Zen Browser is an open-source Firefox fork with vertical tabs, workspaces, split view, and a polished UI. It has become the most-recommended Arc replacement, with 41,000+ GitHub stars and active development.
Zen Browser is a free, open-source Firefox fork built around vertical tabs, workspaces, split view, and a deeply customizable interface. We rate it 86/100 — it is the strongest Arc replacement we have tested and an easy upgrade for anyone who already lives in Firefox or wants a Chromium-free daily driver.
Zen Browser is a free and open-source web browser based on Mozilla Firefox, first released as version 1.0.0-a.1 on and licensed under MPL-2.0. It is maintained by the Zen Browser Team on GitHub, where the project has crossed 41,800 stars and ships a new build roughly every week. The latest public build at the time of writing is 1.19.11b, based on Firefox 150.0.1.
The pitch is simple: take Firefox's privacy and extension ecosystem, then bolt on the workflow ideas that made Arc popular — vertical tabs, workspaces, split view, and a clean chrome — without forcing users onto a Chromium engine. After The Browser Company put Arc into feature freeze in October 2024, Zen positioned itself as a spiritual successor and absorbed a large share of Arc refugees.
Sentiment across Reddit's r/zen_browser and r/browsers, Hacker News, and Product Hunt is overwhelmingly positive on design and feature velocity. The most repeated praise: it is the first Firefox fork that does not feel like a re-skin, and the team ships fixes within days of issues being filed. Power users on Mac specifically call out lower CPU and memory use than Arc.
The recurring complaints are real and worth knowing about. DRM is not bundled, so Netflix, Spotify Web, and Disney+ refuse to play protected video out of the box. Performance can be inconsistent on Linux and Windows, with users reporting occasional choppy sidebar animations after recent releases (GitHub issue #11982). And because Zen is effectively maintained by one lead developer with a small contributor circle, the bus-factor is a genuine concern raised in nearly every long-form review.
Zen Browser is completely free. There are no paid tiers, no premium-only features, and no ads. The project funds itself through optional Patreon and one-time donations.
| Plan | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Zen Browser | $0 | Every feature, every platform, every Mod — no account required. |
| Patreon (optional) | From $3/month | Supporter role on Discord, early access to release notes, no functional unlocks. |
Best for: ex-Arc users who refuse to go back to Chrome, Firefox loyalists who want a modern UI without giving up extensions, and privacy-minded power users who manage 30+ tabs across several projects.
Not ideal for: people who watch a lot of streaming video in the browser (DRM friction is real), enterprise teams that need vendor accountability and SSO mandates, or users on low-end Linux hardware where animation hiccups will be most visible.
Pros:
Cons:
The closest direct competitor is Arc, but it is no longer receiving new features. Floorp is another Firefox fork with vertical tabs but a less polished design language. Firefox itself with the Sidebery extension gets you 70% of the way there with more conservative defaults. Chromium fans will look at Vivaldi or Brave instead.
Yes — for the right person. Zen Browser is the most exciting browser project of the past two years and the only credible non-Chromium alternative to Arc. If you spend your day in tabs, want serious privacy defaults, and like the idea of a Firefox you do not have to spend a weekend ricing, install it tonight. Just keep Chrome around for the streaming services that still require Widevine. We rate it 86/100.
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