Orion Browser

5 of 5 Stars

A more advanced WebKit-based browser for macOS and iOS (though I can only speak for the desktop version). Orion has a cleaner interface than most, only slightly more complex than Safari and a bit cleaner than Arc or Zen. It has a built-in ad blocker, and doesn't have any telemetry. It's probably comparable to Waterfox in terms of privacy: it removes the services that phone home, but doesn't go out of its way to protect you from fingerprinting like LibreWolf or Brave.

Also like Waterfox, its vertical tabs can be structured as a tree, so you can see at a glance how the tabs are connected. It's not as configurable, but the way it's set up makes intuitive sense.

The average person isn't going to care that it's WebKit and not Chromium or Gecko. But I've long been interested in keeping the web open, and one of the ways to do that is to have multiple browsers, running multiple engines, to keep any one (or two) companies from having too much control over the direction things go.

Sync and Extensions

Orion syncs only with other instances of itself, over iCloud. They're talking about a Linux version, so presumably either it won't sync to macOS or they'll come up with another sync system.

"Programmable buttons" are simple toolbar buttons you can write yourself or share online. For things that don't necessarily need a full extension, like tweaking a page's style. (There are also "Page Tweaks.")

Orion also supports most extensions built for Firefox, Chromium or Safari, though you have to go into settings first to enable the third-party add-on stores. I decided to enable Firefox add-ons rather than Chromium, partly for consistency and partly because Firefox still supports add-on [capabilities Google has been turning off].

• KeePassXC-Browser worked once I went into the browser's settings and switched the password provider from "Orion keychain" to "3rd party provider." Update: Since 1.9.9, the extension needs an additional privacy permission. Unlike Firefox and Vivaldi, Orion didn't ask me if I wanted to grant it until I enabled "Set as default password manager" in the extension's settings.
• Wallabagger works completely now. (When I first tried it on Orion a few weeks ago, the toolbar button worked, but it wasn't added to the pop-up menu for links.)
• Floccus isn't compatible yet due to some weirdness in the way Orion handles permissions. This means I probably won't be sticking with it until I can

I haven't managed to get Safari extensions working on it yet.

Money and Search

Orion is made by the same company that runs Kagi Search, which is a subscription-based search engine (instead of the usual advertising-based). The browser is free to use, though, whether you have a Kagi account or not.

Chrome and Firefox default to Google search (for now), Waterfox still defaults to Start Page (and they're adding their own search front-end), and Edge....Edge keeps trying to convince you to switch back to Bing even if you change it. It's refreshing that Orion doesn't default to or over-sell the search engine that keeps it afloat.

They do point out that subscribing to Kagi, or to "Orion+" (which is currently more of a donation-with-perks than a proper freemium subscription), is one way you can support Orion's continued existence.

I've been really impressed with it on macOS, and I may end up sticking with it as my main "alternate" on my work box. Though with all the browser-hopping I do, the incompatibility with Floccus is going to get annoying.

AI

Orion hasn't ruled out future AI features entirely, but doesn't want to just shove an LLM into the browser like everyone else seems to be doing. I am concerned, since Kagi does offer some "AI" features along with its search service, but I'm still cautiously optimistic, since they're also acutely aware of the tech's limitations, even if they're more bullish on its few use cases than I am.

— Kelson Vibber, 2025-05-15. Updated 2025-12-16.

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