldi blog: Introducing Vivaldi on iOS (Sep 28, 2023)
- Vivaldi on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Vivaldi 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.