Yab vs Chrome DevTools MCP
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.
Chrome DevTools MCP is Google’s free, open-source MCP server and command line that gives a coding agent Chrome’s DevTools: the console, network, screenshots and performance traces.
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 debug web apps with an agent reading the console, network and traces
- if you want your coding agent to check its own front-end changes in Chrome
- if you do performance work with traces next to real-user data
At a glance
Yab and Chrome DevTools MCP, side by side.
| What | Yab | Chrome DevTools MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Serafim Korablev | Google (Chrome DevTools team) |
| Status | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac | Mac, Windows and Linux |
| Price | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan | Free and open source; you pay only for your agent’s model |
| Drives | Yab itself, a browser on your Mac | Google Chrome |
| Your sign-ins | Yab is the browser you sign in to, so agents work with your sign-ins. | Chrome DevTools MCP uses a profile of its own by default, and your Chrome 144 or later once you turn on remote debugging. |
| Works with | yab mcp and the yab command, for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and any MCP client | any MCP client, like Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot or Gemini CLI |
| Open source | No | Yes |
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.
What it drivesa matter of taste
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. Chrome DevTools MCP has no model of its own: it gives your agent Chrome’s DevTools plus clicks and forms, in its own Chrome profile or, with Chrome 144 and remote debugging on, in your Chrome.
Your sign-insa matter of taste
Yab is the browser you sign in to, so agents work with your sign-ins. Chrome DevTools MCP uses a profile of its own by default, and your Chrome 144 or later once you turn on remote debugging.
Which agents can use iteven
Yab works with yab mcp and the yab command, for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and any MCP client. Chrome DevTools MCP works with any MCP client, like Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot or Gemini CLI.
PriceYab leads
Yab: Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan. Chrome DevTools MCP: Free and open source; you pay only for your agent’s model.
Where it runsChrome DevTools MCP leads
Yab runs on Mac. Chrome DevTools MCP runs on Mac, Windows and Linux.
Where Chrome DevTools MCP is better
Chrome DevTools MCP comes out ahead on where it runs. It is also the better pick if you:
- Debug web apps with an agent reading the console, network and traces
- Want your coding agent to check its own front-end changes in Chrome
- Do performance work with traces next to real-user data
The catch with each
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
Chrome DevTools MCP
- Supports only Google Chrome and Chrome for Testing
- Its own profile has none of your sign-ins; your Chrome needs version 144 and remote debugging
- Sends usage statistics to Google by default
- Brings no model: needs an MCP client and Node.js
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
- June 2, 2026Chrome DevTools MCP: MCP server and CLI declared stable in Chrome 149
- December 11, 2025Chrome DevTools MCP: Added auto-connect to a running Chrome session (Chrome 144)
- September 23, 2025Chrome DevTools MCP: Released as a public preview
Questions
Is Yab free?
Yes. Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan.
Is Chrome DevTools MCP free?
Yes. Free and open source; you pay only for your agent’s model.
Which one works in my signed-in browser, Yab or Chrome DevTools MCP?
Yab is the browser you sign in to, so agents work with your sign-ins. Chrome DevTools MCP uses a profile of its own by default, and your Chrome 144 or later once you turn on remote debugging.
Which runs on Windows, Yab or Chrome DevTools MCP?
Chrome DevTools MCP does. Yab runs on Mac.
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
- Chrome DevTools MCP README
- Advanced usage (profiles, auto-connect)
- Configuration guide
- CLI docs
- Chrome blog: Chrome DevTools (MCP) for your AI agent
- Chrome blog: debug your browser session
- What’s new in DevTools (Chrome 149)
Yab, Yet Another Browser.
Free for the Mac. Arc’s sidebar, your own Claude or ChatGPT as the agent, Chrome extensions on WebKit.