NoodleCompare
Noodle vs Chrome, Arc, Zen and Brave
Where Noodle is the same, where it differs, and when another browser fits better.
Feature table
| Noodle | Chrome | Arc | Zen | Brave | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium | Chromium | Firefox (Gecko) | Chromium |
| Open source | Yes, AGPL 3.0 | Chromium is, Chrome is not | No | Yes, MPL 2.0 | Yes, MPL 2.0 |
| Spaces with their own look | Yes, colour, wallpaper and skin per space | Profiles and tab groups | Yes, spaces | Yes, workspaces | Tab groups |
| Ad and tracker blocking built in, on by default | Yes | No | No | Trackers, through Firefox protection | Yes, Shields |
| Canvas board for tabs and notes | Yes, one per space | No | Easels | No | No |
| Built-in MCP server for AI agents, with approvals | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Userscripts without an extension | Yes, Tampermonkey and Violentmonkey scripts | No | Boosts, its own format | No | No |
| Player for old local video (AVI, MPEG-2, WMV) | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Full window skins, from Classic 98 to a CRT | Yes | Colour themes | Colour themes | Mods (CSS) | Colour themes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| macOS and Linux | Later | Yes | macOS, no Linux | Yes | Yes |
Browsers change quickly. If a row is out of date, open an issue and it will be fixed.
Noodle and Chrome
Same Chromium engine, so sites work the same. Noodle adds vertical tabs in spaces, built-in ad blocking and an encrypted profile, and sends no data. Pick Chrome if you need sync across devices and phones.
An Arc alternative for Windows
Sidebar, spaces, split view and a board per space will feel familiar. Noodle adds ad blocking, userscripts, a player for old video and full window skins. It has no account and no sync.
A Zen alternative on Chromium
Zen brings Arc-style workspaces to Firefox. Noodle offers the same layout on Chromium, with packaged skins and a built-in editor. Zen runs on more platforms today.
Noodle and Brave
Both are open source and block ads out of the box. Brave adds a wallet, rewards and a VPN. Noodle spends its effort on reading, watching and tidy tabs. Brave also runs on phones.
A browser for AI agents
Noodle is the only one of the five with a built-in MCP server, and sensitive actions wait for your approval. See the agent guide.