Yab vs Safari

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.

Safari is Apple’s browser for Mac, iPhone and iPad, on WebKit, with Apple Intelligence for summaries and tab topics. Safari 27 also lets outside agents like Claude Code drive it over MCP.

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
Pick Safari
  • if you use a Mac and an iPhone and want your tabs and passwords on both
  • if you want AI that runs on your Mac or on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute
  • if you build sites and want Claude Code or Codex to test them in WebKit

At a glance

Yab and Safari, side by side.

Yab vs Safari
WhatYabSafari
Made bySerafim KorablevApple
StatusUpdatedUpdated
Runs onMacMac and iPhone
Phone appNot yetBuilt into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud
PriceFree; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT planFree with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later
AIAn agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT planChat about pages, on its own AI service
Driven by outside agentsMCP and a command lineMCP
EngineWebKitWebKit
Tabs down the sideYesNo
SpacesYesYes
Split ViewYesNo
ExtensionsChrome Web StoreSafari’s, from the App Store
Ad blockerBuilt inNo
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.

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. Apple Intelligence sums up pages, sorts tabs into topics and watches a page for price drops, and the Passwords app can change weak passwords for you; no agent that works through sites. 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. Safari can be driven over MCP, through safaridriver --mcp in Safari 27, once you allow remote automation and outside agents.

Tabs and windowsYab leads

Yab has tabs down the side, spaces, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep. Safari has spaces.

PriceSafari leads

Yab: Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan. Safari: Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.

Where it runsSafari leads

Yab runs on Mac. Safari runs on Mac and iPhone. On a Mac, Yab needs macOS 15.4 or later and Safari needs macOS 15 or later. Yab has no phone app yet. On the phone, Safari: built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud.

Engine and extensionsa matter of taste

Both are built on WebKit, the engine Safari uses. Yab takes extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Safari from the App Store, as Safari extensions.

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. Safari has no ad blocker of its own. Apple Intelligence runs on the Mac or on Private Cloud Compute, which Apple says doesn’t store what you ask or make it accessible to Apple.

Where Safari is better

Safari comes out ahead on price, where it runs. It is also the better pick if you:

  • Use a Mac and an iPhone and want your tabs and passwords on both
  • Want AI that runs on your Mac or on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute
  • Build sites and want Claude Code or Codex to test them in WebKit

The catch with each

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

Safari

  • Apple devices only
  • Tabs only across the top, and no Split View of two tabs
  • Extensions only from the App Store, in Safari’s format
  • Its AI needs a Mac with M1 or later and macOS 27

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
  • September 17, 2026Safari: Apple documented Safari 27’s MCP server for outside AI agents
  • September 14, 2026Safari: Safari 27 shipped with AI tab topics, Notify Me and Describe an Extension

Moving from Safari to Yab

Yab takes Safari’s passwords, cards, bookmarks and history through Safari’s own export. It reads Safari’s files on your Mac; nothing goes through a server, and Safari stays as it was.

Questions

Is Yab free?

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

Is Safari free?

Yes. Free with macOS; Apple Intelligence is free on Macs with M1 or later.

Which has an AI agent, Yab or Safari?

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. Apple Intelligence sums up pages, sorts tabs into topics and watches a page for price drops, and the Passwords app can change weak passwords for you; no agent that works through sites.

Which runs on Windows, Yab or Safari?

Neither. Yab runs on Mac; Safari on Mac and iPhone.

Do Yab and Safari have phone apps?

Safari does. Yab has no phone app yet. On the phone, Safari: built into iPhone and iPad; syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords via iCloud.

Can I move from Safari to Yab?

Yes. Yab takes Safari’s passwords, cards, bookmarks and history through Safari’s own export.

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.