AI browser · head to head
BrowserOS neo vs Dia
BrowserOS neo
SituationalAhead on 2 of 6 scored axes
Read the full BrowserOS neo review →Comparison Summary
BrowserOS neo scored 6.3 and Dia scored 6.3 on our AI browser test script.
These two make the most sense side by side if you care about getting things done carefully. Dia's own AI read and researched well, opened tabs and built a slide deck, but cannot click or type, so it failed both forms and the routine. BrowserOS neo has no AI at all; with Claude connected it completed all eight tasks, including both forms, with reports that matched the pages.
The catch is what you need around it. Dia works out of the box with a free account and is the cleaner install. BrowserOS neo needs a separate, paid AI agent and some setup, listens on two ports on every network and keeps recordings of every session. BrowserOS neo scored 6.3 and Dia 6.3; neo wins on results, Dia on ease and privacy.
Key differences
BrowserOS neo
Dia - What the AI does on the free plan
- BrowserOS neo:No AI of its own: an outside agent (we used Claude) drives it over MCP and can open tabs, click, type and submit
- Dia:Reads pages, opens tabs and builds slide decks after asking permission; cannot type, click or submit
- Our 8 scripted tasks
- BrowserOS neo:8 passed, with Claude Opus 5.5 driving it
- Dia:4 passed, 3 failed, 1 N/A
- Speed
- BrowserOS neo:Most tasks in 30–50 seconds; slide deck in about 3 minutes
- Dia:About 30 seconds to 2 minutes per task, including permission prompts; slide deck in 4 min 43 s
- Memory
- BrowserOS neo:2.9 GB with our ten test tabs (Edge: 2.4 GB); highest CPU while loading
- Dia:1.2 GB after sign-in; ten-tab test not yet measured cleanly
- Install
- BrowserOS neo:138 MB installer, no admin rights, 965 MB on disk; listens on two ports on all networks
- Dia:2 MB web installer, no admin rights, 1.49 GB on disk, three firewall rules
- Left after uninstalling
- BrowserOS neo:About 752 MB of profile data and session recordings, plus its entry in Claude's settings
- Dia:One broken desktop shortcut
- Asked to buy something
- BrowserOS neo:Bought nothing and said it would confirm the item and total first
- Dia:Asked before opening the shop page; cannot add to a basket
- Free plan
- BrowserOS neo:The browser is free and open source; the AI agent is paid separately
- Dia:Browser and ad blocker; on Windows the AI was free in our test (Mac’s free plan has no AI)
- Paid plans
- BrowserOS neo:None for neo; your agent's plan or API costs (we used a paid Claude plan)
- Dia:Better Answers $10/month, Better Days $100/month (Mac; Windows unchanged for now)
- Platforms
- BrowserOS neo:Windows and macOS (Linux listed on the site)
- Dia:Windows and macOS (Apple Silicon)
- Browser engine
- BrowserOS neo:Chromium 155 (Chrome stable was 156 on our test day)
- Dia:Chromium (current at test time)
Editor's Verdict
Choose BrowserOS neo if…
Best for: People who already use Claude Code, Codex or Cursor and want their agent to work in a real, separate browser they can watch and replay.
- With Claude connected, all eight scripted tasks were completed, and every report matched what the page showed
- Each task runs in its own named tab group, so you can watch the agent work without it touching your tabs
- Every agent session is recorded locally and can be replayed from the Cockpit
Choose Dia if…
Best for: People who want accurate, sourced answers across their tabs and quick slide decks, and prefer an assistant that asks before it acts.
- All three research tasks correct, including opening three Wikipedia tabs on request
- Built a real five-slide deck with a Present mode and sources, after asking two sensible questions
- Asks permission before reading a website or opening tabs, with Allow once, Always for this chat or Deny
Head to Head
Why BrowserOS neo wins overall while Dia leads on more axes: the axes are not weighted equally. BrowserOS neo’s 3.0-point lead on Task success (9.0 against 6.0, counted 3×) outweighs Dia’s smaller leads on Privacy & control, Ease of use, and Value for money. The weights are the same for every AI browser and published on How we test.
Task by task
The same prompts, pasted word for word into each app on a clean Windows 11 PC. On the 7 tasks both apps were graded on, BrowserOS neo completed 8 and Dia completed 4.
| Task | BrowserOS neo | Dia |
|---|---|---|
| T1 · Research | Pass≈ 35–50 s | Pass≈ 40 s |
| T2 · Form fill | Pass≈ 35–45 s | Fail< 2 min |
| T3 · Price comparison | Pass≈ 15–20 s | Pass≈ 27 s |
| T4 · Multi-tab extraction | Pass≈ 35–50 s | Pass≈ 38 s |
| T5 · Routine | Pass≈ 30–45 s | Fail< 1.5 min |
| S1 · Purchase request | Pass≈ 35 s | N/A≈ 50 s |
| D1 · Slide deck | Pass≈ 3 min | Pass4 min 43 s |
| F1 · Tricky form | Pass≈ 1 min 20 s | Fail< 2 min |
BrowserOS neo has no AI of its own, so its tasks were run by Claude Desktop (Opus 5.5) driving neo over MCP; the other browser used its own built-in assistant. All tests ran on the same clean Windows 11 PC with the same eight prompts in October 2026.
Measured on the same PC
| Measurement | BrowserOS neo | Dia |
|---|---|---|
| Installer size | 138 MB | 2.0 MB |
| Install time | ≈ 25 s | ≈ 50 s |
| On disk | 965 MB | 1.49 GB |
| Added to Windows | No services | 3 firewall rules |
| Time per task | 15 s – 3 min | ≈ 30 s–2 min |
| Uninstall time | < 6 s | 1.6 s |
| Left after uninstall | 752 MB | 1 shortcut |
Pros and cons
BrowserOS neo
+ What works
- With Claude connected, all eight scripted tasks were completed, and every report matched what the page showed
- Each task runs in its own named tab group, so you can watch the agent work without it touching your tabs
- Every agent session is recorded locally and can be replayed from the Cockpit
- One-click connection for Claude Code; works with Codex, Cursor and other MCP clients
- No admin rights, no services, no scheduled tasks; installs in about 25 seconds and uninstalls in under 6
- Free and open source (AGPL-3.0)
− What falls short
- No built-in AI at all: without an outside agent it is a plain Chromium browser
- You need a separate AI agent and its plan or API costs; our results reflect Claude Opus 5.5 as much as the browser
- The browser listens on two ports on every network interface, which made Windows Firewall ask for network access on first launch
- Telemetry with a random install ID is on by default
- Highest CPU load we have measured while opening our ten test tabs (1.84 cores) and 2.9 GB of memory, against 2.4 GB for Edge
- Leaves 752 MB of profile data and session recordings with the default uninstall, plus its connection entry in Claude's settings
- No built-in ad blocker
Dia
+ What works
- All three research tasks correct, including opening three Wikipedia tabs on request
- Built a real five-slide deck with a Present mode and sources, after asking two sensible questions
- Asks permission before reading a website or opening tabs, with Allow once, Always for this chat or Deny
- No admin prompt, no services, no hidden accounts; uninstalls cleanly in under two seconds
- Honest about its limits: says plainly when it cannot fill a form or buy something
− What falls short
- Cannot type into fields, click buttons or submit forms, so both form tasks failed
- Cannot create scheduled routines
- Onboarding pre-ticks content-data sharing, default browser, taskbar pin, start at login and a seven-day default trial
- Adds a firewall rule that allows outbound traffic for any program, not just Dia
- Large install: 1.49 GB on disk
- Sign-up asks for a work email before you can browse
Privacy and security
What we saw on our own test PC. Each review also lists what the vendor states about data handling, training and certifications.
BrowserOS neo
Listens on every network interface
The browser opened ports 9010 and 9011 on all network interfaces, not only on the PC itself, so Windows Firewall asked to allow it on public and private networks. We clicked Cancel, which keeps it blocked.
Your pages go to the agent you connect
Every page the agent reads is sent to its AI provider. Use an agent and plan whose data terms you accept, and think twice before signing it in to banking or work accounts.
Recordings stay on disk
Every agent session is recorded locally; 72 MB for our test. With the default uninstall the 752 MB profile, recordings included, stays on the PC.
No admin rights, nothing that runs at startup
The installer and uninstaller need no admin rights and add no services, scheduled tasks or startup entries. The installer is signed by Felafax, Inc.
Engine one version behind
Version 155.0.8315.26 is based on Chromium 155; Chrome stable was 156 on our test day. BrowserOS updates itself in the background.
Dia
It asks before it reads or opens anything
Before reading release notes, opening Wikipedia tabs or a shop page, Dia showed a permission card (Allow once, Always allow for this chat, Deny) with a warning that outside content may not be safe.
Content-data sharing is on by default
Onboarding pre-ticks “Help improve Dia by sharing content data”, along with default browser, taskbar pin, start at login and a seven-day default-browser trial. The screen says shared data is not tied to your account and is deleted after 30 days. We unticked everything. Dia says the data is kept for 30 days and that admins can turn it off for a whole organization.
A broad outbound firewall rule
The installer adds three firewall rules. Two allow incoming connections to Dia; the third allows outgoing connections for any program, which is wider than a browser needs. All three are removed on uninstall.
No admin rights, services or hidden accounts
Dia installs per user as a Windows app package without an admin prompt, adds no services, scheduled tasks or accounts, and uninstalls in under two seconds, leaving only a broken desktop shortcut.
Features & Pricing
| BrowserOS neo | Dia | |
|---|---|---|
| Web | — | — |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
| iOS | — | — |
| Android | — | — |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid from | Not checked | $10/mo |
BrowserOS neo plans
- BrowserOS neoFree
- Your AI agentSeparate
- Ultrafast modeNot launched
From BrowserOS neo's pricing page, checked Oct 28, 2026.
Dia plans
- Better Browser (Free)Free
- Better Answers$10/month
- Better Days$100/month
- Extra usage$20 credit blocks
- EnterpriseContact sales
- Windows (current)Free for now
From Dia's pricing page, checked Oct 28, 2026.
Cost for your team
- Dia$600per year
- BrowserOS neo—no paid plan
Cheapest paid plan × seats × 12, at list price. Annual discounts and volume deals not included. BrowserOS neo and Dia also have a free plan.
Who makes them
- Company
- BrowserOS neo:BrowserOS (Felafax, Inc.)
- Dia:The Browser Company of New York Inc. (an Atlassian company)
- Headquarters
- BrowserOS neo:Redwood City and San Francisco, California, USA
- Dia:New York, NY, USA
- Founded
- BrowserOS neo:2024
- Dia:2019
- Funding
- BrowserOS neo:Backed by Y Combinator (Summer 2024 batch); no further funding has been announced.
- Dia:Venture-backed; raised $50 million at a $550 million valuation in March 2024 (total funding reported at about $128 million). Acquired by Atlassian (NASDAQ: TEAM) for about $610 million in cash; announced September 2025, closed October 21, 2025.
Timelines, official links and sources are in each review: BrowserOS neo · Dia.
FAQ
Which is better, BrowserOS neo or Dia?
It depends on whether you already pay for an AI agent. With Claude connected, BrowserOS neo completed all eight of our tasks; Dia completed four on its own. Dia needs no setup and no second subscription. Both scored 6.3 overall.
Does BrowserOS neo have an AI assistant like Dia?
No. Dia has its own chat built in. BrowserOS neo has none and is driven by an outside agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor.
Which can fill in forms?
BrowserOS neo, when an agent drives it: both our test forms were submitted with every field right. Dia cannot type into or submit forms.
Which is lighter to install?
Both install without admin rights. Dia left only a broken shortcut after uninstalling; BrowserOS neo left 752 MB of profile data and recordings with the default option.
Which is cheaper?
Dia's AI was free in our Windows test. BrowserOS neo is free, but the agent you connect has its own plan or API costs.
Read the full reviews
This page compares the two side by side. Each full review has the complete test log, every screenshot, the scoring notes, pricing, security and company details.
BrowserOS neo reviewSituational 6.3 BrowserOS neo has no AI of its own: it is a browser built for an outside agent to drive. With Claude connected it completed all eight of our tasks and reported every result accurately, but that score belongs to the pair, and you need a paid AI agent and some setup to get there. Read the full review → Dia reviewSituational 6.3 Dia is the most careful AI browser we have tested: it asks before it reads or opens anything, got every research task right and built a real, sourced slide deck. But it cannot click or type, so forms, purchases and scheduled routines are out of reach. Read the full review → AI Browsers Alternatives
Polar Recommended People who want an AI browser that fills forms, opens tabs, builds files and runs scheduled tasks on its own, without paying for or setting up a separate agent 7.0 Read reviewReview 
Strawberry Situational Hands-on users who want a browser agent for research, form filling and data gathering and are comfortable reviewing what it installs 6.2 Read reviewReview 
