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.
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 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 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
At a glance
Yab and Opera, side by side.
| What | Yab | Opera |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Serafim Korablev | Opera |
| Status | Updated | Updated |
| Runs on | Mac | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android |
| Phone app | Not yet | iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account |
| Price | Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan | Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid |
| 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 | MCP |
| Engine | WebKit | Chromium |
| Tabs down the side | Yes | A setting |
| Spaces | Yes | Yes |
| Split View | Yes | Yes |
| Extensions | Chrome Web Store | Chrome Web Store |
| Ad blocker | Built in | Built in |
| 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. Opera AI answers about the page, Tab Islands, videos and files, and makes images, with no account; it doesn’t click or fill forms. 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. 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 windowsYab leads
Yab has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Opera has tabs down the side as a setting, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.
PriceOpera leads
Yab: Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan. Opera: Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid.
Where it runsOpera leads
Yab runs on Mac. Opera runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Yab needs macOS 15.4 or later. Yab has no phone app yet. On the phone, Opera: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account.
Engine and extensionsa matter of taste
Yab is built on WebKit, the engine Safari uses; Opera on Chromium, as Chrome is. Both take extensions from the Chrome Web Store.
PrivacyOpera 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. Opera has an ad blocker built in and a VPN. 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.
Where Opera is better
Opera comes out ahead on price, where it runs, privacy. It is also the better pick if you:
- Want a free browser VPN and an ad blocker built in
- Keep WhatsApp, Telegram or Slack open in a sidebar
- Sort work into workspaces, Tab Islands and split screen
The catch with each
Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.
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
- September 25, 2026Yab: First release
- July 23, 2026Opera: Vertical tabs shipped to all Opera One users
- April 16, 2026Opera: Browser Connector lets ChatGPT and Claude read your tabs over MCP (Early Bird)
- December 11, 2025Opera: Opera AI replaced Aria in Opera One, GX and Air
Questions
Is Yab free?
Yes. Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan.
Is Opera free?
Yes. Free, with Opera AI and a browser VPN; VPN Pro is paid.
Which has an AI agent, Yab or Opera?
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. Opera AI answers about the page, Tab Islands, videos and files, and makes images, with no account; it doesn’t click or fill forms.
Which runs on Windows, Yab or Opera?
Opera does. Yab runs on Mac.
Do Yab and Opera have phone apps?
Opera does. Yab has no phone app yet. On the phone, Opera: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks and Speed Dials with an Opera account.
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
- 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, Yet Another Browser.
Free for the Mac. Arc’s sidebar, your own Claude or ChatGPT as the agent, Chrome extensions on WebKit.