YabOpera vs Brave
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.
Brave is an open-source Chromium browser that blocks ads and trackers by default, with Leo, an AI chat that needs no account, on every desktop and phone.
The short answer
- 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 want ads and trackers blocked by default
- if you want AI chat without an account, or on your own local model
- if you need the same browser on every desktop and phone
- 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 and Brave, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Opera | Brave | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Opera | Brave Software | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac |
| Phone app | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account | Not yet |
| Price | Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid | Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | Chat about pages, on its own AI service | Chat about pages, on its own AI or yours | An agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| Driven by outside agents | MCP | No | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | A setting | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | No | 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 | No | Yes | 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 AI to ask about pages, and neither does the clicking for you. Opera AI answers about the page, Tab Islands, videos and files, and makes images, with no account; it doesn’t click or fill forms. Leo chats about your tabs, PDFs and images, with no account, on Brave’s models or your own; an agent is in early testing behind a flag, in a separate profile without your sign-ins.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexOpera leads
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. Brave has no MCP server or command line for outside agents.
Tabs and windowsOpera leads
Opera has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Brave has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceOpera leads
Opera: Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid. Brave: Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month.
Where it runseven
Both run on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Brave needs macOS 13 or later. On the phone, Opera: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account. On the phone, Brave: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no 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.
PrivacyBrave leads
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. Brave has an ad blocker built in, a VPN and open code. Brave says Leo doesn’t keep or share chats, doesn’t train on them and doesn’t collect identifiers like IP addresses.
What their pages don’t lead with
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
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
Brave
- More Leo models and higher limits need Leo Premium at $14.99 a month
- Its AI agent is an early test behind a flag, without your sign-ins
- The VPN is $9.99 a month extra
- Tabs down the side are a setting, and there are no spaces
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
- July 2, 2026Brave: Containers added in Brave 1.92 for separate cookies per tab
- June 4, 2026Brave: Brave Origin launched: a paid, minimal Brave without Leo, Rewards, Wallet and VPN
- May 5, 2026Brave: Leo agentic AI browsing opened for early testing on all release channels, behind a flag
- April 16, 2026Opera: Browser Connector lets ChatGPT and Claude read your tabs over MCP (Early Bird)
- December 11, 2025Opera: Opera AI replaced Aria in Opera One, GX and Air
Questions
Is Opera free?
Yes. Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid.
Is Brave free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month.
Which has an AI agent, Opera or Brave?
Neither has an agent that does tasks in your pages. Opera AI answers about the page, Tab Islands, videos and files, and makes images, with no account; it doesn’t click or fill forms. Leo chats about your tabs, PDFs and images, with no account, on Brave’s models or your own; an agent is in early testing behind a flag, in a separate profile without your sign-ins.
Do Opera and Brave run on Windows?
Yes, both. Opera runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android; Brave on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Do Opera and Brave have phone apps?
Both do. On the phone, Opera: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account. On the phone, Brave: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account.
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
- 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
- Brave Leo page
- Brave blog: AI browsing early testing (updated 2026-05-05)
- Brave Premium prices
- Brave Origin page
- Brave blog: Brave Origin launch
- Brave blog: Containers (v1.92)
- Brave blog: vertical tabs
- Brave desktop changelog (split view, tab groups, memory)
- What’s new in Brave desktop
- Brave Help: system requirements
- Brave release v1.97.56 notes
- Brave Help: import or export browsing data
- Brave: import passwords via CSV
- brave-browser repository (open source)
- Brave blog: Sync v2 for desktop and Android (Aug 13, 2020)
- Brave Help Center: How do I set up Sync?
- Brave release notes (iOS: Sync Chain and Tabs on Other Devices, 2026)
- Brave iOS source: sync types (bookmarks, history, passwords, open tabs)
- Brave on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Brave 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.