YabVivaldi vs Opera
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.
Opera One is Opera’s free Chromium browser on every desktop and phone, with a free browser VPN, an ad blocker, messengers in the sidebar and Opera AI. Its agents are in a separate browser, Opera Neon.
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 a free browser VPN and an ad blocker built in
- if you keep WhatsApp, Telegram or Slack open in a sidebar
- if you sort work into workspaces, Tab Islands and split screen
- 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
Vivaldi and Opera, with Yab beside them for a Mac.
| What | Vivaldi | Opera | Yab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Vivaldi Technologies | Opera | Serafim Korablev |
| Status | Updated | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android | Mac |
| Phone app | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account | Not yet |
| Price | Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account | Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid | 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 | MCP | 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.
AIOpera leads
Opera has AI built in; Vivaldi has less of it. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice. Opera AI answers about the page, Tab Islands, videos and files, and makes images, with no account; it doesn’t click or fill forms.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexOpera leads
Vivaldi has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. Opera can be driven over MCP, through Browser Connector, in early testing, which lets ChatGPT or Claude read and open tabs but not click or type.
Tabs and windowseven
Both have tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceOpera leads
Vivaldi: Free; its Proton VPN is free with a Vivaldi account. Opera: Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid.
Where it runseven
Both run on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Vivaldi needs macOS 13 or later. On the phone, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes. On the phone, Opera: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account.
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.
Privacyeven
Both have 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. Opera AI sends only the current page or Tab Island when you write with page access on; Opera says it doesn’t send your history.
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
Opera
- Opera AI only chats and sums up; agents need Opera Neon at $19.90 a month
- The free VPN covers the browser only, with three locations
- The ad blocker is off until you turn it on
- Browser Connector is in early testing and needs an Opera account
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 23, 2026Opera: Vertical tabs shipped to all Opera One users
- May 21, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 8.0 redesigned the interface
- April 16, 2026Opera: Browser Connector lets ChatGPT and Claude read your tabs over MCP (Early Bird)
- January 29, 2026Vivaldi: Vivaldi 7.8 restated its no-AI stance
- December 11, 2025Opera: Opera AI replaced Aria in Opera One, GX and Air
- 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 Opera free?
Yes. Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid.
Which has an AI agent, Vivaldi or Opera?
Neither has an agent that does tasks in your pages. Vivaldi has no AI chat, summaries or agents, by choice. Opera AI answers about the page, Tab Islands, videos and files, and makes images, with no account; it doesn’t click or fill forms.
Do Vivaldi and Opera run on Windows?
Yes, both. Vivaldi runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android; Opera on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Do Vivaldi and Opera have phone apps?
Both do. On the phone, Vivaldi: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords, history and notes. On the phone, Opera: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account.
Can I move from Opera to Vivaldi?
Yes: Vivaldi’s own help says it brings in from Opera.
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
- Opera blog: Opera AI comes to Opera One, GX and Air
- Opera AI feature page
- Opera blog: Browser Connector
- Opera press: Browser Connector (2026-04-16)
- Opera blog: Opera 133 stable, vertical tabs (2026-07-23)
- Opera blog: how vertical tabs work
- Opera blog: Opera One R3
- Opera blog: new native ad blocker (2026-05-14)
- Opera free VPN page
- Opera Workspaces page (split screen, messengers)
- Opera Help: features (tab snoozing, messengers, workspaces)
- Opera Help: security and privacy (ad blocker, VPN)
- Opera Help: Password Manager
- Opera Help: import browsing data
- Opera Help FAQ: Chrome Web Store extensions
- Opera system requirements
- Opera Neon subscription
- Opera blog: Neon free plan for outside agents (2026-08-14)
- Opera blog: Opera One for iOS brings full synchronization (Jul 9, 2026)
- Opera: Sync your Opera browsers
- Opera: Flow / My Flow
- Opera Help (iOS): Connect your computer and phone with Flow
- Opera Browser with VPN on the App Store (iPhone and iPad)
- Opera: Private Web Browser on Google Play
- 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.