---
title: The Complete AI Browser Comparison — Speed and Cost from Aside to Comet
date: 2026-09-24
time: 1:25
model: admin
category: knowhow
summary: A comparison of seven AI browsers — from Aside, the top agent-benchmark performer, to Comet, the strongest free option — covering speed, cost, and pitfalls, based on measured data
tags: AI-browser, Aside, Comet, Dia, OperaNeon, agent, cost-comparison
---

To get to the point, as of September 2026 there are three answers for AI browsers. For practical work that breaks through login walls, Aside; for the strongest free option, Comet; for the pleasure of reading and writing on a Mac, Dia. And ChatGPT Atlas is dead. Here is the speed and cost, laid out with measured data.

## 1. Speed: There Are No Same-Condition Measurements, So Benchmarks Stand In

Let me be honest. Nowhere public has measured the speed of running the same task across all seven browsers. Instead, we compare via agent benchmarks and measured hallucination rates.

| Browser | Agent benchmark | Hallucination rate on 20 research tasks | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aside | #1 on Mind2Web, BU-Bench, Odysseys | Not disclosed | Claims #1 in work behind logins, above OpenAI and Anthropic |
| Comet Pro | Not disclosed | 4% (lowest) | 96% of sources are live links, strongest at research |
| Opera Neon | Not disclosed | 11% | Summarizes four PDFs at once with no lag |
| Atlas | Not disclosed | 14% | URL hallucination is a weakness, shut down in August 2026 |
| Brave Leo | Not disclosed | 18% | Strong at single-tab summaries, weak on multiple tabs |
| Dia | Not disclosed | about 30% | Accurate but shallow, weak at deep citations |

Aside's #1 ranking is a claim by the vendor, so it should be discounted. But not stopping at the login screen and instead handling payments, messages, and internal tools is an area other browsers cannot touch.

## 2. Aside Deep Dive: The Browser That Does Real Work

Its address is https://aside.com, and it comes out of YC 2024. It runs on macOS 15 and above.

The core is three things. First, it breaks through logins. A password manager for agents fills in credentials automatically, but never exposes them to the AI. Payments, publishing, and messages await human approval. Second, memory is local. Browsing history becomes in-device memory and is not shared with LLM vendors. Third, it brings your subscription. It uses your ChatGPT or Claude subscription, or your own API key, as is.

| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Platform | macOS 15 and above |
| Claimed benchmark | #1 on three agent benchmarks |
| Security | Secure Enclave, quantum-resistant encryption, sandbox |
| Cost | BYO your own subscription, no separate price disclosed |
| Caution | No Windows or Linux support, and as a newcomer its verification is ongoing |

## 3. Cost: How Much Does It Take

| Browser | Free | Paid | Pitfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comet | All free | Plus $5 (publisher content), Pro $20 (higher-tier models) | Even the free tier includes agents, effectively no pitfall |
| Aside | Not disclosed | BYO your own subscription | Does not reveal the browser's own price |
| Dia | Browser only | AI at $20/month, or a $100/month rumor | The official pricing page is a 404, so you must check inside the app |
| Opera Neon | Free download, includes MCP and CLI | Standard rumored at $19.9/month | No price on Opera's official page; aggregator figure, unconfirmed |
| Edge Copilot | Built into Edge | Extra with M365 integration | For Windows users, a 5-minute install |
| Brave Leo | AI answers free | Premium tier exists, price unconfirmed | Separate from search premium |
| Fellou | 1,000 Spark (about 4 tasks) | Plus from $19/month | Consumable, so expensive for bulk work |
| Atlas | Discontinued | Discontinued | Stopped working August 9, 2026; those who used it, go to Comet |

The prices for Dia and Neon cannot be officially confirmed. The fact is there is no price list, so check directly inside the app.

## 4. Choosing by Use Case

| Use case | Choice | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Practical delegation behind logins | Aside | Handles payments, mail, and internal tools to the end |
| Strongest free research | Comet | 4% hallucination rate, free on all platforms |
| Reading and writing on a Mac | Dia | The best-built reader, check price in-app |
| 5-minute Windows install | Edge Copilot | Just turn on the Edge you already have |
| Privacy | Brave Leo | Ad blocking and a local leaning |
| Connecting my own agent | Opera Neon | Free MCP connector and CLI |

Those who used Atlas will find Comet the closest free replacement. With any browser, use financial accounts while logged out, and start with a short leash on your agents.

## 5. Applications: How to Put Them to Work

### Research and Study: Comet

A workflow that cross-checks papers and news reports is the standard. Open several tabs and have the assistant compare coverage across outlets, convert a lecture outline into a study plan, and draft a reply to an email visible on screen. Answers come with sources attached, so you can paste them into a report as is. For students, it amounts to using Deep Research-grade capability for free. The paid Plus at $5 is only worth adding when you need to break through paywalled outlets like the New York Times.

### Practical Delegation Behind Logins: Aside

Delegate wholesale tasks that require login, such as shopping-mall orders, tidying internal dashboards, and email replies and follow-ups. Write the result onto a task page, specify the site, account, and files, and send it; it handles follow-up steps on its own, from minutes to hours. Payments, publishing, and messages await approval, so always check and approve anything that spends money. Sales teams can use it as real-time answer cards during calls, pulling answers from meeting notes, Slack, and past calls.

### Mac Knowledge Work: Dia

Connect Slack, Notion, Calendar, and Google Workspace, and it answers questions that move across tabs and work tools. The higher plan's morning brief, meeting prep, and report and deck generation are real-world applications. If your work is reading-centric, this is the most comfortable choice.

### Coding and Documents: The Canvas Family and Neon

Leave simple web games and PPT drafts to canvas-style generation, and if you want to run your own agent inside a browser, attach a Claude or ChatGPT session to Neon's free MCP connector and CLI. On the Standard plan, Do is website manipulation, Make is a production workflow, and 1-minute research is for quick fact-checking.

### Privacy First: Brave Leo

Handle single-tab summaries and queries with the free AI built into the ad-blocking browser. Split it: view sensitive documents on this one with its local leaning, and leave only deep research to Comet.

### Windows Office Workers: Edge Copilot

Turn on Copilot mode in the Edge you already have, and you get sidebar summaries, chat, and approval-based task execution. M365 users gain synergy with calendars and documents attached. It is a 5-minute-install entry point.

### Recommended Combinations

| Combination | Use |
|---|---|
| Comet + Aside | Research for free, payment-involving work on Aside |
| Dia + Comet | Reading and writing on a Mac with Dia, deep citations with Comet |
| Brave + Neon CLI | Sensitive reading in Brave, agent practice in Neon |
| Edge alone | Entry point for Windows office workers, starting without spending money |