YabOpera Neon vs Atlas
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.
ChatGPT Atlas was OpenAI’s Chromium browser for the Mac, with ChatGPT beside every page and an agent mode. OpenAI shut it down on August 9, 2026, and points people to the ChatGPT desktop app and its Chrome extension.
The short answer
- 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
- OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates
- 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
Opera Neon and Atlas, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Opera Neon | ChatGPT Atlas | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Opera | OpenAI | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Shut down August 9, 2026 | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac and Windows | Mac | Mac |
| Phone app | None yet; Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given | None; Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026 | Not yet |
| Price | Free, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month | Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | An agent that works in pages, on its own AI service | 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 | MCP and a command line | No | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | Not stated | A setting | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| Split View | Not stated | Not stated | Yes |
| Extensions | Not stated | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | Not stated | Built in |
| Open source | No | 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.
AIa matter of taste
Both have an agent that works in your pages. 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. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexOpera Neon leads
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. Atlas has no MCP server or command line for outside agents.
Tabs and windowsAtlas leads
Opera Neon has spaces. Atlas has tabs down the side as a setting and folders in the sidebar.
PriceOpera Neon leads
Opera Neon: Free, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month. Atlas: Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans.
Where it runsOpera Neon leads
Opera Neon runs on Mac and Windows. Atlas runs on Mac. On a Mac, Atlas needs macOS 14.2 or later. Opera Neon has no phone app yet: Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Both are built on Chromium, as Chrome is, so sites work as they do in Chrome. Opera Neon takes no extensions, Atlas from the Chrome Web Store.
PrivacyOpera Neon leads
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. Atlas has no ad blocker of its own. Atlas summed up pages for browser memories and deleted the originals; training on browsing was off by default.
UpdatesOpera Neon leads
Opera Neon is updated as usual. Atlas: OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates.
What their pages don’t lead with
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
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
ChatGPT Atlas
- Shut down on August 9, 2026, with no more security updates
- Was Mac only, on Apple silicon
- Bookmarks, tabs and history had to be exported by hand
- Agent mode needed a paid ChatGPT plan
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
- August 9, 2026Atlas: Atlas shut down
- July 9, 2026Atlas: OpenAI said it will sunset Atlas for the new ChatGPT desktop app
- May 12, 2026Opera Neon: opera-browser-cli command line released
- March 31, 2026Opera Neon: MCP Connector lets outside AI clients act in Neon
- October 21, 2025Atlas: Launched for macOS
Questions
Is Opera Neon free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month.
Is ChatGPT Atlas free?
It no longer works. Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans.
Which has an AI agent, Opera Neon or Atlas?
Both. 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. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works.
Which runs on Windows, Opera Neon or Atlas?
Opera Neon does. Atlas runs on Mac.
Do Opera Neon and Atlas have phone apps?
Opera Neon has no phone app yet: Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026.
Is ChatGPT Atlas shut down?
OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates.
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
- 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)
- OpenAI help: Evolving Atlas into ChatGPT (retirement notice)
- OpenAI help: Atlas release notes (vertical tabs, tab groups, imports, profiles)
- OpenAI help: Getting started with Atlas (macOS 14.2, Apple silicon)
- OpenAI help: Setting up Atlas (imports, password manager)
- OpenAI help: Atlas data controls and privacy
- 9to5Mac: OpenAI is discontinuing Atlas (Jul 9, 2026, James Sun quote)
- 9to5Mac: what happens when Atlas shuts down (Aug 4, 2026)
- TechRepublic: Atlas shuts down Aug 9
- TechCrunch: Atlas launch (Oct 21, 2025)
- Wikipedia: ChatGPT Atlas (Chromium, timeline)
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT Atlas retirement
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT release notes (Jul 9, 2026 deprecation entry)
- TechRadar: Atlas for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android ’coming soon’ (Oct 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.