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Browser Extensions · head to head

Arc vs Freshpaint

Arc logo

Arc

Browser Extensions

Chromium-based browser organized around user workflows

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Freshpaint logo

Freshpaint

Marketing

Privacy layer that lets healthcare organisations run marketing analytics without sending PHI

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Arc has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Arc no longer receiving active feature development as of May 2025, entering maintenance mode; Freshpaint filtering necessarily degrades what advertising platforms receive, so campaign optimisation and lookalike modelling perform worse than an unfiltered pixel would, and the marketing team must accept measurably weaker targeting as the price of compliance.
  • They diverge on capability: Arc covers Spaces and Profiles, Freshpaint covers PHI detection and redaction.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arc and Freshpaint actually diverge.

Attributes where Arc and Freshpaint differ
AttributeArcFreshpaint
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFreequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsmacOS, Windows, iOSWeb
CategoryBrowser ExtensionsMarketing

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

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 Arc

  • Spaces and Profiles
  • Split View
  • Themes
  • Privacy-First Design
  • Chromium Updates

Only in Freshpaint

  • PHI detection and redaction
  • Business associate agreement
  • Event verification
  • Pixel replacement
  • Consent governance
  • Advertising destinations
  • Analytics and session tools
  • Audience activation

What people use each for

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

Arc

  • Organizing work across multiple projects within one browsernot Freshpaint
  • Separating personal and professional browsing with spacesnot Freshpaint
  • Privacy-conscious web browsing without trackingnot Freshpaint
  • Tab and window management for productivitynot Freshpaint

Freshpaint

  • A health system told by legal to remove its Meta and Google pixels that still needs to report cost per acquisition on service line campaignsnot Arc
  • A provider running paid search for elective procedures that must send conversion signals without disclosing which condition page a visitor viewednot Arc
  • A compliance officer who needs a field level record of exactly what patient related data leaves the website, for a privacy committeenot Arc
  • A multi-site provider group standardising tracking governance across marketing agencies that would otherwise each add their own tagsnot Arc

Where each one falls short

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

Arc

  • No longer receiving active feature development as of May 2025, entering maintenance mode
  • Limited cross-platform availability compared to mainstream browsers
  • Smaller ecosystem of extensions compared to Chrome
  • Focused on macOS and Windows, with limited iOS support

Freshpaint

  • Filtering necessarily degrades what advertising platforms receive, so campaign optimisation and lookalike modelling perform worse than an unfiltered pixel would, and the marketing team must accept measurably weaker targeting as the price of compliance.
  • Pricing is not published on the vendor site despite three named tiers, and third party reports of entry around 599 US dollars a month cover only the lowest tier, with audiences and advertising activation sitting above it.
  • It addresses web and marketing tracking rather than the whole protected health information estate, so it solves one exposure while patient data in the CRM, call centre and email tooling remains a separate problem.
  • The commercial case rests on a specific regulatory interpretation of online tracking technologies, and litigation and future guidance could narrow or widen it, which makes the size of the problem it solves less stable than a compliance purchase usually is.
  • It is built for healthcare and priced accordingly, so an organisation wanting a general customer data platform pays for a regulatory specialism it does not need and gets narrower general purpose functionality than Segment or RudderStack.

Pricing, plan by plan

Arc

Free
  • ArcFree
    • Spaces and profiles organization
    • Split view customization
    • Themes and personalization

Freshpaint

On request
  • Comply$undefined/month
    • Governance and consent foundation
    • PHI detection and redaction
    • Web analytics, funnels and surveys
  • Perform$undefined/month
    • Everything in Comply
    • Audiences and demand side platform activation
    • Attribution, journeys and recommendations
  • Scale$undefined/month
    • Everything in Perform
    • Ad performance reporting
    • Full AI feature access

Which should you pick?

Choose Arc if

  • You need spaces and profiles.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Windows, iOS.
  • You also want split view.
Arc review

Choose Freshpaint if

  • You need phi detection and redaction.
  • You also want business associate agreement.
Freshpaint review

Questions people ask

Is Arc or Freshpaint better?
Neither clearly leads. Arc starts at Free and Freshpaint at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arc or Freshpaint?
Arc has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Arc and On request for Freshpaint.
Does Arc or Freshpaint run on more platforms?
Arc runs on macOS, Windows, iOS. Freshpaint runs on Web.
Can I use Arc for free?
Yes. Arc has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Freshpaint starts at On request.
What is Arc best used for?
Arc is most often used for organizing work across multiple projects within one browser, separating personal and professional browsing with spaces, privacy-conscious web browsing without tracking, tab and window management for productivity. Of those, organizing work across multiple projects within one browser and separating personal and professional browsing with spaces are not what Freshpaint is typically brought in for.
What can Arc do that Freshpaint cannot?
Arc covers Spaces and Profiles, Split View, Themes, Privacy-First Design. Freshpaint covers PHI detection and redaction, Business associate agreement, Event verification, Pixel replacement.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arc: Does Arc Browser cost anything to use?

Arc is completely free to download and use with no subscription required. All features are available at no cost.

Source
Freshpaint: Why can a hospital not just use Google Analytics?

US Department of Health and Human Services guidance treats IP addresses and health related page URLs as protected health information in this context, and advertising and analytics platforms will not sign a business associate agreement, so the disclosure is unlawful without an intermediary that filters.

Arc: What operating systems does Arc support?

Arc is available on macOS, Windows, and iOS. Windows and mobile versions are available for download.

Source
Freshpaint: Does Freshpaint sign a BAA?

Yes, and it holds SOC 2 Type II. That is the central reason it exists, because the destination platforms will not.

Arc: Will Arc continue to receive new features?

As of May 2025, Arc entered maintenance mode with no new features planned. The Browser Company's focus has shifted to Dia browser, though Arc continues to receive security updates.

Source
Freshpaint: What does it cost?

Freshpaint does not publish prices. Three tiers, Comply, Perform and Scale, are all sales led, and third party sources report entry around 599 US dollars a month for the lowest.

Freshpaint: Will my ad performance suffer?

Somewhat. Stripping identifiers reduces what platforms can optimise against. The trade is weaker targeting in exchange for measurement that a compliance committee will approve.

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