YabOrion vs Opera Neon
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.
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.
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 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
- 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
Orion and Opera Neon, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Orion | Opera Neon | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Kagi | Opera | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | 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 | None yet; Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given | Not yet |
| Price | Free; Orion+ supporter plan $5/month, $50/year or $150 once | Free, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month | 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 | MCP and a command line | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | WebKit | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | Not stated | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | No | Not stated | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome and Firefox stores | Not stated | 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.
AIOpera Neon leads
Only Opera Neon 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. 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.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexOpera Neon leads
Orion has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. 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.
Tabs and windowsOrion leads
Orion has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Opera Neon has spaces.
PriceOpera Neon leads
Orion: Free; Orion+ supporter plan $5/month, $50/year or $150 once. Opera Neon: Free, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month.
Where it runseven
Orion runs on Mac and iPhone. Opera Neon runs on Mac and Windows. On a Mac, Orion needs macOS 10.14 or later. On the phone, Orion: iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks and passwords with your Mac through iCloud. Opera Neon has no phone app yet: Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Orion is built on WebKit, the engine Safari uses; Opera Neon on Chromium, as Chrome is. Orion takes extensions from both Chrome’s and Firefox’s stores, Opera Neon none.
PrivacyOpera Neon leads
Orion has an ad blocker built in. Orion has no telemetry, Kagi says; page summaries and translations go to Kagi’s servers. 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.
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
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
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 12, 2026Opera Neon: Free plan: outside agents can use Neon without a subscription
- June 23, 2026Orion: Orion 1.1 added per-tab containers and page translation
- May 12, 2026Opera Neon: opera-browser-cli command line released
- March 31, 2026Opera Neon: MCP Connector lets outside AI clients act in Neon
- November 25, 2025Orion: Orion 1.0 for Mac left beta
Questions
Is Orion free?
The browser is; its AI isn’t. Free; Orion+ supporter plan $5/month, $50/year or $150 once.
Is Opera Neon free?
Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, and free for outside agents; Opera’s own agents $19.90/month.
Which has an AI agent, Orion or Opera Neon?
Opera Neon. Orion sums up pages and videos through Kagi’s Summarizer, with a paid Kagi plan; no chat and no agent. 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.
Which runs on Windows, Orion or Opera Neon?
Opera Neon does. Orion runs on Mac and iPhone.
Do Orion and Opera Neon have phone apps?
Orion does. On the phone, Orion: iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks and passwords with your Mac through iCloud. Opera Neon has no phone app yet: Opera says a mobile version will come, no date given.
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 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
- 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)
- 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)
- 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.