YabVivaldi vs Atlas
Vivaldi is a Chromium browser with a setting for nearly everything, mail, calendar and feeds built in, a free Proton VPN and no AI by design, on every desktop and phone.
ChatGPT Atlas was OpenAI’s Chromium browser for the Mac, with ChatGPT beside every page and an agent mode. OpenAI shut it down on August 9, 2026, and points people to the ChatGPT desktop app and its Chrome extension.
The short answer
- if you want mail, calendar, feeds, notes and a VPN in the browser
- if you want to customize nearly everything, and no AI
- if you need one browser on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android
- OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates
- 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
Vivaldi and Atlas, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Vivaldi | ChatGPT Atlas | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Vivaldi Technologies | OpenAI | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Shut down August 9, 2026 | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac | Mac |
| Phone app | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes | None; Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026 | Not yet |
| Price | Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account | Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | No AI | 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 | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | A setting | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | Not stated | 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.
AIAtlas leads
Only Atlas has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works.
Tabs and windowsVivaldi leads
Vivaldi has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Atlas has tabs down the side as a setting and folders in the sidebar.
PriceVivaldi leads
Vivaldi: Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account. Atlas: Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans.
Where it runsVivaldi leads
Vivaldi runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. Atlas runs on Mac. On a Mac, Vivaldi needs macOS 13 or later and Atlas needs macOS 14.2 or later. On the phone, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Both are built on Chromium, as Chrome is, so sites work as they do in Chrome. Both take extensions from the Chrome Web Store.
PrivacyVivaldi leads
Vivaldi has an ad blocker built in and a VPN. Vivaldi sends a daily ping with a unique ID, version and rough location to count users; crash logs only if you opt in. Atlas has no ad blocker of its own. Atlas summed up pages for browser memories and deleted the originals; training on browsing was off by default.
UpdatesVivaldi leads
Vivaldi is updated as usual. Atlas: OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates.
What their pages don’t lead with
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
Vivaldi
- No AI assistant or agent, by design
- Tabs down the side are a setting, not the default
- Its interface code isn’t open source
- Sends a daily usage ping with a unique ID
ChatGPT Atlas
- Shut down on August 9, 2026, with no more security updates
- Was Mac only, on Apple silicon
- Bookmarks, tabs and history had to be exported by hand
- Agent mode needed a paid ChatGPT plan
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
- August 9, 2026Atlas: Atlas shut down
- July 9, 2026Atlas: OpenAI said it will sunset Atlas for the new ChatGPT desktop app
- May 21, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 8.0 redesigned the interface
- January 29, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 7.8 restated its no-AI stance
- October 21, 2025Atlas: Launched for macOS
- March 27, 2025Vivaldi: Proton VPN built into Vivaldi on desktop
Questions
Is Vivaldi free?
Yes. Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account.
Is ChatGPT Atlas free?
It no longer works. Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans.
Which has an AI agent, Vivaldi or Atlas?
Atlas. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works.
Which runs on Windows, Vivaldi or Atlas?
Vivaldi does. Atlas runs on Mac.
Do Vivaldi and Atlas have phone apps?
Vivaldi does. On the phone, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026.
Is ChatGPT Atlas shut down?
OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates.
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 Vivaldi; an agent in your signed-in tabs like Atlas’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
- Vivaldi features
- Vivaldi download (macOS 13+, universal; Windows, Linux, Android, iOS)
- Vivaldi macOS update feed (8.2.4133.84, minimum 13.0)
- Vivaldi desktop releases
- Vivaldi 8.2 release
- Vivaldi 8.0 release
- Vivaldi 7.8 release (no AI)
- Proton VPN built into Vivaldi, 2025-03-27
- Proton VPN for Vivaldi help
- Vivaldi tracker and ad blocker
- Vivaldi Memory Saver (automatic tab hibernation)
- Vivaldi Workspaces
- Vivaldi Tab Tiling
- Vivaldi Tab Stacks
- Vivaldi Tab Bar position
- Vivaldi import and export
- Is Vivaldi open source?
- Vivaldi browser privacy policy
- Vivaldi Help: Sync browser data on iOS
- Vivaldi Help: Sync browser data on Android
- Vivaldi blog: Introducing Vivaldi on iOS (Sep 28, 2023)
- Vivaldi on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Vivaldi on Google Play
- OpenAI help: Evolving Atlas into ChatGPT (retirement notice)
- OpenAI help: Atlas release notes (vertical tabs, tab groups, imports, profiles)
- OpenAI help: Getting started with Atlas (macOS 14.2, Apple silicon)
- OpenAI help: Setting up Atlas (imports, password manager)
- OpenAI help: Atlas data controls and privacy
- 9to5Mac: OpenAI is discontinuing Atlas (Jul 9, 2026, James Sun quote)
- 9to5Mac: what happens when Atlas shuts down (Aug 4, 2026)
- TechRepublic: Atlas shuts down Aug 9
- TechCrunch: Atlas launch (Oct 21, 2025)
- Wikipedia: ChatGPT Atlas (Chromium, timeline)
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT Atlas retirement
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT release notes (Jul 9, 2026 deprecation entry)
- TechRadar: Atlas for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android ’coming soon’ (Oct 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.