Early preview · Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad
Akari, a calmer web browser for Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad.
Akari is a free Mac browser with vertical tabs, with versions for Windows, iPhone and iPad too. Your tabs live in a sidebar that tucks away, your favorites sit in a grid, and one color sets the mood for the whole window. It runs on Chromium, so websites and extensions work the same as in Chrome.
Free. This is an early preview, so expect rough edges.
- Version
- 0.12.1 preview
- Built on
- Chromium 156, the same engine as Google Chrome
- Requires
- A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or newer), a 64-bit PC with Windows 10 or 11, or an iPhone or iPad with iOS 17 or later
- Download
- About 190 MB on Mac, 175 MB on Windows. The iPhone and iPad app comes from the App Store.
- Security
- On Mac, signed and notarized by Apple. Every website runs in its own locked-down process, like in Chrome.
- Price
- Free
What makes it different
- Tabs in a sidebar that hides away and slides back when you point at the left edge.
- Favorites as a grid of icons: drag a tab up to keep it, drag it back down to let it go.
- Tab groups you can name, color and fold away.
- Nine colors, including a true black, that paint the whole window.
- The address bar sits in the sidebar, or on top if you prefer.
- Extensions from the Chrome Web Store work.
- Sign in with your email and your favorites and color follow you to your other computers and your iPhone.
- Akari for iPhone shows the tabs open on your Mac, and Send to Mac hands a page over in one tap.
- On iPhone and iPad, videos and music keep playing when you leave Akari or lock the screen, and any video can pop out into Picture in Picture.
- Summarize Page gives you the gist of an article and answers questions about it, made on your iPhone with Apple Intelligence, so the page never leaves your device. It needs an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, on iOS 26 or later.
- Shields blocks ads, trackers and pop-ups and hides "we use cookies" banners. On iPhone it can do the same in Safari.
- Block Video Ads takes the ads out of videos and hides sponsored posts.
- Saved passwords sync between Akari on iPhone, Mac and Windows, end-to-end encrypted. On iPhone, Akari fills them in with Face ID, and passkeys work.
- Private tabs on iPhone can lock behind Face ID.
- On iPhone, Akari can be your default browser: open Settings, then Apps, then Akari, then Default Browser App.
- Moving in from Safari or Chrome? Akari for iPhone imports your bookmarks and history, and lets you pick Google, DuckDuckGo, Brave Search, Bing, Ecosia or Kagi.
- It updates itself: when a new version is ready, click Restart to update and see what changed.
Where the preview is rough
- On Mac, passkeys saved in iCloud Keychain don't show up yet. When a site asks, pick the phone option and scan the code with your iPhone.
- The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so Windows asks you to confirm it the first time.
Install it in three steps
Drag it into Applications
Drag the Akari icon onto the Applications folder next to it.
Open Akari
Open it from Applications. To bring bookmarks over from Safari or Firefox, use Bookmarks, then Import Bookmarks and Settings.
On Windows, run the installer you downloaded. If Windows says it protected your PC, click More info, then Run anyway. Akari installs for your user only, with no admin prompt, and opens when it's done.
Download for WindowsQuestions
Is there a free Mac browser with vertical tabs besides Arc?
Yes, Akari. It is a free Mac browser that keeps your tabs in a vertical sidebar, like Arc. The sidebar hides and slides back when you point at the left edge, favorites sit in a grid above your tabs, and tab groups can be named, colored and folded away. It runs on Chromium, so Chrome Web Store extensions work. It is an early preview (0.12.1), with versions for Windows and iPhone too.
Is Akari free?
Yes. Akari is free on Mac, Windows and iPhone. There is nothing to pay for, and an account is only needed if you want your favorites synced.
Do Chrome extensions work in Akari?
Yes. Akari is built on Chromium 156, the same engine as Google Chrome, so extensions from the Chrome Web Store install and work.
Is there an Akari app for iPhone?
Yes. Akari for iPhone and iPad is free on the App Store and needs iOS 17 or later. It has the same colors and favorites as the Mac, blocks ads and cookie banners with Shields, and shows the tabs open on your Mac once you sign in.
Can Akari play videos in the background on iPhone?
Yes. With Background Play on (it is on by default), videos and music keep playing when you switch apps or lock your iPhone, and you control them from the Lock Screen. Any video can also go into Picture in Picture from Akari's menu.
What do I need to run Akari?
A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or newer), a 64-bit PC with Windows 10 or 11, or an iPhone with iOS 17 or later. The download is about 190 MB on Mac and 175 MB on Windows.