YabOrion is Kagi’s browser for Mac, iPhone and iPad, on WebKit, the engine Safari uses, that also runs many Chrome and Firefox extensions. It has no telemetry and blocks ads by default.
Arc is The Browser Company’s Chromium browser for Mac and Windows that put tabs down the side, with spaces, folders and Split View. It has had no new features since May 2025; it still gets security fixes, and its makers point people to Dia.
The short answer
- if you want Safari’s engine with Chrome and Firefox extensions, on Mac and iPhone
- if you want ads blocked and no telemetry from the start
- if you pay for Kagi Search
- if you use it today and want its sidebar, spaces and Split View exactly as they are
- if you want a free browser with no paid AI plans
- if you need the same layout on Windows
- 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
Orion and Arc, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Orion | Arc | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Kagi | The Browser Company (Atlassian) | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Security fixes only | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac and iPhone | Mac and Windows | Mac |
| Phone app | iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks and passwords with your Mac through iCloud | Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins | Not yet |
| Price | Free; Orion+ supporter plan $5/month, $50/year or $150 once | Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too | 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 service | An agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| Driven by outside agents | No | No | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | WebKit | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | Yes | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | No | Yes | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome and Firefox stores | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | No | 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 AI to ask about pages, and neither does the clicking for you. Orion sums up pages and videos through Kagi’s Summarizer, with a paid Kagi plan; no chat and no agent. Arc Max helpers tidy tab titles and downloads, preview links and put ChatGPT in the command bar; Ask on Page was removed in August 2025, and there is no agent.
Tabs and windowsArc leads
Orion has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Arc has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceArc leads
Orion: Free; Orion+ supporter plan $5/month, $50/year or $150 once. Arc: Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too.
Where it runseven
Orion runs on Mac and iPhone. Arc runs on Mac and Windows. On a Mac, Orion needs macOS 10.14 or later and Arc needs macOS 13 or later. On the phone, Orion: iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks and passwords with your Mac through iCloud. On the phone, Arc: Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Orion is built on WebKit, the engine Safari uses; Arc on Chromium, as Chrome is. Orion takes extensions from both Chrome’s and Firefox’s stores, Arc from the Chrome Web Store.
PrivacyOrion leads
Orion has an ad blocker built in. Orion has no telemetry, Kagi says; page summaries and translations go to Kagi’s servers. Arc has no ad blocker of its own. Arc needs an account; The Browser Company says it doesn’t see which sites you visit, and Arc Max sends page data to OpenAI and Anthropic.
UpdatesOrion leads
Orion is updated as usual. Arc: No new features since May 2025; Chromium security updates still come, the latest on October 8, 2026.
What their pages don’t lead with
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
Orion
- Apple only: the Windows and Linux versions stopped on October 2, 2026
- Not every extension works: support is partial
- No Split View of two tabs
- Closed source, and page summaries need a paid Kagi plan
Arc
- No new features since May 2025, only security updates
- Needs an Arc account
- No ad blocker of its own
- On phones, Arc Search is a separate search app
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
- October 2, 2026Orion: Kagi ended Orion for Linux and Windows to focus on Mac and iOS
- June 23, 2026Orion: Orion 1.1 added per-tab containers and page translation
- November 25, 2025Orion: Orion 1.0 for Mac left beta
- October 21, 2025Arc: Atlassian completed its purchase of The Browser Company
- August 28, 2025Arc: Ask On Page removed from Arc Max
- May 26, 2025Arc: The Browser Company stopped feature work on Arc to focus on Dia
Questions
Is Orion free?
The browser is; its AI isn’t. Free; Orion+ supporter plan $5/month, $50/year or $150 once.
Is Arc free?
Yes. Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too.
Which has an AI agent, Orion or Arc?
Neither has an agent that does tasks in your pages. Orion sums up pages and videos through Kagi’s Summarizer, with a paid Kagi plan; no chat and no agent. Arc Max helpers tidy tab titles and downloads, preview links and put ChatGPT in the command bar; Ask on Page was removed in August 2025, and there is no agent.
Which runs on Windows, Orion or Arc?
Arc does. Orion runs on Mac and iPhone.
Do Orion and Arc have phone apps?
On the phone, Orion: iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks and passwords with your Mac through iCloud. On the phone, Arc: Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins.
Can I move from Arc to Orion?
Yes: Orion’s own help says it brings in from Arc.
Is Arc still being updated?
No new features since May 2025; Chromium security updates still come, the latest on October 8, 2026.
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 Arc; 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
- Orion home page
- Kagi blog: Orion 1.0, 2025-11-25
- Kagi blog: An update on Orion for Linux and Windows, 2026-10-02
- Orion+ help page ($5/month, $50/year, $150 lifetime)
- Orion macOS release notes (1.1.3, 2026-09-28)
- Orion supported OS versions
- Orion update feed for macOS 10.14 (1.1.3, minimum 10.14.4)
- Orion Summarize Page
- Orion importing data
- Orion vertical tabs
- Orion tab groups
- Orion password management
- Orion ad and tracking blocking
- Orion respecting privacy (no telemetry)
- Orion Low Power Mode (suspends unused tabs)
- Orion FAQ (extensions, open source)
- Orion technical information (Web Extensions API support)
- Orion on the App Store (1.5.5)
- Orion feedback: split view request
- Kagi Help: Syncing Orion Data (tabs, bookmarks, reading list)
- Kagi Help: Troubleshooting syncing (iCloud Drive)
- Orion iOS/iPadOS release notes
- PiunikaWeb: Kagi says Orion for Android is ’not planned yet’ (2026-06-30)
- Arc home page (Chromium updates only, Mac and Windows downloads)
- Letter to Arc members, 2025-05-26
- Arc for macOS release notes
- Arc for Windows release notes
- Arc macOS update feed (minimum macOS 13.0; universal binary)
- Arc unsupported devices
- Arc Max help article
- Arc import help article
- Arc ad blocking and Manifest V3
- Arc saved passwords
- Why Arc needs an account
- Arc Spaces
- Arc Split View
- Arc Folders
- Arc Search for iOS and Android
- Arc Search on the App Store (1.48.0, 2026-08-12)
- Arc Search for Android release notes
- Arc privacy policy
- Atlassian completes acquisition of The Browser Company (Business Wire)
- Arc Help: Arc Sync (what syncs, not on Android)
- Google Play: Arc Search (updated Sep 1, 2026)
- Arc Help: Arc Search for iOS release notes (iPad layout, June 20, 2024)
- TidBITS: Arc Search iPhone app now syncs Arc sidebar tabs (2024-04-29)
- 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.