Vivaldi vs Zen Browser in 2026

Vivaldi and Zen Browser attract the same kind of person: someone with too many tabs who wants the browser to organise them better than Chrome does. Both have workspaces, vertical tabs and split view, and both have refused the AI rush. Each scores 1 for AI features in our ratings, and Vivaldi's CEO has said publicly that generative AI will stay out of the browser. They get there from opposite directions, though. Vivaldi gives you every option, while Zen strips the interface back.

Configurable versus calm

Vivaldi scores 5 for customizability, the joint highest we award, against Zen's 4. Tabs can sit on any edge, stack into groups or tile side by side. Keyboard shortcuts, mouse gestures and Command Chains can automate almost any action, and themes go down to individual colours. It also builds in an email client, a calendar and a feed reader. The cost is density: Vivaldi scores 3 for ease of use against Zen's 4, and its first launch asks more questions than many people want to answer.

Zen is a Firefox-based browser designed to reduce visual noise. Tabs live in a sidebar organised into workspaces, split view tiles up to four tabs, Glance previews a link without leaving the page, and Mods restyle the interface. It is less configurable than Vivaldi but more coherent out of the box, and it will feel familiar to anyone who used Arc.

Engine, privacy and code

The engine is the structural difference. Vivaldi is Chromium, with full Chrome Web Store support but inside Manifest V3's limits on content blockers. Zen runs Firefox's Gecko engine and installs Firefox add-ons, including uBlock Origin at full strength. Both score 4 for extensions and 4 for speed.

Both score 4 for privacy, too, with different strengths. Vivaldi blocks ads, trackers and cookie banners by default and includes a free VPN, built with Proton, on desktop. Zen does not block ads until you install a blocker, but it inherits Firefox's fingerprinting protection and containers, which Vivaldi does not have.

Openness favours Zen, which is fully open source. Vivaldi publishes its Chromium changes but keeps its interface code proprietary. On the other hand, Vivaldi is an established Oslo company that has shipped since 2016, while Zen is a small, young project whose releases still carry a beta label.

Platforms and sync

Vivaldi runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android, with end-to-end encrypted sync. Zen is desktop only. It syncs through a Mozilla account, and since September 2026 it also syncs its workspaces and tabs between computers, but your phone needs a different browser.

Which should you choose?

Choose Vivaldi if you want to build the browser around how you work, want mail and a calendar inside it, need it on your phone as well, or prefer blocking and a VPN that work out of the box.

Choose Zen Browser if you browse on desktop, want a calm, Arc-like interface that works well without setup, and prefer an open-source Gecko browser where content blockers run without limits. Add uBlock Origin on day one.