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Technology · head to head

Safari vs Thought Machine

Safari logo

Safari

Technology

Apple's WebKit browser, available only on Apple operating systems and updated only with them.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thought Machine logo

Thought Machine

Technology

Cloud native core banking where products are written as smart contracts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Safari has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Safari it runs only on Apple operating systems; there has been no Windows build since 2012 and none for Linux or Android, so any team that must verify Safari behaviour has to buy Mac hardware or rent it from a device cloud, which is a line item Chrome and Firefox do not create.; Thought Machine a core replacement is a two to four year programme at an established bank, and the licence is a minority of total cost against system integrator fees, parallel running and data migration.
  • They diverge on capability: Safari covers WebKit engine, Thought Machine covers Smart contract product engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Safari and Thought Machine actually diverge.

Attributes where Safari and Thought Machine differ
AttributeSafariThought Machine
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, API, Cloud

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Technology).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Safari

  • WebKit engine
  • Intelligent Tracking Prevention
  • Energy optimisation
  • iCloud Private Relay
  • Passkeys in iCloud Keychain
  • Handoff and tab sync
  • Profiles and Tab Groups
  • Web Inspector

Only in Thought Machine

  • Smart contract product engine
  • Cloud native architecture
  • Real time ledger
  • Vault Payments
  • API first design
  • Multi entity and multi currency
  • Product versioning and testing
  • Configurable posting rules

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Safari

  • Getting the longest battery life out of a MacBook, where the difference against Chromium browsers is hours rather than minutesnot Thought Machine
  • Debugging a site on a real iPhone or iPad, which requires Safari's Web Inspector connected over USB from a Macnot Thought Machine
  • An all-Apple household or team that wants tabs, passwords and passkeys to follow them across devices without a third-party accountnot Thought Machine
  • Privacy-conscious users on iCloud+ who want tracking protection and Private Relay working by default rather than through extensionsnot Thought Machine

Thought Machine

  • A large bank launching a separate digital brand on a clean core rather than migrating the back booknot Safari
  • A bank whose product launches are blocked by vendor change requests on a legacy corenot Safari
  • An institution needing real time balances and postings for instant payment obligationsnot Safari
  • A group consolidating multiple country cores onto one multi entity platformnot Safari

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Safari

  • It runs only on Apple operating systems; there has been no Windows build since 2012 and none for Linux or Android, so any team that must verify Safari behaviour has to buy Mac hardware or rent it from a device cloud, which is a line item Chrome and Firefox do not create.
  • Safari's version is bound to the operating system's version, so a Mac that has fallen off the supported macOS list stops receiving Safari updates altogether; the browser's security life is the machine's OS life, roughly three years of updates after the last major release it can run.
  • Distributing an extension means packaging it inside a signed macOS application and shipping it through the App Store with a paid Apple Developer Program membership, which makes a small internal or single-team extension impractical.
  • Automated testing uses safaridriver, which runs on macOS only, has no headless mode and permits one session per machine, so Safari coverage in CI means real Macs in the pipeline rather than containers, and it does not parallelise the way Chromium does.
  • Web platform features generally land in WebKit later than in Blink and Gecko, so Safari's current support is in practice the compatibility floor for any project, and a feature you can use everywhere else may be a year away here.
  • Enterprise management is thin: configuration profiles cover a modest set of settings with nothing comparable to the several hundred administrative policies Chrome and Edge expose, so a managed fleet cannot control Safari to the same degree.

Thought Machine

  • A core replacement is a two to four year programme at an established bank, and the licence is a minority of total cost against system integrator fees, parallel running and data migration.
  • The smart contract model presumes a bank can write and maintain Python financial products, and institutions without that engineering capability end up outsourcing the very flexibility they bought.
  • Cloud infrastructure cost sits with the bank and is not trivial at scale, so total cost of ownership comparisons against a hosted legacy core often miss a large recurring line.
  • Thought Machine has made two rounds of job cuts pursuing profitability, which is a legitimate supplier stability concern for a system a bank expects to run for fifteen years.
  • The functional footprint is core ledger and product engine, so origination, collections, regulatory reporting and channels all come from other vendors, and the integration estate around Vault is the bank's problem to design and own.

Pricing, plan by plan

Safari

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Safari review.

Thought Machine

On request
  • Vault Core$undefined/year
    • Quoted per institution, typically on account volumes or annual contract value
    • Implementation and system integrator costs commonly exceed the licence fee
    • Cloud infrastructure costs are the bank's and are not included

Which should you pick?

Choose Safari if

  • You need webkit engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want intelligent tracking prevention.
Safari review

Choose Thought Machine if

  • You need smart contract product engine.
  • You work on Web, API, Cloud.
  • You also want cloud native architecture.
Thought Machine review

Questions people ask

Is Safari or Thought Machine better?
Neither clearly leads. Safari starts at Free and Thought Machine at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Safari or Thought Machine?
Safari has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Safari and On request for Thought Machine.
Does Safari or Thought Machine run on more platforms?
Safari runs on Web. Thought Machine runs on Web, API, Cloud.
Can I use Safari for free?
Yes. Safari has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Thought Machine starts at On request.
What is Safari best used for?
Safari is most often used for getting the longest battery life out of a macbook, where the difference against chromium browsers is hours rather than minutes, debugging a site on a real iphone or ipad, which requires safari's web inspector connected over usb from a mac, an all-apple household or team that wants tabs, passwords and passkeys to follow them across devices without a third-party account, privacy-conscious users on icloud+ who want tracking protection and private relay working by default rather than through extensions. Of those, getting the longest battery life out of a macbook, where the difference against chromium browsers is hours rather than minutes and debugging a site on a real iphone or ipad, which requires safari's web inspector connected over usb from a mac are not what Thought Machine is typically brought in for.
What can Safari do that Thought Machine cannot?
Safari covers WebKit engine, Intelligent Tracking Prevention, Energy optimisation, iCloud Private Relay. Thought Machine covers Smart contract product engine, Cloud native architecture, Real time ledger, Vault Payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Safari: Can I run Safari on Windows or Linux?

No. The last Windows version was Safari 5.1.7 in 2012 and it is long unsupported. There has never been a Linux build. Testing Safari requires macOS, either your own or a rented cloud device.

Thought Machine: Is Vault Core genuinely cloud native?

Yes. It is containerised, runs on Kubernetes on public cloud, and posts in real time rather than in overnight batch.

Safari: How do I test my site in Safari without a Mac?

Through a cloud device farm such as BrowserStack, Sauce Labs or LambdaTest, which run real macOS and iOS instances. There is no reliable local emulation, because other browsers on Windows and Linux do not use WebKit.

Thought Machine: How long does a migration take?

Eighteen months at the absolute fastest for a narrow greenfield launch; two to four years for a phased migration at an established bank.

Safari: Are other iPhone browsers really different from Safari?

Historically no: Apple required all iOS browsers to use WebKit, so Chrome and Firefox on iPhone were interface shells around Safari's engine. The EU's Digital Markets Act now permits alternative engines, but adoption is limited, so in practice iOS testing still means WebKit.

Thought Machine: Does the licence fee represent the total cost?

No. Implementation, system integration, parallel running and cloud infrastructure typically cost more than the licence over the programme.

Safari: Why does Safari not get a new version on my old Mac?

Safari ships with the operating system. When a Mac can no longer run a macOS version that Apple still updates, Safari stops updating too, including its security fixes.

Safari: What does it cost?

Nothing. It is included with Apple operating systems. Private Relay requires an iCloud+ subscription, and publishing an extension requires a paid Apple Developer Program membership.

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