# Lilo vs Safari, Zen, Orion and Dia: Mac browsers with a sidebar, compared

> How Lilo Browser compares with Safari, Zen, Orion and Dia on the Mac: engine, source code, price, sidebar tabs, extensions and platforms, and when another browser fits you better.

Web page: https://getlilo.app/compare/

**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](https://getlilo.app/compare/#table)

- [Download for MacmacOS 26+](https://github.com/Alexays/Lilo/releases/latest/download/Lilo.dmg)
- [GitHub](https://github.com/Alexays/Lilo)

## Five browsers at a glance.

Checked against each project's own pages in October 2026. Browsers change fast: [tell us](https://github.com/Alexays/Lilo/issues) 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 |

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## 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](https://getlilo.app/arc-alternative/) covers the move.

## 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 its[compatibility notes](https://github.com/Alexays/Lilo/blob/main/COMPATIBILITY.md)list 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](https://getlilo.app/moving/).

## 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+](https://github.com/Alexays/Lilo/releases/latest/download/Lilo.dmg)
- [GitHub](https://github.com/Alexays/Lilo)

[Lilo](https://getlilo.app/)

A free, open-source browser for Mac, built on WebKit.

- [GitHub](https://github.com/Alexays/Lilo)
- [Discord](https://discord.gg/NyJRAapk76)

Made with ❤️ by [Alexis Rouillard](https://arouillard.fr/)