Arc vs Zen Browser in 2026

This comparison has a deadline in it. The Browser Company closed Arc to new sign-ups on October 22, 2026, and the Mac and Windows apps stop working on December 22. If you use Arc, the question is not which browser is better but where to go. The company points to Dia, but Dia deliberately drops much of what made Arc what it was. For people who chose Arc for its sidebar and Spaces, Zen Browser is the most direct replacement there is.

How much of Arc Zen keeps

A lot of it, by design. Zen started as an attempt to rebuild Arc's interface on Firefox, and the pieces map closely. A vertical sidebar replaces the tab strip. Spaces (Zen used to call them workspaces) separate work from personal browsing. Essentials play the part of Arc's Favorites, Glance previews a link on top of the page the way Peek did, and Zen even has its own Boosts for restyling sites. Split view goes further than Arc's, tiling up to four tabs. Both score 4 for customizability, ease of use, speed and extensions.

Moving across got much easier on October 28, 2026. Zen 1.24b added an importer that reads Arc's sidebar directly. Spaces arrive as Zen Spaces with their names, icons and colours. Favorites become Essentials, and pinned tabs and folders keep their place. Bookmarks, history and passwords come over through the same importer. Boosts do not, because Arc cannot export them. Run the import while Arc still opens.

What changes when you switch

The engine. Arc runs Chromium and Zen runs Gecko, so your Chrome extensions do not come with you. Most popular ones have Firefox versions, but check the ones you rely on before the deadline. Arc blocked ads by default; Zen does not ship an ad blocker, so install uBlock Origin on day one. In return, Zen scores 4 for privacy against Arc's 3, because it inherits Firefox's tracker and fingerprinting protection, and it is fully open source where Arc was closed.

AI is the other big change. Arc scores 5 for AI features, from renaming downloads to summarising pages. Zen scores 1 because it ships none. If you used Arc Max daily, Dia is the browser that continues that idea.

Zen runs on Mac, Windows and Linux, and since September 2026 it syncs Spaces, folders and tabs between computers through a Mozilla account. It still has no mobile app, and Arc Search's sync with your desktop ends on November 23 anyway. Zen also still labels its releases as beta, and you will meet the occasional rough edge.

Which should you choose?

Staying on Arc is not an option after December 22, and data requests close on December 15. The decision is really between Zen and Dia.

Choose Zen Browser if the sidebar, Spaces and pinned tabs were why you used Arc, you are happy to swap Chrome extensions for Firefox ones, and you do not need built-in AI. Of everything available, it feels most like Arc, and it is free and open source.

Choose Dia, from the same company, if the AI was the part of Arc you used, or you need every Chrome extension to keep working. Whichever you pick, import before the cut-off, while Arc can still hand over its data.