YabVivaldi vs Dia
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.
Dia is the AI browser The Browser Company builds now instead of Arc. It is Chromium-based, for Macs with Apple silicon and, since October 2026, Windows, and its AI chats with your tabs and the tools you connect.
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 want the current browser from Arc’s makers, with Arc import and tabs down the side as a setting
- if you want AI that chats across your tabs, Gmail, Slack and Notion, and will pay for it
- if you want a free browser with an ad blocker and no AI
- 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 Dia, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Vivaldi | Dia | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Vivaldi Technologies | The Browser Company (Atlassian) | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac and Windows | Mac |
| Phone app | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes | None | Not yet |
| Price | Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account | Browser free; AI on Better Answers $20/month or Better Days $100/month | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| AI | No AI | 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 | No | MCP and a command line |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | WebKit |
| Tabs down the side | A setting | A setting | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Yes | 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.
AIDia leads
Dia has AI built in; Vivaldi has less of it. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice. Dia chats with your tabs and the tools you connect, like Gmail, Slack and Notion, and drafts mail and invites; there is no documented agent that works through sites.
Tabs and windowseven
Both have tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
Priceeven
Vivaldi: Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account. Dia: Browser free; AI on Better Answers $20/month or Better Days $100/month.
Where it runsVivaldi leads
Vivaldi runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. Dia runs on Mac and Windows. On a Mac, Vivaldi needs macOS 13 or later and Dia needs macOS 14 or later. On the phone, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes. Dia has no phone app.
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. Dia has an ad blocker built in. Dia’s chat goes through its servers to Anthropic, OpenAI and Google; chats and history stay on your Mac, and content sharing is on by default, kept 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
Dia
- AI costs $20 or $100 a month for new users; the free plan has none after a 14-day trial
- On a Mac it needs Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later
- Its AI chats and drafts, but there is no documented agent that works through sites
- No MCP server or command line for outside agents
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 6, 2026Dia: Dia 1.0 for Windows released
- August 17, 2026Dia: Paid AI plans started rolling out to new Mac users
- May 21, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 8.0 redesigned the interface
- January 29, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 7.8 restated its no-AI stance
- October 21, 2025Dia: Atlassian completed its acquisition of The Browser Company
- 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 Dia free?
The browser is; its AI isn’t. Browser free; AI on Better Answers $20/month or Better Days $100/month.
Which has an AI agent, Vivaldi or Dia?
Neither has an agent that does tasks in your pages. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice. Dia chats with your tabs and the tools you connect, like Gmail, Slack and Notion, and drafts mail and invites; there is no documented agent that works through sites.
Do Vivaldi and Dia run on Windows?
Yes, both. Vivaldi runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android; Dia on Mac and Windows.
Do Vivaldi and Dia have phone apps?
Vivaldi does. On the phone, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes. Dia has no phone app.
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 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
- 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
- Dia plans and pricing FAQ
- Dia home page (macOS and Windows, ad and tracker blocking)
- Dia changelog (Chromium M155, Windows 1.0, tab sleep, sidebar or top tabs, AppleScript, memory retired)
- Dia release notes 1.52.0 (Oct 8, 2026)
- Dia download FAQ (import from Chrome, Safari, Edge, Arc)
- Dia security (AI providers, retention, local storage)
- MacRumors: Dia generally available, macOS 14 and Apple silicon
- PiunikaWeb: Dia $20 and $100 plans (Aug 18, 2026)
- Atlassian completes acquisition (Oct 21, 2025)
- Dia home page: ’Available for macOS and Windows’
- PiunikaWeb: Dia ’iPhone Tabs’ menu spotted, no public app (2026-08-25)
- 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.