SigmaOS vs Safari

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.

Safari is Apple’s browser for Mac, iPhone and iPad, on WebKit, with Apple Intelligence for summaries and tab topics. Safari 27 also lets outside agents like Claude Code drive it over MCP.

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 Safari

if you use a Mac and an iPhone and want your tabs and passwords on both
if you want AI that runs on your Mac or on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute
if you build sites and want Claude Code or Codex to test them in WebKit

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
if you want Claude Code, Codex or Cursor to drive a real browser over MCP

At a glance

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

SigmaOS vs Safari
What	SigmaOS	Safari	Yab
Made by	SigmaOS Inc. (London)	Apple	Serafim Korablev
Status	No release notes since February 2025	Updated	Updated
Runs on	Mac	Mac and iPhone	Mac
Phone app	None; Mac only. iOS has been on its roadmap since 2021	Built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud	Not yet
Price	Free; Personal Pro $20/month or Personal Max $30/month for more AI	Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later	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	MCP	MCP and a command line
Engine	WebKit	WebKit	WebKit
Tabs down the side	Yes	No	Yes
Spaces	Yes	Yes	Yes
Split View	Yes	No	Yes
Extensions	Chrome Web Store	Safari’s, from the App 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. Airis chats about the page you are on, sums it up, looks things up and translates; no agent. Apple Intelligence sums up pages, sorts tabs into topics and watches a page for price drops, and the Passwords app can change weak passwords for you; no agent that works through sites.

Agents like Claude Code and CodexSafari leads

SigmaOS has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. Safari can be driven over MCP, through safaridriver --mcp in Safari 27, once you allow remote automation and outside agents.

Tabs and windowsSigmaOS leads

SigmaOS has tabs down the side, spaces and Split View. Safari has spaces.

PriceSafari leads

SigmaOS: Free; Personal Pro $20/month or Personal Max $30/month for more AI. Safari: Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.

Where it runsSafari leads

SigmaOS runs on Mac. Safari runs on Mac and iPhone. On a Mac, SigmaOS needs macOS 12 or later and Safari needs macOS 15 or later. SigmaOS has no phone app: Mac only. iOS has been on its roadmap since 2021. On the phone, Safari: built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud.

Engine and extensionsa matter of taste

Both are built on WebKit, the engine Safari uses. SigmaOS takes extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Safari from the App Store, as Safari extensions.

PrivacySigmaOS 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. Safari has no ad blocker of its own. Apple Intelligence runs on the Mac or on Private Cloud Compute, which Apple says doesn’t store what you ask or make it accessible to Apple.

UpdatesSafari leads

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

Safari

Apple devices only
Tabs only across the top, and no Split View of two tabs
Extensions only from the App Store, in Safari’s format
Its AI needs a Mac with M1 or later and macOS 27

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

September 17, 2026Safari: Apple documented Safari 27’s MCP server for outside AI agents
September 14, 2026Safari: Safari 27 shipped with AI tab topics, Notify Me and Describe an Extension
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 Safari free?

Yes. Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.

Which has an AI agent, SigmaOS or Safari?

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. Apple Intelligence sums up pages, sorts tabs into topics and watches a page for price drops, and the Passwords app can change weak passwords for you; no agent that works through sites.

Which runs on Windows, SigmaOS or Safari?

Neither. SigmaOS runs on Mac; Safari on Mac and iPhone.

Do SigmaOS and Safari have phone apps?

Safari does. SigmaOS has no phone app: Mac only. iOS has been on its roadmap since 2021. On the phone, Safari: built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud.

Can I move from Safari to SigmaOS?

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

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

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.

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