STEP VS ARC
Step vs Arc Browser
Arc rebuilt the window manager around your tabs. Step rebuilt the memory layer around your work. Here is how the two compare.
Arc is the browser that made everyone realize the tab bar at the top of Chrome was wrong. Its sidebar, command bar, and Spaces are the standard now. We're admirers. But Arc treats your browsing as ephemeral by design: close it, and most of the shape of your work disappears. Step starts where Arc stops, by treating context preservation as the core feature, not a session-restore afterthought.
Side by side
| Dimension | Step | Arc |
|---|---|---|
| Sidebar quality | Premium two-section sidebar (PINNED + FLOW) | Industry-leading vertical sidebar with Pins and Favorites |
| Spaces | Persistent across sessions, including scroll positions and annotations | Persistent tab list, but session shape is best-effort |
| Tab persistence | Tabs, groups, splits, scroll positions, annotations all restored | Tabs restored, scroll/state often lost on close |
| Navigation graph | Step Trail records branches and forks visually | Linear history list |
| Annotations | Native Marginalia layer, searchable as data | Not built-in, requires extension |
| Cross-page search | Graph Find: Cmd+F across the entire Space | Cmd+F on current page only |
| AI features | None. Local-first by design | Light integrations (Max, Chat with page) |
| Cloud sync | Local-first, no account required | Cloud sync via account |
| Engine | Chromium | Chromium |
| Platform | macOS only (for now) | macOS, Windows |
| Pricing | Free during beta | Free |
Sidebar quality
Spaces
Tab persistence
Navigation graph
Annotations
Cross-page search
AI features
Cloud sync
Engine
Platform
Pricing
Where Arc wins
- Arc has been polished for years. The sidebar, Little Arc, and command bar are best-in-class.
- Arc ships on Windows. Step is macOS-only at launch.
- Arc has built-in AI features (Max, page chat) for users who want them.
- Arc Spaces have a strong product community and ecosystem of profiles.
Where Step wins
- Tabs, groups, splits, scroll positions, and annotations all persist across sessions and crashes.
- Step Trail records the shape of your exploration as a visual graph, not a flat history.
- Marginalia gives you native highlights and notes as first-class searchable data.
- Graph Find searches every page in a Space, not just the one you're looking at.
- Local-first by default: no required account, no cloud sync, no telemetry on browsing.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Step if
- You research seriously and lose context every time you close the browser.
- You want highlights and annotations native to the browser, not via extension.
- You want a browser that respects local-first principles and never sends browsing data to a server.
- You're comfortable with macOS-only for now and want depth over breadth.
Pick Arc if
- You need Windows support today.
- You want lightweight AI features in the browser shell.
- You're already happy with Arc and don't feel the persistence pain.
Frequently asked
Is Step a fork of Arc?
Will Step copy Arc's features?
Can I import my Arc data into Step?
More comparisons
Step vs Dia Browser
Dia bet on AI in the URL bar. Step bet on memory in the browser. Two completely different answers to the same question: what should the next browser do?
Step vs Zen Browser
Zen is the most beautiful Firefox fork ever shipped. Step is a Chromium fork built around persistence. Different engines, different bets.
Step vs Google Chrome
Step is built on the same Chromium engine as Chrome. So what's the actual difference? The shell. The persistence. The privacy posture. Here's a clean, honest comparison.