Yab vs Atlas

We make Yab, so read it as our side.facts checked Oct 9 ↓

Yab, 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.

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

Pick Yabours
  • 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
AtlasShut down
  • OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates

At a glance

Yab and Atlas, side by side.

Yab vs Atlas
WhatYabChatGPT Atlas
Made bySerafim KorablevOpenAI
StatusUpdatedShut down August 9, 2026
Runs onMacMac
Phone appNot yetNone; Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026
PriceFree; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT planShut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans
AIAn agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT planAn agent that works in pages, on its own AI service
Driven by outside agentsMCP and a command lineNo
EngineWebKitChromium
Tabs down the sideYesA setting
SpacesYesNot stated
Split ViewYesNot stated
ExtensionsChrome Web StoreChrome Web Store
Ad blockerBuilt inNot stated
Open sourceNoNo

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.

AIa matter of taste

Both have an agent that works 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. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works. 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. Atlas has no MCP server or command line for outside agents.

Tabs and windowsYab leads

Yab has tabs down the side, 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.

PriceYab leads

Yab: Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan. Atlas: Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans.

Where it runseven

Both run on Mac. On a Mac, Yab needs macOS 15.4 or later and Atlas needs macOS 14.2 or later. Yab has no phone app yet. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026.

Engine and extensionsa matter of taste

Yab is built on WebKit, the engine Safari uses; Atlas 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. 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.

UpdatesYab leads

Yab 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.

Atlas is gone

OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates.

The catch with each

Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.

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

  • September 25, 2026Yab: First release
  • August 9, 2026Atlas: Atlas shut down
  • July 9, 2026Atlas: OpenAI said it will sunset Atlas for the new ChatGPT desktop app
  • October 21, 2025Atlas: Launched for macOS

Questions

Is Yab free?

Yes. Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan.

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, Yab or Atlas?

Both. 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. 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, Yab or Atlas?

Neither. Yab runs on Mac; Atlas on Mac.

Do Yab and Atlas have phone apps?

Yab has no phone app yet. 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.

More comparisons

Yab, Yet Another Browser.

Free for the Mac. Arc’s sidebar, your own Claude or ChatGPT as the agent, Chrome extensions on WebKit.

it’s freeDownload