SigmaOS vs Brave

We make Yab, the third column.facts checked Oct 9 ↓

SigmaOS is a Mac browser on WebKit that treats tabs like a to-do list, in workspaces down the side, with an AI assistant called Airis.

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

Pick SigmaOS

if you want workspaces and tabs you mark done, on a Mac
if you browse by keyboard, with single-key shortcuts
if you prefer WebKit to Chromium and want spaces

Pick Brave

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

Or Yabours

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

SigmaOS and Brave, with Yab beside them for a Mac.

SigmaOS vs Brave
What	SigmaOS	Brave	Yab
Made by	SigmaOS Inc. (London)	Brave Software	Serafim Korablev
Status	No release notes since February 2025	Updated	Updated
Runs on	Mac	Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android	Mac
Phone app	None; Mac only. iOS has been on its roadmap since 2021	iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account	Not yet
Price	Free; Personal Pro $20/month or Personal Max $30/month for more AI	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	No	No	MCP and a command line
Engine	WebKit	Chromium	WebKit
Tabs down the side	Yes	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. Airis chats about the page you are on, sums it up, looks things up and translates; no agent. 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.

Tabs and windowsSigmaOS leads

SigmaOS has tabs down the side, spaces and Split View. Brave has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.

Priceeven

SigmaOS: Free; Personal Pro $20/month or Personal Max $30/month for more AI. Brave: Free, with Leo; Leo Premium $14.99/month; Brave VPN $9.99/month.

Where it runsBrave leads

SigmaOS runs on Mac. Brave runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, SigmaOS needs macOS 12 or later and Brave needs macOS 13 or later. SigmaOS has no phone app: Mac only. iOS has been on its roadmap since 2021. On the phone, Brave: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account.

Engine and extensionsa matter of taste

SigmaOS is built on WebKit, the engine Safari uses; Brave on Chromium, as Chrome is. Both take extensions from the Chrome Web Store.

PrivacyBrave leads

SigmaOS has an ad blocker built in. SigmaOS keeps history and cookies on your Mac unless you turn on sync, stored encrypted on AWS; its privacy policy doesn’t say where Airis requests go. 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.

UpdatesBrave leads

SigmaOS: Still downloadable, with no public release notes since version 1.19 in February 2025. Brave is updated as usual.

What their pages don’t lead with

Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.

SigmaOS

Mac only
No public release notes since version 1.19 in February 2025
Chrome extensions only partly work, behind its WebKit+ option
Its AI is an assistant, and regular use needs the $20 or $30 plans

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 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
February 4, 2025SigmaOS: Version 1.19.0, a performance update, the last release with public notes

Questions

Is SigmaOS free?

Yes, with limits on its AI. Free; Personal Pro $20/month or Personal Max $30/month for more AI.

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, SigmaOS or Brave?

Neither has an agent that does tasks in your pages. Airis chats about the page you are on, sums it up, looks things up and translates; no agent. 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.

Which runs on Windows, SigmaOS or Brave?

Brave does. SigmaOS runs on Mac.

Do SigmaOS and Brave have phone apps?

Brave does. SigmaOS has no phone app: Mac only. iOS has been on its roadmap since 2021. On the phone, Brave: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history, no account.

Can I move from Brave to SigmaOS?

Yes: SigmaOS’s own help says it brings in from Brave.

Is SigmaOS still being updated?

Still downloadable, with no public release notes since version 1.19 in February 2025.

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 SigmaOS; 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

SigmaOS vs Arc SigmaOS vs Vivaldi SigmaOS vs Zen SigmaOS vs Orion SigmaOS vs Chrome SigmaOS vs Safari SigmaOS vs Edge SigmaOS alternatives Yab vs SigmaOS Brave vs Chrome Brave vs Safari Brave vs Edge Brave vs Firefox Opera vs Brave Arc vs Brave Dia vs Brave Brave alternatives Yab vs Brave

Sources, read October 9, 2026. Something out of date? Write to hello@serafimlabs.io and we fix it.

Yab, Yet Another Browser.

Free for the Mac. Arc’s sidebar, your own Claude or ChatGPT as the agent, Chrome extensions on WebKit.

it’s freeMove from Brave Download