Is Zen Browser the best Arc alternative in 2026? Complete review covering features, privacy, uBlock Origin support, and how it compares to Arc, Brave, Safari, and Vivaldi.
it is a free, open-source Firefox fork that combines Arc Browser's best design ideas with Firefox's privacy foundation. Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux — trusted by users across the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia.
it is a free, open-source web browser introduced in 2024 and built on Mozilla Firefox. It is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Zen Browser takes the best productivity ideas from Arc Browser — vertical tabs, Spaces/Workspaces, Split View, and Zen Glance previews — and brings them to a non-Chromium, Firefox-based environment.
The core value of it is simple: it gives you a modern, well-designed browser that respects your privacy and is completely independent of Google's Chromium engine. As of April 2026, the browser is at version 1.19.8b running on Firefox 149.0, with weekly releases from an active development team.
Unlike Chrome, Edge, or Brave, it has no connection to Google's web infrastructure. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux — including ARM64 — and is used as a daily driver by users in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and growing communities worldwide.
it is packed with features designed for focused, productive browsing. Here are the standout capabilities that make it different from Chrome, Firefox, and other mainstream browsers.
Tabs live in a collapsible left-side sidebar — the same Arc-style layout that power users love. Frees up vertical screen space significantly.
Create separate Spaces for Work, Study, and Personal browsing. Each Space has its own tab set. Tab Folders (added August 2025) can be nested inside each other.
Hold a modifier key and click any link to open it in a floating modal. Dismiss instantly without leaving your current page. Inspired by Arc's Peek feature.
View two tabs side by side in one window. Drag a tab to the center to split — choose top or bottom layout. Ideal for research and comparison tasks.
Inherits Firefox's Enhanced Tracking Protection. Since v1.19.4, it also auto-blocks notifications from sites flagged as malicious by SafeBrowsing.
A community-driven theme store lets you apply custom color gradients, textures, floating URL bars, and more with one click.
Hides the tab sidebar when not needed, maximizing screen real estate. Perfect for smaller screens and distraction-free reading sessions.
Auto-populate folders with GitHub Issues, Pull Requests, or RSS feeds. A unique productivity feature unavailable in any other mainstream browser.
Every Firefox add-on works — uBlock Origin, Dark Reader, 1Password, Bitwarden, Grammarly, and thousands more. No Manifest V3 restrictions.
The most common comparison is it vs Arc Browser. After The Browser Company announced in 2024 that Arc would stop receiving new features and pivot to an AI-first product, thousands of Arc users began looking for alternatives. the browser is the most natural replacement — replicating Arc's design philosophy while adding open-source freedom and Firefox's privacy model.
| Feature | it | Arc Browser |
|---|---|---|
| Browser Engine | Firefox (Gecko) | Chromium |
| Open Source | ✓ Fully open source | ✗ Closed source |
| Vertical Tabs | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Workspaces / Spaces | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Split View | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Glance / Peek Preview | ✓ Zen Glance | ✓ Peek |
| Active Development | ✓ Weekly updates | ✗ No new features |
| Google-independent | ✓ Fully (Firefox engine) | ✗ Chromium-based |
| uBlock Origin (full) | ✓ Manifest V2 | ⚠ Limited (MV3) |
| Mobile Version | ⚠ In development | ✓ iOS (no new updates) |
| Price | Free | Free |
Both it and Brave are built with privacy as a priority, but they take different approaches. Brave is Chromium-based with built-in Shields and an optional Tor private window. the browser is Firefox-based with full uBlock Origin support and no Google engine dependency.
| Feature | Zen Browser | Brave |
|---|---|---|
| Browser Engine | Firefox (Gecko) | Chromium |
| Built-in Ad Blocker | ⚠ Via uBlock Origin extension | ✓ Built-in Brave Shields |
| uBlock Origin (full MV2) | ✓ Full capability | ⚠ Limited via MV3 |
| Google-independent | ✓ Fully | ✗ Chromium-based |
| Vertical Tabs + Workspaces | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Split View | ✓ Built-in | ✗ No |
| Tor Private Window | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Crypto / BAT Rewards | ✗ None | ✓ Optional |
| Open Source | ✓ Fully | ⚠ Partially |
Zen Browser vs Safari is primarily a question of platform and ecosystem. Safari is Apple's built-in browser, deeply optimized for macOS and iOS hardware. the browser is cross-platform and more flexible, but without Apple's battery efficiency advantages on Mac.
| Feature | the browser | Safari |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | macOS and iOS only |
| Open Source | ✓ Fully | ✗ Safari is proprietary |
| Extension Library | All Firefox extensions | Safari extensions only (limited) |
| Workspaces / Spaces | ✓ Full Workspaces | ⚠ Tab Groups only |
| Split View | ✓ Built-in | ✗ Not built-in |
| Battery Efficiency (Mac) | ⚠ Good | ✓ Excellent (Apple-optimized) |
| Windows/Linux Support | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| uBlock Origin Support | ✓ Full | ✗ No |
Both it and Vivaldi are designed for power users who want more than a standard browser. Vivaldi is Chromium-based with an extremely deep settings panel. the browser is Firefox-based, more visually modern, and fully open source. Users who loved Arc tend to prefer it; users coming from Opera tend to prefer Vivaldi.
| Feature | Zen Browser | Vivaldi |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | Firefox (Gecko) | Chromium |
| Open Source | ✓ Fully open source | ⚠ Engine only |
| Vertical Tabs | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Split / Tiling View | ✓ Split View | ✓ Advanced Tiling |
| Workspaces | ✓ Spaces | ✓ Workspaces |
| UI Design | Modern, minimal, Arc-inspired | Feature-rich, complex |
| Customization | High (Zen Mods + themes) | Very high (built-in settings) |
| Learning Curve | Low to medium | Medium to high |
| Google-independent | ✓ Fully | ✗ Chromium-based |
One of the most searched questions about Zen Browser is whether it supports uBlock Origin. The answer is yes — and this is one of Zen Browser's most significant advantages over Chrome-based browsers in 2026.
Google's Manifest V3 changes in Chrome have limited what ad-blocking extensions can do. Firefox and all Firefox-based browsers — including Zen Browser — continue to support Manifest V2, which allows uBlock Origin to block ads, trackers, scripts, and cosmetic elements at full power without any restrictions.
| Extension | Purpose | Works in Zen? |
|---|---|---|
| uBlock Origin | Ad & tracker blocking | ✓ Full MV2 capability |
| 1Password | Password manager | ✓ Yes |
| Bitwarden | Password manager | ✓ Yes |
| Dark Reader | Dark mode for all sites | ✓ Yes |
| Grammarly | Writing assistant | ✓ Yes |
| SponsorBlock | Skip YouTube sponsors | ✓ Yes |
| Privacy Badger | Anti-tracker | ✓ Yes |
Go to zen-browser.app and click the Download button. Choose your OS: Windows (.exe installer), macOS (.dmg), or Linux (Flatpak, AppImage, or Tarball). Both x86_64 and ARM64 builds are available for all platforms.
On Windows, run the .exe and follow the installer. On macOS, drag it to Applications. On Linux, use your preferred package format. Installation takes about 2 minutes on most systems.
On first launch, it offers to import bookmarks, history, saved passwords, and cookies from Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. This makes switching completely seamless — no manual work needed.
Click the + icon in the sidebar to create Spaces for Work, Personal, and other projects. Drag tabs into folders, pin your most-used sites as Essentials in the sidebar, and configure Compact Mode if you want more screen space.
Visit addons.mozilla.org to install uBlock Origin, your password manager, Dark Reader, or any other Firefox extension. Then open the Zen Mods store from the sidebar to apply themes and custom layouts.
One of the reasons people love the browser is its distraction-free, focus-first design. But even the best browser can't fix poor sleep habits. If you're using the browser at night, make sure you're calculating your ideal wake-up time too.
Our free Wake Up Time Calculator uses 90-minute sleep cycle science to tell you exactly when to wake up — so you feel genuinely rested, not groggy. Trusted by users in the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia.
These 15 questions cover the most searched queries about it in the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia.
it is the best modern, privacy-first desktop browser for users who want Arc's design philosophy without the Chromium dependency. It combines vertical tabs, Workspaces, Split View, and Zen Glance with Firefox's privacy foundation and full uBlock Origin support — making it a genuinely compelling daily driver for users in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and beyond.
The active development team ships updates weekly, features like Live Folders are genuinely innovative, and being completely outside Google's Chromium ecosystem is a meaningful structural privacy advantage that no Chrome-based browser can match.
Honest limitations: it is still in Beta (v1.19), has no mobile app yet, and does not support DRM streaming services like Netflix. These are real trade-offs that some users may find important.
Our recommendation: If you use Windows, macOS, or Linux and want a browser that respects your privacy, supports uBlock Origin fully, and gives you powerful Arc-style tab organization — download it and use it as your daily driver. The learning curve is minimal and the benefits are real.
While you're here — explore these free tools from AgeCalcAI trusted by users across the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia: