Rio vs Brave
Rio and Brave are both free, open-source Chromium browsers with built-in ad blocking. Rio adds Arc's way of working: spaces with their own pinned tabs, folders and Today tabs, Peek for links, and an import that brings your Arc setup over in one step. Rio sends no analytics.
Side by side
| Rio | Brave | |
|---|---|---|
| Tabs in a sidebar | Spaces, each with its own pinned tabs, folders, Today tabs, colors and profile | Vertical tabs since 1.52 (May 2023) |
| A quick look at a link | Peek: Shift-click opens it over your page | An open request in Brave's tracker (July 2026) |
| Extra services built in | None: no wallet, rewards program or VPN | Rewards, Wallet, VPN, News, Leo and Talk; the paid Brave Origin ($59.99) removes them |
| Product analytics | None | Anonymous reports, which you can switch off in Settings |
Every Brave cell comes from Brave's own blog, privacy policy and GitHub issues, listed at the end.
Where Rio is ahead
- Arc's spaces. Each Rio space has its own pinned tabs, folders and Today tabs, and its own profile if you want separate logins. Swipe between them with two fingers. See Spaces.
- Peek. Shift-click a link and Rio opens it in a card over your page; close it and you are where you were. A Brave user asked for the same thing in July 2026, and that request is open. See Peek.
- Nothing extra to opt out of. Rio has no wallet, rewards program or VPN. Brave builds in Rewards, Wallet, VPN, News, Leo and Talk, and sells Brave Origin, a $59.99 edition without them.
- No analytics at all. Rio sends no analytics and no crash reports. Brave's privacy policy describes anonymous product analytics that you can switch off in Settings.
- Your Arc setup in one step. Rio's import brings your spaces, profiles, pinned tabs, folders, favorites, Today tabs, history, saved passwords and sign-ins from Arc's files on your Mac. See Move from Arc to Rio.
Who Rio is for
People who want Arc's spaces and Peek, ads blocked from the first page, and no wallet, rewards or analytics to opt out of.
Questions
Does Rio block ads like Brave?
Yes. Rio has an ad and tracker blocker built in and on by default, using the EasyList and EasyPrivacy filter lists. You can switch it off for one site in site controls.
Does Rio have spaces like Arc?
Yes. Each Rio space has its own pinned tabs, folders, Today tabs, colors and profile, and you swipe between them with two fingers. Rio's Arc import brings your spaces over in one step.
Is Rio open source like Brave?
Yes. Rio's code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0, so anyone can read it and build it.
Sources
- Brave, vertical tabs in Brave 1.52 (May 31, 2023)
- Brave on GitHub, issue 57421: Glance, peek into a link without a new tab (opened July 22, 2026)
- Brave, Brave Origin removes Rewards, Wallet, VPN, News, Leo and Talk (June 4, 2026)
- Brave, Browser Privacy Policy, Privacy-Preserving Product Analytics (September 23, 2026)
- Brave Shields, on by default
- Brave on GitHub, brave-browser (MPL-2.0)
- Rio source code on GitHub, including the built-in blocker
