Rio vs Opera

Rio and Opera are both Chromium browsers for Mac with a sidebar and workspaces. Rio is open source under GPL-3.0, blocks ads and trackers by default, imports your Arc spaces, pinned tabs and passwords in one step, and its Ask row opens ChatGPT, Claude or Grok, whichever you pick. Rio needs no account.

Updated November 12, 2026.

Side by side

	Rio	Opera
Open source	Yes, GPL-3.0	No; "the exclusive property of Opera and its suppliers"
Ad and tracker blocking	Built in and on by default	Built in; you toggle on Block ads from the shield next to the address bar
Arc import	Spaces, profiles, pinned tabs, folders, favorites, Today tabs, history, passwords and sign-ins	Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Yandex or a bookmarks file; Arc not listed
Asking an AI	Your pick of ChatGPT, Claude or Grok	Opera AI combines OpenAI and Google models; ChatGPT or Gemini in the sidebar
Speedometer 3.1, Chrome = 100	97.8, our run on one Mac	92.5, from BrowseRating's scores on a different Mac

Every Opera cell comes from Opera's own site, help pages and license, or BrowseRating, listed at the end.

Where Rio is ahead

Open source. Rio's code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0, so anyone can read what it does, build it and keep it going. Opera's license for computers says the software is the exclusive property of Opera and its suppliers.
Ads and trackers blocked from the first page. Rio's blocker is on for every site by default, private windows included. Opera's ad blocker page tells you how to toggle it on. See Site controls.
Your Arc setup in one step. Rio reads Arc's files on your Mac and brings your spaces with their names, icons and colors, plus everything in them. Opera's import help names Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Yandex and a bookmarks file. See Move from Arc to Rio.
The assistant you already use. Rio's Ask row opens ChatGPT, Claude or Grok with your question, signed in to your own account there. Opera's AI combines OpenAI and Google models, and its sidebar offers ChatGPT or Gemini. See Ask.
Speedometer 3.1. Rio scored 97.8 against Chrome on our Mac. BrowseRating's scores put Opera at 92.5% of its Chrome score, on a different Mac. We have not run Opera ourselves.

How the speed numbers were taken

Speedometer 3.1 scores depend on the Mac, so each number is an index against Chrome on the same machine. Rio's 97.8 is our own run: Rio 158.0.8127.18 against Chrome 156.0.8078.81, 3 runs each, on an Apple M4 Max with 36 GB, November 9, 2026. Opera's 92.5 comes from BrowseRating's published scores, 48.3 for Opera 136.0.6008.80 and 52.2 for Chrome, on a Mac whose model BrowseRating does not publish.

Spaces with their own logins

Rio's spaces each hold their own pinned tabs, folders and Today tabs, and each can use its own profile, so your work accounts stay out of your personal space. Swipe between them with two fingers. See Spaces and Profiles per space.

Download Rio for Mac · Rio vs Chrome · Rio vs Vivaldi

Questions

Can Opera import my Arc spaces?

Opera's help names Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Yandex and a bookmarks HTML file as import sources. Rio imports from Arc directly: spaces, profiles, pinned tabs, folders, favorites, Today tabs, history, saved passwords and sign-ins.

Is Opera open source?

No. Opera's license for computers says the software is the exclusive property of Opera and its suppliers. Rio is open source under GPL-3.0, with its code on GitHub.

Does Rio block ads by default?

Yes. Rio's ad and tracker blocker is built in and on from the first page, using EasyList and EasyPrivacy. Opera's ad blocker page tells you to toggle on Block ads from the shield next to the address bar.

Which is faster, Rio or Opera?

Rio scored 97.8 on Speedometer 3.1 against Chrome's 100 on our Mac. BrowseRating's scores put Opera at 92.5% of its Chrome score, on a different Mac.