Skip to content

Side-by-side comparison ยท AI Browsers & Agents

Brave vs Claude in Chrome 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 in Chrome

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: Claude subscribers who spend their day in web apps and want the repetitive clicking done for them.

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

Overview

AttributeBraveClaude in ChromeGoogle Chrome
In one lineA privacy browser with Leo, a free AI assistant that doesn't keep your chats.Anthropic's Chrome extension that lets Claude click, type and fill in forms for you.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 in ChromeGoogle Chrome
Overall rating3.94.14.1
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
4.5
4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
3.5
4.0
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 in ChromeGoogle Chrome
Access & platform
Free plan Yes No Yes
Mobile app Yes No Yes
Desktop app Yes No Yes
Browser extension No Yes 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/ 1710/ 1712/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeBraveClaude in ChromeGoogle Chrome
Plans

FreeOur pick

Free

Everyday summaries and questions while you browse.

ProOur pick

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

Anyone trying browser tasks for the first time.

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.

Max

$100/mo

People running browser tasks most days.

Google AI Pro

$19.99/mo

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

Ultra

$200/mo

All-day agent users.

Google AI Ultra

From $99.99/mo

Heavy users who hit Pro's limits.

Team

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

Teams of 2 to 150 who want admin control.

Enterprise

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

Larger companies with security rules.

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.Pro is enough to see what it can do for you. Browser tasks use your limits faster than chat, so if you hand it real work every day you'll likely need Max. Teams should use the Team plan so an admin can control which sites Claude can use.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 in ChromeGoogle Chrome
Standout features
  • Leo in the sidebar
  • Private by design
  • Choice of models
  • Bring your own model
  • AI browsing (early test)
  • Ask Brave
  • Acts on the page
  • Works across tabs
  • Cowork in the side panel
  • Background tasks
  • Safety checks
  • Works with Claude Code
  • Gemini side panel
  • Auto browse
  • Works with Google apps
  • AI Mode in the address bar
  • Skills
  • Scam protection

Pros and cons

AttributeBraveClaude in ChromeGoogle 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
  • Works in the Chrome you already use, with your logins
  • Included with any paid Claude plan
  • Handles websites that have no connector or API
  • Your skills and connectors work in the side panel
  • Anthropic publishes its prompt-injection test results
  • 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
  • Desktop Chrome only: no Edge, Brave, Safari or phone
  • Web pages can hide instructions to trick it, and the risk isn't zero
  • Browser tasks use up your Claude limits quickly
  • Slower than doing a short task yourself
  • Not on the free Claude plan
  • 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 in ChromeGoogle 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
  • Pulling numbers out of dashboards and portals with no export
  • Tidying Google Drive, Gmail and other web apps
  • Updating a CRM from your calendar and emails
  • Researching competitors across many sites
  • Testing a website you built with Claude Code
  • 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
  • Marketers
  • Operations teams
  • Sales teams
  • Founders
  • Web developers
  • Small business owners
  • Marketers
  • Students
  • Google Workspace users

Questions people ask

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

They tie on our overall rating (Brave 3.9/5, Claude in Chrome 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 in Chrome is best for pulling numbers out of dashboards and portals with no export and Tidying Google Drive, Gmail and other web apps. Google Chrome is best for summarising pages and YouTube videos and comparing products or suppliers across tabs.

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

Brave: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $14.99/mo. Claude in Chrome: 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.

How we compare

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

Swap in another tool

More tools from AI Browsers & Agents in the library.