Zen Browser

What it is for

Zen Browser is a privacy-focused Firefox fork: you keep Workspaces (Personal) and vertical tabs (ChatGPT / YouTube) in a Compact sidebar, then Glance or Split View a second page, and the browser itself is $0. Use it when the job is a Firefox window you start at a public $, not when you need a Chromium AI sidecar.

Soft-note: OSS Free; Ko-fi / sponsor support is optional — do not invent a Pro seat. Distinct from Orion and SigmaOS.

What makes it unique: the cover is Zen’s official marketing ComImage desk (Search with Google, workspace Personal, tabs ChatGPT / YouTube, New tab, top back / forward / home, sidebar footer settings / downloads, landscape new-tab pane) from zen-browser.app — not a wordmark. The Personal workspace itself is ops of the sidebar.

Key features

• Workspaces — the left Personal stack (cover still; Workspaces). One desk. Cover Personal sits here.
• Vertical tabs — ChatGPT / YouTube in the sidebar (cover). A tab list, not a Pro tile.
• Search with Google — the sidebar search / URL field (cover Search with Google). A field, not a $0 meter.
• Content pane — the landscape new-tab surface beside the sidebar (cover). A pane, not Get Started.
• Window chrome — back / forward / home on the Compact top bar (cover). Chrome, not donate.
• Compact Mode — hide the sidebar / toolbar until you hover (cover; Compact Mode Ctrl+S). A mode, not Ko-fi.
• Glance / Split View — preview a link on top of the tab, or drop a second tab beside it (Glance; Split View up to 4 tabs). A view, not a sponsor SKU.

New tab on the cover is a CTA (not a sixth desk). Donation / Ko-fi tiles stay in Pricing. There is no AI desk we fold into the sidebar.

Who it's for

Best fit: people who will stay on Free at $0 while they open a first Personal workspace + ChatGPT / YouTube tabs, then optionally tip on Donate — not SigmaOS Pro $20 first unless they want that Mac Airis sidecar, and not Orion+ unless they want Kagi’s WebKit support SKU.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from zen-browser.app, Donate, and github.com/zen-browser/desktop (MPL 2.0). Soft-note: OSS Free; no paid seat.

• Zen Browser — Free ($0). Download / build from the site and GitHub. No printed Pro / Team / Cloud $ on the marketing pages we fetched.
• Support — optional. Donate page: Ko-fi one-time or monthly, “choose the amount that works best for you.” Do not invent a Pro $.
• Paid Cloud seat — none printed.

Confirm the license on the repo before you ship a binary you did not build. There is no checkout tile.

Limitations / costs

• Support is a tip, not a second browser. The ComImage desk on the cover is Free.
• A Firefox workspace, not Orion’s WebKit Start Page. For that Start Page see Orion.
• Not SigmaOS Personal Pro. For that Mac Airis sidecar see SigmaOS.

Alternatives

• Orion — Kagi’s WebKit window when you want the browser $0 and optional Orion+ $5 / $50 / $150, not Zen’s Personal sidebar.
• SigmaOS — a Mac workspace browser when you want Personal $0 / Pro $20, not Search with Google on Firefox.

Official tutorial

We searched @zenbrowser (oEmbed author: Zen Browser). Current uploads we resolved are lifestyle Zen Stories (Priceless Wooden Coffin, POWER OF SILENCE - THE STORY OF FOUR MONKS) — not a Workspaces / Mods / getting-started how-to of this Firefox fork. We do not embed those as officialVideo, and we do not embed third-party walkthroughs (oEmbed author timothee on “How to Set Up Zen Browser”). Use the written Workspaces, Compact Mode, and the ComImage still.

Website

https://www.zen-browser.app/

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is Zen’s official homepage ComImage desk (Search with Google + Personal + ChatGPT / YouTube + landscape pane) — not a logo poster. Dollars checked on zen-browser.app + /donate (browser $0; Ko-fi optional; no paid seat). @zenbrowser searched; no first-party Workspaces how-to at check.

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.