Arc Is Shutting Down. Should You Switch to Dia or Zen?

For people who arranged their working lives around Arc, changing browsers means more than choosing a new default. It means rebuilding the place where client projects, personal accounts and half-finished ideas lived.

Arc asked you to learn its way of doing things. If you liked it, that effort became part of the appeal. Now the browser is going away, and its creators would like you to move into a different future.

Start with Dia if preserving your existing setup matters most. Consider Zen if Arc’s organization was the attraction. Give Vivaldi a look if you want more control over how you rebuild. The AI decision can come afterward. You do not have to buy into a new assistant to choose your next browser.

This comparison is based on current product documentation and policies. We have not benchmarked these browsers or tested an Arc migration.

This goodbye has a deadline

Arc will stop working on Mac and Windows on December 22, 2026. This goes beyond ending feature development: leaving it installed is not a plan for continuing to use it.

The company’s explanation is unusually blunt: it says it can no longer maintain Arc at the security standard required. During the wind-down it will investigate major problems affecting many users, while smaller bugs will go unfixed. That is a reason to move early. Its claims of superior Dia performance and security remain untested by Choosely.

The strategic shift is older. In its 2025 letter to Arc users, the company said Arc’s unfamiliar design made mainstream adoption difficult and explained its belief that AI would reshape browsing. At the time, it also said it was not trying to shut Arc down.

That history explains the awkwardness of the invitation. The company is pursuing a new ambition; an Arc user may simply want the browser they already learned to love.

The wind-down has earlier deadlines, too. Mobile AI, sign-in and sync end November 23. Requests for a copy or deletion of personal account data close December 15. That copy covers account information and usage records; locally stored passwords and browsing history are excluded. Request it through Help Center chat if you need it.

The official export instructions explain the desktop backup options; the practical steps are below.

Dia carries much of your Arc setup forward

Dia has the strongest documented starting position for an Arc migration. The official importer carries over tabs, bookmarks, history, passwords, cookies and selected extensions. Spaces become Profiles, Favorites become icon-only pins, and folders become pinned Tab Groups. Nested folders are flattened into separate groups.

The importer preserves account relationships: Spaces sharing one Arc profile become Dia Profiles sharing logins, passwords, history, bookmarks and extensions. Spaces from different Arc profiles remain separate. Dia also lets you choose whether Profiles share data. After importing, check that setting: a freelancer may want two client logins separated even if the old Spaces shared an account.

According to the feature-by-feature FAQ, Split View, the Command Bar and the recent-tab switcher remain. The importer selects the vertical sidebar. Chrome Web Store extensions are supported.

Other habits will need replacing. Dia lacks Air Traffic Control, Boosts, Easels, Little Arc, Peek, TypeTravel and Instant Links. Its Tidy Tabs feature is off by default and moves inactive tabs to Recently Closed once a day when enabled. An Arc user who relied on automatic site routing or quick link previews will notice those absences more than someone who mainly used pinned tabs.

On an Intel Mac, Dia is not an option; Zen’s universal Mac build is an alternative to consider. Dia’s published Mac requirements specify macOS 14 or later and an M1 chip or newer. Check the current download requirements before moving a Windows setup. Dia’s October 22 Windows release adds Mac-to-Windows sync; a replacement mobile browser remains missing.

Dia’s AI needs to earn its place in your workflow

The useful proposition is context: ask about the page you are reading or bring tabs into a conversation directly. Dia documents that workflow in its Mac release notes, with mentioned tabs, page attachments and Skills also documented on Windows.

Its connected-app offering extends that idea across tools such as Gmail, Notion, Slack and GitHub. The plans page places Morning Brief, reports, decks and meeting preparation in Better Days, listed at $100/month. Availability depends on your account and connections, and the output still needs checking.

For a consultant repeatedly assembling context from several places, that could be useful. For someone who mostly wants separate project tabs and a quieter browser, it may solve a problem they do not have.

Use a representative task to decide: a comparison you do every week, preparation for a recurring meeting, or a summary you normally assemble manually. Count checking and cleanup as part of the work. A polished answer that takes longer to verify has not saved you time.

If you create a Dia account while migrating, you are a new Dia user. The pricing page says paid plans began rolling out to most new Mac users August 17: a 14-day, no-card Better Days trial leads to a choice of free browsing or paid AI. Windows users are outside that rollout for now. Check the offer shown to your account.

Better Answers has contradictory prices: $10 on its card and $20 in the FAQ. We have not verified regional checkout totals. AI usage has Task-based limits and optional paid top-ups; no absolute monthly allowance is published here.

Arc’s own framing is useful: the Arc browser features Dia carries forward are free, and AI is optional.

Choosing Dia as a browser and choosing to pay for its assistant are two separate decisions.

Zen is compelling if the interface was the point

Zen runs on Mac, Windows and Linux, giving it a wider desktop reach. Its documented features include Workspaces, Split View and Glance, which previews a page without committing to another full tab. That gives someone who enjoyed Arc’s organization a concrete reason to investigate it.

It uses the Firefox extension ecosystem, so check equivalents for the Chrome extensions you depend on. An attractive sidebar is little comfort if a tool you use for work is missing.

Account separation is a particular strength to understand correctly. Zen can assign Containers to Workspaces, giving different accounts separate cookie sessions inside one browser profile. History and extensions remain shared within that profile. This can suit two client logins in one working environment; choose full profiles when you need those other data separated too.

There are meaningful compromises. Zen’s FAQ says DRM-protected streaming is unsupported on Mac and Windows because it lacks a Widevine license. The FAQ names Netflix, Spotify, Disney+ and Apple Music among the affected services. Keep another browser or the service’s desktop app available. Zen offers Firefox Sync, but no Zen mobile app is planned in that FAQ. Its download page still labels it beta.

Try your essential sites and extensions before rebuilding your working day around Zen. Its familiar layout is only the starting point.

Vivaldi offers control; familiar browsers offer an exit

Vivaldi is worth considering if you are happy to rebuild a workflow around your own preferences. Its tab and navigation tools include vertical placement, tab tiling, configurable shortcuts and Quick Commands. There is plenty to arrange, which can be an attraction or another project.

Its Workspaces organize tabs. To separate cookies, history and extensions, use user profiles. Syncing those profiles currently requires a separate Vivaldi account for each. The distinction is useful for anyone managing several clients: visual separation and account separation should match your actual needs.

Edge is a less adventurous option when your employer already supports it. It has vertical tabs and separate profiles, although switching profiles opens a separate window. That may be a perfectly acceptable trade for using the browser your workplace can support.

Firefox and Chrome also deserve consideration if recreating Arc has become less important than having a familiar setup. Firefox profiles separate data and add-ons; Chrome profiles keep browsing information and settings separate. Neither choice requires treating a new AI assistant as the reason to migrate.

Crest is an interesting emerging option for Apple users, with Arc-oriented features and imports. Its own site labels it early access and says its security has not been independently audited. We would watch its progress before recommending it as the default way to reduce disruption.

Read the privacy controls before bringing work along

Dia says browser data stays local by default and sync uses end-to-end encryption. AI prompts and context go through its servers to providers including Anthropic, OpenAI and Google; proactive features can initiate processing.

It says those partners face contractual retention and training restrictions. Dia’s own improvement sharing is on by default, with an opt-out: the company says this content is unlinked from your account and deleted after 30 days. Certain flagged security or misuse data can be retained separately.

The company also reports a SOC 2 Type II examination covering 2025, with the report available through its trust center. We have not reviewed it. Dia explicitly excludes HIPAA-compliant use and offers no Business Associate Agreement.

The Browser Company is part of Atlassian, and Dia uses Atlassian sign-in. With an employer-managed email, your organization’s login and Atlassian settings govern the account. Its privacy policy says admins for a connected domain may access account/contact information and control features for domain users; they cannot access content data at present.

Check the email you use, profile-sharing settings and your employer’s rules before bringing client work across. Optional AI still sits within a service that processes account, device and usage data.

Preserve the setup before choosing its permanent home

You can try Dia without committing to it forever. Importing copies your data and leaves Arc unchanged. Later changes in Arc will not sync to Dia, and Dia requires its own account.

Keep Arc installed until the import finishes. On Windows, close Arc first. Check important sites and logins afterward; saved payment methods and autofill data do not transfer.

We also recommend an independent link export. On Mac, use Arc → Settings → Advanced → Export Data. On Windows, open Settings → Advanced → Export Spaces and tabs → Export Data. The resulting Markdown file is a link list. Passwords and other browser data need separate preservation, and another browser may not accept it as a bookmarks import. Save important Easels as PNGs through Share → Share Via. Boosts cannot be exported through the documented route.

On iOS, open the tab switcher, Settings, then Export Data. On Android, use Settings → Storage → Export data. These exports save open-tab links; preserve your desktop setup separately. Do this early and verify what you saved.

Choosely’s verdict

Dia deserves the first look for someone whose priority is carrying an established Arc setup forward. Its migration route is a practical advantage even if you never become a paying AI user.

Zen is the stronger alternative to investigate when Arc’s organization was what mattered, provided its extension, streaming and account-separation trade-offs fit. Vivaldi suits the reader who wants to rebuild with more control. An employer-supported browser can be the right answer when continuity at work matters most.

The decision should start with the parts of your day you want to preserve. Let the AI assistant earn its place afterward. You already did the work of learning one browser’s vision of the future.

Ready to move? Start with Arc’s official export guide, then check your saved links before importing them anywhere.