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Browse the web with Arc's sidebar layout on real Chromium, with built-in ad blocking and end-to-end encrypted iCloud sync. Free, GPL-3.0, Mac-only.
Ardia's sidebar, pinned tiles, spaces, and tab groups match Arc's layout directly, and the importer pulls Arc's spaces, pinned tabs, and themes in one step. Keyboard shortcuts match Arc's. The transition requires no relearning of spatial navigation.
If your Arc workflow relied heavily on Arc's AI features (Arc Max, Pinpoint search, AI tab renaming), Ardia does not include those. Its feature parity tracks Dia's UI, not Arc Max.
Ardia ships docked DevTools with device mode, identical to Chrome's. It strips Google's background services from the Chromium base. Chrome Web Store extensions install natively with an 'Add to Ardia' button on each extension's page.
If your workflow depends on Chrome Profile Sync, Google Password Manager, or casting to a Chromecast device, those services are not present in Ardia.
uBlock Origin ships built in with no setup, blocking ads, trackers, and cookie banners from first launch. Copy a link and the tracking parameters are stripped automatically. Sync runs through your own iCloud Drive, not a company server.
If your privacy needs extend to DNS-level filtering or a VPN-integrated browser, Ardia does not include those. It handles in-page tracking and link cleaning but not network-level requests outside the browser.
Published benchmarks show 8x faster cold launch (280 ms vs 2,262 ms), 1.7x less memory with 10 tabs open (714 MB vs 1,273 MB), and 242x less power draw when idle. No subscription is required, and the sync path has no company server.
If you rely on Dia's AI assistant or its web-aware chat features, Ardia does not have an AI layer.
Mac users who built their workflow around Arc's sidebar now have limited options. The Browser Company discontinued Arc and released Dia, but Dia carries subscription elements and a cold launch time measured at 2,262 ms in head-to-head benchmarks. Chrome bundles Google's telemetry and background services that send data regardless of your preferences. Safari lacks Chrome's DevTools and extension ecosystem.
The gap is specific: a Chromium browser with Arc's sidebar layout, full ad blocking, Chrome extension compatibility, and sync that stays in your own iCloud and not on a company's servers. Most alternatives require a paid plan for sync, a subscription for the visual design, or accepting an Electron wrapper rather than actual Chromium.
Moves the address bar into the sidebar so the page runs to the top of the window. Tabs are organized in a sidebar with pinned tiles and spaces, matching Arc's original layout. The importer brings Arc's spaces, pinned tabs and their names from a previous Arc or Dia installation.
Ships the full uBlock Origin, including cookie banner blocking, as a built-in component with no setup required. Google's background ping services are compiled out of the Chromium base, so the browser does not send periodic reports to Google's servers by default. Crash reporting is opt-in.
Bookmarks, history, extensions and passwords sync through a folder in your own iCloud Drive, encrypted end-to-end. No Ardia server is involved; the data path is your device to iCloud to your other Macs. Each profile keeps its own logins, history, extensions and gradient color theme.
Drag a tab onto the current page to open a second pane. Up to three panes can run side by side or stacked in one window. Switching tabs mid-video keeps the video floating in a picture-in-picture corner until you return to its tab.
The Chrome Web Store opens inside Ardia with an 'Add to Ardia' button. Extensions installed from the Web Store behave the same as in Chrome, including DevTools integration. The command bar (⌘L) finds tabs, history and bookmarks, handles calculations, and knows shortcut URLs like doc.new.
Imports bookmarks, history, passwords and logins from Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Arc, Dia and five additional browsers. Arc-specific data includes spaces, pinned tabs and themes. The import runs on first launch and is available again in Settings.
Ardia and Dia share the same visual design language: both emerged from The Browser Company's design system. The core difference is that Dia is a closed-source browser with subscription elements, and Ardia is GPL-3.0 and free.
| Feature | Ardia | Dia |
|---|---|---|
| License | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary |
| Price | Free | Paid subscription |
| Cold launch | 280 ms | 2,262 ms |
| Memory (10 tabs) | 714 MB | 1,273 MB |
| Idle power | 3.5 mW | 848 mW |
| Ad blocking | Built-in uBlock Origin | Not built-in |
| Sync | iCloud Drive (E2E encrypted) | Dia's servers |
| AI features | None | Dia assistant |
Ardia is the better choice when you want the same visual design as Dia without the cost, when you want sync stored in your own iCloud Drive rather than Dia's servers, or when launch speed and idle power draw matter on a battery-constrained machine. The benchmarks are measured on identical hardware before each release.
Dia is worth choosing if you rely on its AI assistant or subscription features. Ardia does not include an AI layer.
Arc is no longer actively developed; The Browser Company shifted focus to Dia. Ardia preserves Arc's sidebar workflow for users who built their daily routine around it.
| Feature | Ardia | Arc |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Active (v0.2.42, Oct 2026) | Discontinued |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary |
| Price | Free | Free (was) |
| Sync | iCloud Drive (E2E encrypted) | Arc's servers |
| AI features | None | Arc Max (was) |
| Import from Arc | Yes (spaces, pins, themes) | n/a |
Ardia is the practical replacement for Arc users who want to stay on a Chromium sidebar browser without switching to Dia. The Arc importer brings spaces, pinned tabs, and themes along. Ardia does not replicate Arc Max's AI features.
Install on macOS 14 Sonoma or later via Homebrew or by downloading the DMG.
```bash
brew install mantrakp04/tap/ardia
```Yes. There is no paid tier, no subscription, and no free trial. Ardia is GPL-3.0 licensed and free to download and run. There is no in-app upsell or paid feature gate.
Yes. The Chrome Web Store shows an 'Add to Ardia' button for each extension. Extensions installed from the Web Store behave the same as in Chrome, including DevTools integration. iCloud sync carries installed extensions to your other Macs.
Not currently. Ardia requires Apple Silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Intel Mac support is listed as not available. Windows and Linux versions are in progress; GitHub offers a release notification for when they ship.
One anonymous 'opened today' count per day, including version and macOS version but no persistent device ID. Update checks are counted by version and day. Crash reports and usage counts are opt-in only. Ardia states that it never collects sites visited or search queries.
Yes. The full source is on GitHub under GPL-3.0 (with Ardia's own files under Apache 2.0). Building requires Xcode 26+, CocoaPods, Node 22.13+, and pnpm 11. The engine comes prebuilt for development; building it from scratch takes around 2 hours on Apple Silicon.
#1 in the Arc guide
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