YabOrion vs Comet
Orion 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.
Comet is Perplexity’s free Chromium browser for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with Perplexity’s search and an assistant that can act on pages for you.
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 Perplexity and want its search and agent in the browser
- if you want one AI browser on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android
- if you want a free Chromium browser with an ad blocker built in
- 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 Comet, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Orion | Perplexity Comet | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Kagi | Perplexity | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac and iPhone | Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android | Mac |
| Phone app | iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks and passwords with your Mac through iCloud | iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet | Not yet |
| Price | Free; Orion+ supporter plan $5/month, $50/year or $150 once | Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | Chat about 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 | No | No | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | WebKit | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | Not stated | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| Split View | No | Yes | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome and Firefox stores | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | Built in | 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.
AIComet leads
Only Comet has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Orion sums up pages and videos through Kagi’s Summarizer, with a paid Kagi plan; no chat and no agent. Comet’s assistant answers about pages and open tabs and can click, fill forms and navigate for you, asking before it acts.
Tabs and windowsOrion leads
Orion has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Comet has Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceComet leads
Orion: Free; Orion+ supporter plan $5/month, $50/year or $150 once. Comet: Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use.
Where it runsComet leads
Orion runs on Mac and iPhone. Comet runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Orion needs macOS 10.14 or later and Comet 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, Comet: iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Orion is built on WebKit, the engine Safari uses; Comet on Chromium, as Chrome is. Orion takes extensions from both Chrome’s and Firefox’s stores, Comet from the Chrome Web Store.
Privacyeven
Both have an ad blocker built in. Orion has no telemetry, Kagi says; page summaries and translations go to Kagi’s servers. Comet keeps history, cookies and passwords on your device unless you sync; the assistant sends the page it needs to Perplexity, kept up to 30 days.
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
Perplexity Comet
- Free use of the assistant is limited; more agent use is Pro at $20 or Max at $200
- No MCP server or command line from Perplexity for coding agents
- Researchers showed prompt-injection attacks on its agent in 2025 (CometJacking)
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
- August 4, 2026Comet: Ninth Circuit vacated the injunction Amazon won against Comet’s shopping agent
- June 23, 2026Orion: Orion 1.1 added per-tab containers and page translation
- March 18, 2026Comet: Comet for iPhone released
- November 25, 2025Orion: Orion 1.0 for Mac left beta
- October 2, 2025Comet: Browser made free for everyone worldwide
Questions
Is Orion free?
The browser is; its AI isn’t. Free; Orion+ supporter plan $5/month, $50/year or $150 once.
Is Perplexity Comet free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use.
Which has an AI agent, Orion or Comet?
Comet. Orion sums up pages and videos through Kagi’s Summarizer, with a paid Kagi plan; no chat and no agent. Comet’s assistant answers about pages and open tabs and can click, fill forms and navigate for you, asking before it acts.
Which runs on Windows, Orion or Comet?
Comet does. Orion runs on Mac and iPhone.
Do Orion and Comet have phone apps?
Both do. On the phone, Orion: iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks and passwords with your Mac through iCloud. On the phone, Comet: iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet.
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 Orion; an agent in your signed-in tabs like Comet’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
- 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)
- Comet help: Operating System Requirements
- Comet help: What is Comet’s browser engine?
- Comet help: Browser features (split view, ad block, extensions, profiles)
- Comet help: Import data
- Comet help: Key settings (memory saver, tab groups)
- Comet help: Built-in password manager
- Comet help: Local data and device storage
- Comet help: Assistant privacy and data use
- Comet Quick Start Guide (Chrome import)
- Comet Assistant vs Agent
- Perplexity changelog Nov 14, 2025 (assistant asks approval before acting)
- Perplexity blog: Introducing Comet Plus ($5)
- Perplexity help: Perplexity Max
- Perplexity help: Local and remote MCPs
- App Store listing (iOS 18+, Pro $20, Max $200)
- TechCrunch: Comet now free (Oct 2, 2025)
- TechCrunch: Comet on Android (Nov 20, 2025)
- MacRumors: Comet on iPhone (Mar 18, 2026)
- Jones Day: Ninth Circuit vacates injunction (Aug 4, 2026)
- LayerX: CometJacking
- Community comet-mcp (not by Perplexity)
- Google Play: Comet: AI Browser & Assistant (updated Sep 24, 2026)
- Comet Help Center: Sync Between Devices
- Perplexity changelog: Comet iOS launch, pair mobile and desktop with device sync (Mar 27, 2026)
- Perplexity blog: Comet is now available on iOS
- Perplexity blog: Comet for Android is here
- MacStories: Comet for iOS review (sync chain, iPad version)
- 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.