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Side-by-side comparison ยท AI Browsers & Agents

Brave vs Firefox vs Manus

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

Best overall

Brave

3.9

From $14.99/mo

Firefox

3.6

Free to start

Manus

3.7

From From $20/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best overall

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 who want a trusted, independent browser and want to decide for themselves whether AI is on or off.

Easiest to use

Pick it if: People who want to hand off whole tasks and don't want to build the automation themselves.

Overview

AttributeBraveFirefoxManus
In one lineA privacy browser with Leo, a free AI assistant that doesn't keep your chats.Mozilla's free browser with optional AI you can switch off with one setting.A general-purpose agent that takes a goal and works through it in its own browser.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreeFreemium
Starting price$14.99/moFreeFrom $20/mo
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code No No Yes

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeBraveFirefoxManus
Overall rating3.9Winner3.63.7
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
3.5
4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
3.5
3.0
4.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
3.5
3.5
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
4.5
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
3.5
3.5

Feature comparison

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

AttributeBraveFirefoxManus
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app Yes Yes Yes
Desktop app Yes Yes Yes
Browser extension No No Yes
API access No No Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace No No 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 No Yes
Understands images Yes No Yes
Makes images No No Yes
Makes video No No Yes
Writes code No No Yes
Runs agents or automations Yes No Yes
Learns your brand or style No No No
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score7/ 176/ 1715/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeBraveFirefoxManus
Plans

FreeOur pick

Free

Everyday summaries and questions while you browse.

FirefoxOur pick

Free

Everyone, with AI on or off as you choose.

Free

Free

Quick questions and seeing what it can do.

Leo Premium

$14.99/mo, or $149.99/yr

Daily users who want better answers and fewer limits.

Smart Window beta

Free

Heavy researchers in the US, Canada or France.

ProOur pick

From $20/mo, less with yearly billing

Anyone who wants to hand off real research and build jobs.

Pro (higher tier)

From $40/mo, less with yearly billing

Heavier users and anyone publishing websites with it.

Team

From $20/seat/mo

Teams that want shared credits and admin controls.

Enterprise

Custom

Large organisations.

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.There's nothing to pay. Use the sidebar with whatever AI account you already have. If you're in the US, Canada or France, try Smart Window with a free Mozilla account. Everyone else can join the waitlist.Try the Free plan for a week to get a feel for how many credits a real task uses, then move to the $20 Pro tier. Only go higher if you run out most months or you want it to publish websites for you.

Key features

AttributeBraveFirefoxManus
Standout features
  • Leo in the sidebar
  • Private by design
  • Choice of models
  • Bring your own model
  • AI browsing (early test)
  • Ask Brave
  • Smart Window (beta)
  • Pick your chatbot
  • Link previews
  • Choice of models
  • Optional memory
  • AI Controls
  • Autonomous agent
  • Wide Research
  • Slides, websites and docs
  • Scheduled automations
  • My Browser
  • Mobile and desktop apps

Pros and cons

AttributeBraveFirefoxManus
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
  • Every AI feature is optional and free
  • One switch blocks all AI, and stays off through updates
  • Open source, from a non-profit-owned company
  • Use the chatbot you already pay for
  • Link previews run on your own computer
  • You describe the result, not the steps
  • Strong at research, reports and first-draft decks
  • Scheduled tasks turn it into a hands-off research assistant
  • Apps for phone, desktop and browser
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
  • Smart Window is only in the US, Canada and France, and still beta
  • No agent that clicks through sites or fills in forms
  • The sidebar is just the chatbot's website in a panel
  • Smart Window needs a Mozilla account and has daily limits
  • A Smart Window bug pulled in browsing from before people opted in, since fixed
  • Credits are hard to predict and one big task can drain the monthly allowance
  • Output needs checking, and it can waste credits on dead ends
  • Not suited to automations that must run the same way every time
  • Few direct app connections compared with the automation tools
  • Pricing page does not load without JavaScript, so plan details are hard to confirm

Who each one is for

AttributeBraveFirefoxManus
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
  • Keeping AI out of the browser entirely
  • Using your own ChatGPT or Claude in a sidebar
  • Summarising and tidying lots of open tabs (US, Canada, France)
  • A browser not owned by an ad or AI company
  • Multi-step research with a report at the end
  • Lead lists and data gathering
  • Scheduled recurring tasks
  • Quick prototypes and slide decks
You'll find it used by
  • Privacy-minded owners
  • Researchers
  • Developers
  • Anyone leaving Chrome
  • Privacy-minded owners
  • Researchers
  • Developers
  • Teams with AI rules
  • Founders
  • Marketers
  • Researchers
  • Consultants

Questions people ask

Which is better, Brave, Firefox or Manus?

Brave scores highest overall in our ratings (Brave 3.9/5, Firefox 3.6/5 and Manus 3.7/5). Brave is best for summarising pages, PDFs and Google Docs privately and quick answers with Brave Search sources. Firefox is best for Keeping AI out of the browser entirely and using your own ChatGPT or Claude in a sidebar. Manus is best for multi-step research with a report at the end and lead lists and data gathering.

Which is cheaper, Brave, Firefox or Manus?

Brave: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $14.99/mo. Firefox: It's free and open source. Manus: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $20/mo.

Which is easier to use, Brave, Firefox or Manus?

Manus rates highest for ease of use in our scores. People who want to hand off whole tasks and don't want to build the automation themselves.

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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