Is Arc or Stay better?

Neither clearly leads. Arc starts at Free and Stay at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Arc or Stay?

Arc starts at Free and Stay at Free.

Does Arc or Stay run on more platforms?

Arc runs on macOS, Windows, iOS. Stay runs on Safari, iOS, macOS.

Can I use Arc for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

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 Stay is typically brought in for.

What can Arc do that Stay cannot?

Arc covers Spaces and Profiles, Split View, Themes, Privacy-First Design. Stay covers Tampermonkey and Violentmonkey compatibility, Userscript management, Cross-device bookmark sync, Download manager.

Browser Extensions · head to head

Arc vs Stay

Arc

Browser Extensions

Chromium-based browser organized around user workflows

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Stay

Browser Extensions

Safari userscript manager that runs Tampermonkey scripts

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Arc no longer receiving active feature development as of May 2025, entering maintenance mode; Stay apple only. No Chrome, Firefox or Edge build, so it cannot serve a cross-browser workflow.
They diverge on capability: Arc covers Spaces and Profiles, Stay covers Tampermonkey and Violentmonkey compatibility.
Prices and features above were last checked on 15 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arc and Stay actually diverge.

Attributes where Arc and Stay differ
Attribute	Arc	Stay
Pricing model	Free	one-time
Platforms	macOS, Windows, iOS	Safari, iOS, macOS

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Browser Extensions).

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 Stay

Tampermonkey and Violentmonkey compatibility
Userscript management
Cross-device bookmark sync
Download manager
Dark mode
One-time purchase across platforms

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 Stay
Separating personal and professional browsing with spacesnot Stay
Privacy-conscious web browsing without trackingnot Stay
Tab and window management for productivitynot Stay

Stay

Running Tampermonkey scripts on Safarinot Arc
Running userscripts on iPhone and iPadnot Arc
Syncing bookmarks across Apple and non-Apple devicesnot Arc
Managing downloads into categorised folders on iOSnot Arc
Forcing dark mode on sites that do not offer itnot 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

Stay

Apple only. No Chrome, Firefox or Edge build, so it cannot serve a cross-browser workflow.
The free tier is deliberately limited, so the practical product is the paid one.
Compatibility with Tampermonkey and Violentmonkey scripts is a translation layer rather than the real thing, and a script relying on an unusual GM function may not behave identically.
It bundles bookmark sync, downloads and dark mode alongside the script manager, which is more surface area than some people want from an extension with access to every page.
A much smaller project than the established managers, so fewer scripts are tested against it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Arc

Free

ArcFree
- Spaces and profiles organization
- Split view customization
- Themes and personalization

Stay

Free

FreeFree
- Limited functionality
Lifetime$5/one-time
- All features
- iPhone, iPad and Mac
- Lifetime updates

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 Stay if

You need tampermonkey and violentmonkey compatibility.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Safari, iOS, macOS.
You also want userscript management.

Stay review

Questions people ask

Is Arc or Stay better?: Neither clearly leads. Arc starts at Free and Stay at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arc or Stay?: Arc starts at Free and Stay at Free.
Does Arc or Stay run on more platforms?: Arc runs on macOS, Windows, iOS. Stay runs on Safari, iOS, macOS.
Can I use Arc for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Stay is typically brought in for.
What can Arc do that Stay cannot?: Arc covers Spaces and Profiles, Split View, Themes, Privacy-First Design. Stay covers Tampermonkey and Violentmonkey compatibility, Userscript management, Cross-device bookmark sync, Download manager.

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

Stay: Can Stay run Tampermonkey scripts?

Yes. It supports its own native scripts and also scripts written for Tampermonkey and Violentmonkey, which is the main reason to choose it on Safari.

Source

Arc: What operating systems does Arc support?

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

Source

Stay: How much does Stay cost?

A one-time payment, reported at around $5, covering iPhone, iPad and Mac with lifetime updates and no subscription. A free version with limited functionality is available.

Source

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

Stay: Does Stay work on iPhone?

Yes. It supports Safari across iPhone, iPad and Mac, and the single purchase covers all three.

Source

Stay: What can userscripts do in Safari through Stay?

The vendor's examples are automatic pagination, immersive translation, redirect blocking and aggregated search. Anything a userscript can do on another browser is broadly in scope, subject to Safari's own restrictions.

Source

Stay: Is Stay open source?

The project publishes source on GitHub, and the app is distributed through the App Store as a paid product with a limited free tier.

Source

Arc vs Stay

Arc

Stay

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Arc

Only in Stay

What people use each for

Arc

Stay

Where each one falls short

Arc

Stay

Pricing, plan by plan

Arc

Stay

Which should you pick?

Choose Arc if

Choose Stay if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Arc

More on Stay

Keep looking

Other head to heads