Compare browsers

Lilo, Safari, Zen, Orion and Dia, compared.

Five sidebar-friendly browsers for the Mac, on three different engines. Here is what sets each one apart, and when another one fits you better than Lilo.

See the table

Download for MacmacOS 26+GitHub

Side by side

Five browsers at a glance.

Checked against each project's own pages in October 2026. Browsers change fast: tell us if something here is out of date.

	Lilo	Safari	Zen	Orion	Dia
Engine	WebKit	WebKit	Gecko, from Firefox	WebKit	Chromium
Made by	Alexays	Apple	Zen's open-source team	Kagi	The Browser Company, Atlassian
Source code	Open source, MIT	Closed app, open engine	Open source, MPL 2.0	Closed Mac app	Closed
Price	Free	Free	Free	Free, paid Orion+ tier	Free, paid Pro tier
Tabs in a sidebar	Yes, or on any edge	No, tabs in a row	Yes	Yes, as an option	Yes, as an option
Extensions	Chrome Web Store, Manifest V3	Safari extensions	Firefox add-ons	Many Chrome and Firefox ones	Chrome Web Store
Platforms	Mac, macOS 26 or later	Mac, iPhone, iPad	Mac, Windows, Linux	Mac, iPhone, iPad	Mac

What only Lilo does

A native Mac browser for people who live in a sidebar.

These are the parts you will not find together anywhere else in the table.

WebKit with Chrome extensions. The engine Safari uses, and the Chrome Web Store's Manifest V3 extensions installed in one click.

Spaces with their own profiles. Each Space can keep its own sign-ins and extensions, in one window, with tabs on any edge.

Arc's power features. Peek, a Little window from any app, nested folders, an auto-archive, and link rules like Air Traffic Control.

Terminal tabs. A real terminal beside your pages, with each repository's branch and pending changes in the sidebar.

A browser for your AI agents. No AI of its own, but a local MCP server so Claude Code, Codex or Cursor browse in their own Space, and Lilo asks you before they send, pay or delete.

Nothing to switch off. MIT licensed, no account, no telemetry and no server.

Lilo or Safari

Same engine, a different way to work.

Choose Safari if you want your tabs and history on your iPhone, Apple Pay on websites, or passkeys from iCloud Keychain, which Lilo cannot use until Apple grants it access.

Choose Lilo if you want Spaces in a sidebar, Chrome extensions, Peek and link rules, on the same WebKit engine. Lilo imports your Safari bookmarks, tabs and history.

Lilo or Zen

Two open-source takes on Arc.

Choose Zen if you also use Windows or Linux, want Firefox's engine and add-ons, or need your Spaces synced between computers.

Choose Lilo if you are on a Mac and want a native app on WebKit that runs Chrome extensions, with terminal tabs and an MCP server for your agents. Lilo imports from Zen too.

Lilo or Orion

Two WebKit browsers that run other browsers' extensions.

Choose Orion if you want the same browser on your iPhone and iPad, or Firefox extensions as well as Chrome ones.

Choose Lilo if you want open-source code, Arc-style Spaces with their own profiles, an Arc import, terminal tabs and a browser your AI agents can drive.

Lilo or Dia

Arc's successor, or Arc's ideas without the AI.

Choose Dia if you want an AI assistant built into the browser, on Chromium, from the team that made Arc.

Choose Lilo if you want no AI of its own, a browser that is not Chromium, and code that stays open whatever happens to a company. Leaving Arc covers the move.

Questions

Choosing a Mac browser.

Which of these is closest to Arc?

Zen, Dia and Lilo all offer a sidebar of tabs like Arc's. Dia is Arc's successor from the same company, on Chromium with AI built in. Zen is on Firefox's engine. Lilo is on WebKit, imports your Arc spaces, and brings back Peek, the Little window and link rules like Air Traffic Control.

Can a WebKit browser run Chrome extensions?

Lilo and Orion both do. Lilo installs Manifest V3 extensions straight from the Chrome Web Store, and itscompatibility noteslist what still differs from Chrome. Safari only runs extensions made for Safari.

What does Lilo not have that the others do?

Sync, mobile apps and a Windows version. Lilo has no account and no server, so there is nothing to sync through. Apple does not let a third-party browser use Apple Pay on the web, and passkeys from iCloud Keychain wait on Apple's approval.

Do I have to give up my current browser?

No. Lilo reads your other browser on your Mac and changes nothing in it, so you can keep both and see which one feels like home. See what comes with you.

Try it beside the one you use.

Lilo imports from Safari, Zen, Dia and Chromium browsers in a few clicks and changes nothing in them, so you can keep both side by side.

Download for MacmacOS 26+GitHub