Design and animation polish
Arc is one of the best-looking browsers ever shipped. The animations, the way Spaces feel, and the overall craft are still ahead of almost everyone, including Sessionat today.
The Arc alternative that is still being built.
Arc reinvented the browser with a vertical sidebar and Spaces, then went into maintenance mode in 2025. Sessionat carries the workspace idea forward as open source, still actively developed, and adds AI control through MCP plus auto-saved sessions.
At a glance
Sessionat
Arc
Engine
Chromium
Chromium
AI control (MCP)
Built in: Claude, Cursor
None (agentic)
Auto-saved sessions
Every 30s, named restore
Tabs and Spaces sync
Workspaces
Arc-style sidebar
Spaces (the original)
Open source
Yes (MIT)
No (closed source)
Price
Free
Free
Compiled June 2026 from public sources. Browser features change fast, so verify before relying on a detail.
The trade-off
Arc inspired the workspace browser. Sessionat keeps it alive and hands it to your AI.
Arc deserves real credit. The Browser Company pioneered the vertical sidebar, Spaces, and a level of design polish that most browsers still have not matched. If you fell in love with that layout, you are not wrong about it.
The problem is the future. The Browser Company moved Arc into maintenance mode in May 2025 and was acquired by Atlassian in a deal worth around 610 million dollars that closed on October 21, 2025. Active development shifted to its AI browser, Dia, which leaves Arc effectively frozen. New users are adopting software that is no longer evolving, with no agentic AI control and no open-source code to fall back on.
Sessionat is the open-source, still-actively-developed take on that same workspace model. You get the Arc-style sidebar and Spaces idea, plus things Arc never shipped: built-in AI control through the open MCP standard (connect Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client and it clicks, types, and navigates in your real browser on your logins) and sessions auto-saved every 30 seconds with named restore. The honest catch is that Sessionat is Mac-first today, while Arc also ran on Windows.
| Feature | Sessionat | Arc |
|---|---|---|
| Arc-style workspaces and sidebar | ||
| Built-in AI control via MCP | ✗ | |
| AI acts on your real logins | ✗ | |
| Auto-saved session journal | Sync only | |
| Local visit analytics your AI can search | ✗ | |
| Open source | ✗ | |
| Actively developed in 2026 | ✗ | |
| Polished command bar and animations | Maturing | |
| Windows support today | Mac now |
Honest assessment
Where Arc is still the better experience.
The command bar
Arc’s command bar (the floating search and action box) set the bar for fast keyboard-first navigation. It is fluid and well thought out in a way newer browsers are still chasing.
A loyal, proven community
Arc earned a devoted following and years of real-world use. Its onboarding, little touches, and tab-management ideas were genuinely influential.
Windows availability
Arc shipped on both macOS and Windows. Sessionat is Mac-first today, with Linux targeted for mid-2026 and Windows for late 2026.
FAQ
Real questions about switching from Arc.
Is Arc still being developed?
No. The Browser Company put Arc into maintenance mode in May 2025 and was acquired by Atlassian in a deal that closed on October 21, 2025. Active work moved to its AI browser, Dia, so Arc gets security upkeep but no real new features.
Is Sessionat made by The Browser Company?
No. Sessionat is a separate, independent, open-source (MIT) project. It is inspired by the workspace model Arc popularized, but it is not affiliated with The Browser Company, Arc, Dia, or Atlassian.
Can I move my Arc Spaces and tabs into Sessionat?
There is no one-click Arc importer, but both browsers are Chromium, so signing into Chrome sync or importing your bookmarks and passwords brings most of your setup across. You then recreate your Spaces as Sessionat workspaces.
Does Sessionat have the workspace layout I liked in Arc?
Yes. Sessionat uses an Arc-style vertical sidebar with separate workspaces, which is the layout Arc pioneered. On top of that it adds AI control via MCP and sessions auto-saved every 30 seconds with named restore.
Can Arc be driven by AI the way Sessionat can?
Not in an agentic way. Arc never shipped MCP-style browser control. Sessionat exposes the open MCP standard so Claude Desktop, Cursor, or your own scripts can click, type, navigate, and read pages in your real browser.
Give your AI a real browser.
Free, open source, no account needed. Keep Arc installed and try Sessionat side by side.
Download Sessionat for Mac (free)