Zen Browser

Zen Browser is heavily inspired by Arc Browser, with one core difference. It was built for those who want a Chromium alternative, but love the idea of a modern browser with a powerful sidebar, like Arc.

That said, with it being built atop Firefox, if you're moving over to it from Google Chrome or Safari, you're most notably going to notice how many browser extensions you use that don't exist in Firefox more than anything:

Only 2 of 29 extensions ported over

It's also built by a much smaller team, so you really have to just be somebody that absolutely loves Firefox, and wants to use a modern spin on that. That said, if you want an Arc-like experience without the bugs? Just use Arc instead.

Zen Browser sits in a weird in-between space where it's more polished than Firefox, but less capable than Arc or Brave. So when it's compared to highly adopted Chromium-based browsers like Arc, Chrome, or even Vivaldi, Zen is lacking in all of the core areas.

If privacy is your main driver over everything, and you like Arc's general UI, Zen is an interesting side project, but it still feels like a nascent and half-baked browser, probably a couple years away from feeling the the stability that Arc currently has. Most people are better off with Brave for privacy or Arc for user-experience.

Zen Browser fits into multiple categories based on what it actually helps you do. Each category highlights a different strength and the efficiency points it earned, helping you compare tools not just by features, but by how well they actually perform.

Keep exploring the best software across categories, or explore Zen Browser alternatives