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Side-by-side comparison ยท AI Browsers & Agents

Brave vs Claude Cowork vs Google Chrome

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Brave

3.9

From $14.99/mo

Claude Cowork

4.1

From $20/mo

Google Chrome

4.1

From $19.99/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Pick it if: Business owners who want an AI helper in the browser but don't want their browsing or chats stored or used for training.

Pick it if: Business owners and office teams who want repetitive file, report and admin work done for them without building automations.

Easiest to use

Pick it if: Anyone already using Chrome and Google's apps who wants AI help reading, comparing and researching without switching browsers.

Overview

AttributeBraveClaude CoworkGoogle Chrome
In one lineA privacy browser with Leo, a free AI assistant that doesn't keep your chats.Claude's agent mode: hand it a whole task across your files, apps and browser.The world's most used browser, now with Gemini built in to read pages and do tasks.
Pricing modelFreemiumPaidFreemium
Starting price$14.99/mo$20/mo$19.99/mo
Free plan Yes No Yes
Works with Claude Code No Yes No

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeBraveClaude CoworkGoogle Chrome
Overall rating3.94.14.1
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
4.0
4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
3.5
4.5
4.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
3.5
4.5
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
4.0
4.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
3.5
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeBraveClaude CoworkGoogle Chrome
Access & platform
Free plan Yes No Yes
Mobile app Yes Yes Yes
Desktop app Yes Yes Yes
Browser extension No No Yes
API access No No No
Teams & business
Team workspace No Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO No Yes Yes
Connects to other apps No Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes Yes
Understands images Yes Yes Yes
Makes images No No Yes
Makes video No No No
Writes code No Yes No
Runs agents or automations Yes Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style No Yes No
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score7/ 1711/ 1712/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeBraveClaude CoworkGoogle Chrome
Plans

FreeOur pick

Free

Everyday summaries and questions while you browse.

Pro

$20/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly

Trying it on a few tasks a week.

FreeOur pick

Free

Most people: summaries, tab comparisons and AI search.

Leo Premium

$14.99/mo, or $149.99/yr

Daily users who want better answers and fewer limits.

MaxOur pick

From $100/mo

Anyone handing off tasks every day.

Google AI Pro

$19.99/mo

US users who want Gemini to do tasks on websites for them.

Team

$25/seat/mo, or $20/seat/mo billed yearly

Small teams sharing connectors and admin controls.

Google AI Ultra

From $99.99/mo

Heavy users who hit Pro's limits.

Enterprise

From $20/seat/mo yearly plus usage, 20-seat minimum

Companies that need admin, spend and security controls.

Which plan to pickStart free. If you hit the daily limits or the answers feel thin, Premium at $14.99 a month gets you Claude-level quality inside a private browser. If you already pay for ChatGPT or Claude, you may not need Premium at all, since those work in any browser.Start on Pro to see which jobs it handles well for you. If you hand it real work most days you will hit the limits, and Max is the plan that makes it a daily tool.Use it free. The side panel is what most business owners will actually use, and it's free in Australia. Only pay for AI Pro if you're in the US or India and want auto browse, or you want Gemini's better models anyway. Nobody needs Ultra for the browser.

Key features

AttributeBraveClaude CoworkGoogle Chrome
Standout features
  • Leo in the sidebar
  • Private by design
  • Choice of models
  • Bring your own model
  • AI browsing (early test)
  • Ask Brave
  • Works in your files
  • Apps and browser
  • Scheduled tasks
  • Parallel sub-agents
  • Start from your phone
  • Plugins for roles
  • Gemini side panel
  • Auto browse
  • Works with Google apps
  • AI Mode in the address bar
  • Skills
  • Scam protection

Pros and cons

AttributeBraveClaude CoworkGoogle Chrome
Pros
  • Free Leo with no account and no chat history kept
  • Open source, with ads and trackers blocked by default
  • Premium includes Claude models for $14.99 a month
  • Can run your own or a local model
  • On Mac, Windows, Linux, Android and iPhone
  • Handles real multi-step business work, not just chat answers
  • Output files (decks, spreadsheets, documents) are usually ready to use
  • No separate subscription if you already pay for Claude
  • Scheduled tasks and phone hand-off make it feel like an assistant
  • Plans first and asks before big actions, so you stay in control
  • Most people already use it, so there's nothing to switch
  • Free Gemini side panel, available in Australia
  • Works with Gmail, Calendar and YouTube
  • Huge extension library
  • Asks before sign-ins and purchases during auto browse
Cons
  • The agent is an opt-in experiment hidden in brave://flags
  • Free models give weaker answers than Comet or ChatGPT
  • Reviewers report the odd confidently wrong answer
  • No connections to Gmail, Slack or calendars like Dia
  • Crypto wallet and rewards extras some people find off-putting
  • Agent tasks burn through usage limits quickly, especially on Pro
  • Long or complex jobs sometimes stall or produce wrong results
  • Scheduled tasks need your computer awake with Claude open
  • Files with hidden instructions can manipulate it, and screen control has no sandbox
  • Still rolling out: Team and Free don't have the merged version yet
  • Auto browse is paid, US and India only, and not on iPhone
  • Early reviews found auto browse unreliable and prone to claiming tasks it hadn't done
  • Page content you share with Gemini is sent to Google
  • Not yet available in the EU
  • Gemini prompts are increasingly pushed into the browser whether you want them or not

Who each one is for

AttributeBraveClaude CoworkGoogle Chrome
Best for
  • Summarising pages, PDFs and Google Docs privately
  • Quick answers with Brave Search sources
  • People who want ad and tracker blocking built in
  • Running your own or a local AI model in the browser
  • Weekly reports built from several sources
  • Organising and cleaning up folders of files
  • Turning receipts or exports into spreadsheets
  • Reviewing a batch of documents against a checklist
  • Recurring admin on a schedule
  • Summarising pages and YouTube videos
  • Comparing products or suppliers across tabs
  • Adding events to Google Calendar from a page
  • Google Workspace users who don't want a new browser
You'll find it used by
  • Privacy-minded owners
  • Researchers
  • Developers
  • Anyone leaving Chrome
  • Business owners
  • Operations teams
  • Marketers
  • Analysts
  • Lawyers and accountants
  • Small business owners
  • Marketers
  • Students
  • Google Workspace users

Questions people ask

Which is better, Brave, Claude Cowork or Google Chrome?

They tie on our overall rating (Brave 3.9/5, Claude Cowork 4.1/5 and Google Chrome 4.1/5). Brave is best for summarising pages, PDFs and Google Docs privately and quick answers with Brave Search sources. Claude Cowork is best for weekly reports built from several sources and organising and cleaning up folders of files. Google Chrome is best for summarising pages and YouTube videos and comparing products or suppliers across tabs.

Which is cheaper, Brave, Claude Cowork or Google Chrome?

Brave: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $14.99/mo. Claude Cowork: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $20/mo. Google Chrome: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $19.99/mo.

Which is easier to use, Brave, Claude Cowork or Google Chrome?

Google Chrome rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone already using Chrome and Google's apps who wants AI help reading, comparing and researching without switching browsers.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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