Comet vs Dia: Which AI Browser to Pick in 2026
Perplexity's free AI browser against The Browser Company's work browser, compared on price, agents, platforms, privacy and prompt injection defenses.
By , research by the BestBots team · Updated Oct 18, 2026
Fact checked against each company's published pricing, documentation and verified user ratings. How we score
Comet is the better AI browser for most people: it is free, runs on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, and its assistant can complete tasks across websites. Dia is the better browser for security conscious work teams: it costs $10 to $100 per month for AI but holds a SOC 2 Type II report and deliberately limits what its agent can do.
Side by side
| Spec | Comet | Dia |
|---|---|---|
| BestBots Score | 4.2 | 4.0 |
| Starting price | $0 | $10 per month |
| Pricing model | free | subscription |
| Free trial | None listed | 14 days of Better Days, no card |
| Price | Free; Comet Plus $5 per month; Pro $17 per month billed annually | Free browser; Better Answers $10 per month on the plan card ($20 in the FAQ); Better Days $100 |
| Platforms | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android | macOS and Windows |
| Agent mode | Comet Assistant acts on sites and runs tasks in parallel tabs | Limited by design: acts only on context you approve and cannot navigate to other sites on its own |
| Built on | Chromium, Perplexity search and models including ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude | Chromium; GPT (OpenAI on Azure), Claude and Gemini |
| Privacy controls | Browsing data stored locally by default, per site blocking, Incognito stops Assistant indexing | Local storage by default, end to end encrypted sync, content data sharing opt out, SOC 2 Type II |
| Availability | Worldwide free download since October 2, 2025 | Paid plans for new Mac users since August 17, 2026 |
The short answer
- Pick Comet if you want a free agentic browser, use a phone, or want the assistant to shop, book and fill forms across sites.
- Pick Dia if you work across Slack, Notion and Google Workspace, need compliance paperwork, or want an agent that cannot wander.
Pricing
| Comet | Dia | |
|---|---|---|
| Browser | Free | Free (no AI) |
| Entry AI | Free | Better Answers: $10 per month on the plan card ($20 in the FAQ) |
| Top tier | Perplexity Max $167 per month billed annually | Better Days $100 per month |
| Extras | Comet Plus $5 per month, included in Pro and Max | $20 usage blocks |
| Trial | Not needed | 14 days of Better Days, no card |
Comet wins on price outright. See Comet pricing.
Models and features
| Comet | Dia | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android | macOS, Windows |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium |
| Models | Perplexity orchestration incl. ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Nemotron | GPT, Claude, Gemini |
| Search | Perplexity search with citations | Not its focus |
| Agent | Acts across sites, parallel errands | Acts on approved context only, no navigation to other sites |
| Work tools | Gmail and calendar connector | Slack, Notion, Teams, Google Workspace |
| Briefings | Shortcuts, voice mode | Morning Brief, reports, decks on Better Days |
| Compliance | Comet for Enterprise with 500+ policies | SOC 2 Type II; no HIPAA |
Head to head scenarios
Free AI browser for personal use
Winner: Comet. Free agent, free sync, four platforms.
Daily work across Slack, Notion and Google Workspace
Winner: Dia. Context search across tools and the Morning Brief are built for this, though the brief needs the $100 plan.
Shopping and booking for you
Winner: Comet. Dia's agent cannot navigate to other sites by design.
IT approval at a mid size company
Winner: Dia. SOC 2 Type II, MDM controls and org wide content sharing off. Comet for Enterprise has strong policy controls, but its prompt injection history will slow a security review.
Research with sources
Winner: Comet. Perplexity's cited answers are in the address bar.
Mobile
Winner: Comet. Dia has no phone app.
Privacy
Comet keeps browsing history, the tab list, cookies, passwords, local files and typed input on your device by default, and sends data to Perplexity only when a request needs it. You can block the Assistant from specific sites, stop it from browsing for you, and use Incognito to stop indexing.
Dia keeps conversations, history, bookmarks and files encrypted locally, encrypts sync end to end and bars its AI partners by contract from retaining or training on your data. Dia uses some unlinked content data for 30 days to improve itself unless you opt out.
Prompt injection. Brave disclosed on August 20, 2025 that hidden text in a Reddit comment could make Comet read a user's email and login code and post them back, and later that faint text in screenshots worked too. Dia publishes the opposite approach: assume injections happen and contain them, with no auto opened AI links, no agent navigation to other sites, hidden password fields and drafts you approve.
Who each one is built for
Comet is built for curious individuals: students, researchers and shoppers who want answers with sources and an assistant that will go do things. Its strengths are reach and price, and Perplexity's search engine in the address bar.
Dia is built for the work day: people who live across Slack, Notion, Teams and Google Workspace and want a browser that pulls that context together without exposing it. Its strengths are security design, paperwork and the Morning Brief.
Switching between them
Both are Chromium based, so bookmarks, passwords and most extensions move with a standard import. You can also run both: Comet for personal browsing and research, Dia in a work profile for company tools. That split keeps your work accounts away from the more permissive agent, which is the safest way to use Comet at all.
Cost over a year
Comet costs $0 a year, $60 with Comet Plus or $204 with Perplexity Pro on annual billing. Dia's Better Answers costs $120 a year at the plan card price or $240 at the FAQ price, and Better Days $1,200. For a team of 10 on Better Answers, that is $1,200 to $2,400 a year against nothing for Comet, which is why Dia only makes sense where its security design and work integrations earn the difference.
Verdict
Comet wins for most readers because it is free, cross platform and the more capable agent. Dia wins for teams where a security review comes first, and its agent design is the model the category should follow. If you pick Comet, use its site block list for banking and work email. Read the Comet review and Dia review, or see the best AI browsers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Comet or Dia better?
Comet for most people: it is free, runs on phones and its assistant can complete tasks across sites. Dia for work teams that care most about security, because it limits its agent by design and holds a SOC 2 Type II report.
Is Dia free like Comet?
Dia's browser is free but has no AI features. AI starts with Better Answers, shown at $10 per month on the plan card and $20 in the FAQ, after a 14 day trial. Comet's AI assistant is free.
Which is safer?
Dia, on published facts. It will not follow AI generated links, will not let its agent navigate to other sites, hides password fields from the agent and shows drafts before anything is inserted. Comet keeps data local by default and lets you block sites, but Brave found prompt injection flaws in it in 2025.
Which has better AI models?
Both use several labs. Dia lists GPT, Claude and Gemini. Perplexity says it uses ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and NVIDIA Nemotron, with advanced Comet Assistant models on Max.
Do they support Chrome extensions?
Both are Chromium based. Perplexity says Comet supports most Chrome Web Store extensions.
Which works on my phone?
Comet, which has iOS and Android apps. Dia has no mobile browser.