YabYab, Yet Another Browser, is a free Mac browser that keeps everything from Arc (tabs down the side, spaces, folders, Split View) and gives your Claude or ChatGPT plan an agent that works in your signed-in tabs.
Arc is The Browser Company’s Chromium browser for Mac and Windows that put tabs down the side, with spaces, folders and Split View. It has had no new features since May 2025; it still gets security fixes, and its makers point people to Dia.
The short answer
- 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
- if you use it today and want its sidebar, spaces and Split View exactly as they are
- if you want a free browser with no paid AI plans
- if you need the same layout on Windows
At a glance
Yab and Arc, side by side.
| What | Yab | Arc |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Serafim Korablev | The Browser Company (Atlassian) |
| Status | Updated | Security fixes only |
| Runs on | Mac | Mac and Windows |
| Phone app | Not yet | Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins |
| Price | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan | Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too |
| AI | An agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan | Chat about pages, on its own AI service |
| Driven by outside agents | MCP and a command line | No |
| Engine | WebKit | Chromium |
| Tabs down the side | Yes | Yes |
| Spaces | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | No |
| Open source | 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.
AIYab leads
Only Yab has an agent that clicks, types and finishes tasks in your pages. Yab’s agent works in tabs of its own beside yours, signed in as you, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan; Send, Pay and Delete wait for your yes. Arc Max helpers tidy tab titles and downloads, preview links and put ChatGPT in the command bar; Ask on Page was removed in August 2025, and there is no agent. Yab runs on the Claude or ChatGPT plan you already pay for; the other on its own AI.
Agents like Claude Code and CodexYab leads
Yab can be driven over MCP and a command line, through yab mcp and the yab command, for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and any MCP client. Arc has no MCP server or command line for outside agents.
Tabs and windowseven
Both have tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceArc leads
Yab: Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan. Arc: Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too.
Where it runsArc leads
Yab runs on Mac. Arc runs on Mac and Windows. On a Mac, Yab needs macOS 15.4 or later and Arc needs macOS 13 or later. Yab has no phone app yet. On the phone, Arc: Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Yab is built on WebKit, the engine Safari uses; Arc on Chromium, as Chrome is. Both take extensions from the Chrome Web Store.
PrivacyYab leads
Yab has an ad blocker built in. Yab has no account and no server of ours between you and your sites; what your agent reads goes to Anthropic or OpenAI under your account. Arc has no ad blocker of its own. Arc needs an account; The Browser Company says it doesn’t see which sites you visit, and Arc Max sends page data to OpenAI and Anthropic.
UpdatesYab leads
Yab is updated as usual. Arc: No new features since May 2025; Chromium security updates still come, the latest on October 8, 2026.
Where Arc is better
Arc comes out ahead on price, where it runs. It is also the better pick if you:
- Use it today and want its sidebar, spaces and Split View exactly as they are
- Want a free browser with no paid AI plans
- Need the same layout on Windows
The catch with each
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
Arc
- No new features since May 2025, only security updates
- Needs an Arc account
- No ad blocker of its own
- On phones, Arc Search is a separate search app
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 25, 2026Yab: First release
- October 21, 2025Arc: Atlassian completed its purchase of The Browser Company
- August 28, 2025Arc: Ask On Page removed from Arc Max
- May 26, 2025Arc: The Browser Company stopped feature work on Arc to focus on Dia
Moving from Arc to Yab
Yab brings each Arc space with its emoji, color and grain, pins, kept tabs and folders, plus passwords, cards, bookmarks, history, extensions and your sign-ins. It reads Arc’s files on your Mac; nothing goes through a server, and Arc stays as it was.
Questions
Is Yab free?
Yes. Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan.
Is Arc free?
Yes. Free; its Arc Max AI helpers are free too.
Which has an AI agent, Yab or Arc?
Yab. Yab’s agent works in tabs of its own beside yours, signed in as you, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan; Send, Pay and Delete wait for your yes. Arc Max helpers tidy tab titles and downloads, preview links and put ChatGPT in the command bar; Ask on Page was removed in August 2025, and there is no agent.
Which runs on Windows, Yab or Arc?
Arc does. Yab runs on Mac.
Do Yab and Arc have phone apps?
Yab has no phone app yet. On the phone, Arc: Arc Search on iPhone, iPad and Android; on iPhone it shows your desktop spaces and pins.
Can I move from Arc to Yab?
Yes. Yab brings each Arc space with its emoji, color and grain, pins, kept tabs and folders, plus passwords, cards, bookmarks, history, extensions and your sign-ins.
Is Arc still being updated?
No new features since May 2025; Chromium security updates still come, the latest on October 8, 2026.
More comparisons
- 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
- Arc home page (Chromium updates only, Mac and Windows downloads)
- Letter to Arc members, 2025-05-26
- Arc for macOS release notes
- Arc for Windows release notes
- Arc macOS update feed (minimum macOS 13.0; universal binary)
- Arc unsupported devices
- Arc Max help article
- Arc import help article
- Arc ad blocking and Manifest V3
- Arc saved passwords
- Why Arc needs an account
- Arc Spaces
- Arc Split View
- Arc Folders
- Arc Search for iOS and Android
- Arc Search on the App Store (1.48.0, 2026-08-12)
- Arc Search for Android release notes
- Arc privacy policy
- Atlassian completes acquisition of The Browser Company (Business Wire)
- Arc Help: Arc Sync (what syncs, not on Android)
- Google Play: Arc Search (updated Sep 1, 2026)
- Arc Help: Arc Search for iOS release notes (iPad layout, June 20, 2024)
- TidBITS: Arc Search iPhone app now syncs Arc sidebar tabs (2024-04-29)
Yab, Yet Another Browser.
Free for the Mac. Arc’s sidebar, your own Claude or ChatGPT as the agent, Chrome extensions on WebKit.