Your Arc sidebar probably has a Work space with a dozen pinned tabs, a Personal space beside it, and a favorites row you click without thinking. That's exactly what's at risk. The Browser Company stopped adding features to Arc in May 2025, and on 22 October 2026 it announced that Arc will be sunset on 22 December 2026.
This guide is for finding an Arc browser alternative that doesn't wreck your workflow. I'll cover the realistic options, what each one does to your sidebar habits, and which I'd pick depending on how you actually use Arc.
The short answer: which Arc browser alternative should you pick?
Pick the one that preserves the part of Arc you'd hate to lose. For most people that's the vertical sidebar with spaces, so the closest replacement is Cra, a free, open-source macOS browser that copies Arc's sidebar model and can import your existing spaces, pinned tabs and favorites.
Here's my quick sorting:
- You want Arc's feel, minus the risk of abandonment: Cra.
- You like Firefox or want cross-platform: Zen Browser.
- You love customizing everything: Vivaldi.
- You want AI baked in: Dia.
- You want a polished, paid, Mac-only productivity browser: SigmaOS.
- You just want something safe and boring: Chrome, Edge or Brave.
Now the detail, because the differences matter more than the feature checklists suggest.
Why Arc users are leaving at all
Arc has an end date. The Browser Company will sunset it on 22 December 2026, and it hasn't had new features since May 2025. A browser is the most exposed app on your machine, so once its security fixes stop, staying on it isn't a safe option.
The second reason is Dia. The Browser Company's successor puts an AI assistant at the center and drops much of the sidebar-and-spaces identity that made Arc special. If you loved Arc for its calm organization rather than for chat, you'd be giving up the sidebar layout and the way spaces separate Work from Personal.
The options, one by one
Cra: the closest Arc browser alternative for sidebar workflow
Cra is a free, open-source macOS browser built to replicate Arc's sidebar functionality. You can import your Arc spaces, pinned tabs and favorites, so the first launch looks familiar instead of empty. It runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later, and the download page lists the current signed and notarized build.
It's young, though. Cra is at version 0.1.x, so expect gaps. The roadmap is upfront about what's shipped, what's in progress and what's deliberately left out. If you need a decade of polish, look elsewhere. If you want Arc's structure with a living codebase you can read, this is the one.
Zen Browser: the Firefox route
Zen is free and open source, based on Firefox, and runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, with vertical tabs, workspaces and split view, according to UNeed's roundup of Arc alternatives. If you're not on a Mac, or you want to leave Chromium behind, it's the best answer here.
Expect some friction. A few Chromium-only web apps still behave better elsewhere, and imports from Arc are less direct, so you'll rebuild some of your layout by hand. Worth it for Firefox people. Annoying for everyone else.
Vivaldi: for people who love knobs
Vivaldi is free and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. Its workspaces and deep tab customization appeal to power users, according to FindAlternative. I'll give you my opinion: Vivaldi is brilliant if you enjoy configuring, and exhausting if you don't. Arc was opinionated and simple. Vivaldi is the opposite. You'll spend an evening in settings before it feels right.
Dia: Arc's official successor
Dia comes from The Browser Company and has a free plan. It's the official successor, but you lose Arc's sidebar layout, and spaces aren't the point anymore. The browser is built around the AI assistant instead.
Paid tiers on Dia's plans page are Better Answers at $10/month and Better Days at $100/month, and new users get a 14-day trial of Better Days with no credit card required. Check the plans page for current prices before you sign up.
Platform details are inconsistent. UNeed lists macOS and Windows, while The AI Tool Bible's Dia review describes it as limited to Apple silicon Macs on macOS 14 or later. Check before you commit.
SigmaOS: polished but paid
SigmaOS is a Mac-only option with a free plan. Its Personal Pro tier is listed at $20/month by Free Instead Of. It has a productivity-first design and a sidebar approach, but at that price you're paying monthly for something Arc gave away.
Chrome, Edge and Brave: the no-drama picks
All three are free and current roundups keep recommending them. Chrome has tab groups, and Edge has its vertical tabs toggle plus workspaces, but neither gives you Arc's separate spaces with their own pinned tabs per profile-like context. Everything still lives in one tab strip you have to tame yourself. Brave adds built-in blocking, and its optional Firewall + VPN add-on is listed at $9.99/month by FindAlternative. They're stable and well supported. They're also the browsers Arc users originally left because the tab bar felt cluttered.
Side-by-side comparison
| Browser | Price | Platforms | Engine | Sidebar and spaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cra | Free, open source | macOS 14+ (Apple silicon) | Chromium | Yes, Arc-style, with import |
| Zen | Free, open source | macOS, Windows, Linux | Firefox | Vertical tabs, workspaces |
| Vivaldi | Free | Desktop and mobile | Chromium | Workspaces, tab stacks |
| Dia | Free; paid from $10/month | See notes above | Chromium | Not the focus, AI-first |
| SigmaOS | Free; Pro $20/month | macOS | Chromium | Yes, workspace-style |
Choose the browser that keeps your organization habits, not the one with the longest feature list.
How to switch without losing your setup
Migration is where people get burned, so do it in order.
- Don't uninstall Arc yet. Keep it around for a couple of weeks as a reference.
- Check what the new browser imports. Cra reads Arc's data straight from disk, so there's nothing to export, and the import keeps working after Arc's last update. For other browsers, export your bookmarks and passwords from Arc first.
- Install the new browser and import. In Cra, importing Arc spaces, pinned tabs and favorites is part of setup. How importing works covers what comes across and what to do if something looks wrong.
- Check your shortcuts. Cra keeps Arc's default shortcuts. The shortcut list shows them all, and you can rebind any of them in Settings.
- Run both for a week. Use the new one for real work. Note what annoys you.
- Delete Arc. Only when you've gone three days without opening it.
What you give up by leaving Arc
Be realistic. No alternative reproduces everything. Cra doesn't have Easels, Boosts, Peek or Notes yet, and it has no AI features. The rest of Arc, from Little Arc to split view and Air Traffic Control, has a counterpart in Cra. Zen and Vivaldi reach for different ideas altogether.
There's also security to weigh. A browser lives or dies on how quickly it ships Chromium fixes. Cra publishes how it gets those fixes and what it doesn't protect yet on its security page, which is the kind of candor I'd want from any browser. Ask every candidate the same question.
A browser that tells you what it doesn't protect yet is safer to trust than one that claims everything.
My recommendation
If you're a Mac user who actually liked Arc's sidebar, try Cra first. It's the only option here whose entire purpose is to keep that workflow, and it costs nothing. If you're on Windows or Linux, try Zen. If you wanted Arc's AI direction, give Dia's 14-day trial a go. Only choose the plain Chrome route if you've decided tabs should never be a project again.
To get going, download Cra, import your Arc spaces, and use it for one full work week next to Arc before you decide. That's the fairest test of any Arc browser alternative.