Tarn compared with Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Arc
Tarn is a native Mac browser with blocking built in, no accounts and no telemetry, in early development. Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Arc each do some things better, and each comparison says which. Every cell about another browser comes from its own documentation or established reporting.
| Feature | Tarn | Safari | Chrome | Firefox | Arc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | System WebKit; Chromium per tab, optional | WebKit | Blink (Chromium) | Gecko (WebKit on iOS) | Chromium (Blink) |
| Built-in blocking | Yes: trackers, ads, cookie banners, malware, each a switch | Partly: Intelligent Tracking Prevention; ad blocking needs an extension | Partly: Safe Browsing and intrusive-ad filtering on some sites | Partly: Enhanced Tracking Protection by default; ad blocking needs an add-on | Not verified |
| Account required | No: Tarn has no accounts | No; iCloud is optional, for sync | No; a Google Account is optional, for sync | No; a Mozilla account is optional, for sync | Yes, for the desktop browser |
| Telemetry | None | Not verified | Usage and crash reports, can be switched off | Technical and interaction data, can be switched off | Not verified |
| Sidebar and vertical tabs | Yes: vertical tabs in the sidebar | Partly: Tab Groups in the sidebar | Yes: optional vertical tabs | Yes: optional vertical tabs | Yes: tabs, search and bookmarks in a sidebar |
| Spaces and profiles | Yes: spaces, and profiles with separate data | Yes: profiles with separate history, cookies and extensions | Yes: profiles | Yes: profiles and tab groups | Yes: spaces, each with a profile |
| Split view | Yes: two tabs side by side | Not verified | Yes, since Chrome 145 | Yes, since Firefox 149 | Yes: up to four tabs |
| Sync between devices | No | Yes, through iCloud | Yes, with a Google Account | Yes, with a Mozilla account | Yes, with an Arc account |
| Extensions | Partly: Safari web extensions from installed Mac apps | Yes: Safari extensions | Yes: Chrome Web Store | Yes: Firefox add-ons | Yes: Chrome extensions |
| Platforms | macOS 14+ today; Windows, Linux, iOS, Android in development | Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS | macOS 13+, Windows 10+; ends 22 Dec 2026 |
| Open source | MIT or Apache-2.0 licence; source not public yet | Partly: WebKit is open source, Safari is not | Partly: built on open-source Chromium | Yes: MPL 2.0 | No |
— means we could not verify the cell from the browser's own documentation or established reporting. Each comparison page lists its sources.
Last reviewed
Try Tarn on your Mac
No account to make and nothing sent home. macOS 14 or later; other platforms are in development.