YabVivaldi vs Comet
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.
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 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
- 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
Vivaldi and Comet, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Vivaldi | Perplexity Comet | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Vivaldi Technologies | Perplexity | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android | Mac |
| Phone app | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes | iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet | Not yet |
| Price | Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account | 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 | 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 | Not stated | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Not stated | 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 | 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. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice. Comet’s assistant answers about pages and open tabs and can click, fill forms and navigate for you, asking before it acts.
Tabs and windowsVivaldi leads
Vivaldi has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Comet has Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceComet leads
Vivaldi: Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account. Comet: Free; Comet Plus $5/month; Perplexity Pro $20/month or Max $200/month for more AI and agent use.
Where it runsVivaldi leads
Vivaldi runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. Comet runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Vivaldi needs macOS 13 or later and Comet needs macOS 13 or later. On the phone, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes. On the phone, Comet: iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it syncs bookmarks and history with desktop Comet.
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. Comet has an ad blocker built in. 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.
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
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
- August 4, 2026Comet: Ninth Circuit vacated the injunction Amazon won against Comet’s shopping agent
- May 21, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 8.0 redesigned the interface
- March 18, 2026Comet: Comet for iPhone released
- January 29, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 7.8 restated its no-AI stance
- October 2, 2025Comet: Browser made free for everyone worldwide
- 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 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, Vivaldi or Comet?
Comet. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice. Comet’s assistant answers about pages and open tabs and can click, fill forms and navigate for you, asking before it acts.
Do Vivaldi and Comet run on Windows?
Yes, both. Vivaldi runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android; Comet on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android.
Do Vivaldi and Comet have phone apps?
Both do. On the phone, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes. 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 Vivaldi; 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
- 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
- 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.