Vivaldi vs Brave: Which Browser Keeps Out Artificial Intelligence?

Short Answer

Vivaldi is the better browser choice between the two if you want to avoid artificial intelligence (AI) features entirely. At Ban the Bots, we track how browser makers add automated machine learning tools into everyday browsing. Vivaldi has taken a public stance against adding conversational bots to its software, while Brave ships an assistant named Leo by default.

Brave includes automated summarization tools in its desktop sidebar and triggers machine-generated summaries in search results. You can disable those tools manually, but users have reported Leo re-enabling itself in the sidebar. Vivaldi avoids those background processes by omitting generative tools from its code.

Brave is the better pick if your main goal is default tracker and fingerprinting blocking without installing extra add-ons. If you want a browser that never introduced generative tools in the first place, read our guide to browsers without AI to see how other independent projects compare.

Vivaldi vs Brave at a Glance

Both browsers run on Chromium technology but use contrasting design principles and feature sets. The table below details how Vivaldi and Brave handle machine automation, tracker blocking, licensing, and corporate financing.

Vivaldi functions as an integrated personal organizer, whereas Brave emphasizes automated blocking scripts alongside its native cryptocurrency environment.

Artificial Intelligence Stances and Built-In Features

Vivaldi and Brave approach artificial intelligence from opposite product philosophies. On August 28, 2025, Vivaldi Technologies Chief Executive Officer Jon von Tetzchner published a statement titled "Vivaldi takes a stand: keep browsing human". The statement confirmed that Vivaldi will not use a large language model (LLM) to add a chatbot, a summarization solution, or a suggestion engine.

Vivaldi established a clear condition for adopting automated technologies in that same declaration. Vivaldi stated that if AI contributes to browsing goals without stealing intellectual property, compromising privacy, or harming the open web, Vivaldi will use it. In a 2025 review, von Tetzchner reported that when users were asked about browser AI, ninety-five percent of responses ranged from "no" to "hell no".

Brave builds AI into the browser itself. Brave launched Brave Leo to desktop users on November 2, 2023, inside version 1.60, marketing it as a smart assistant built right into the browser. Leo lives in the sidebar and toolbar, connecting to remote models from Mixtral, Anthropic Claude, and Meta Llama without requiring an account or login.

Brave also added generated answers to Brave Search. On April 17, 2024, Brave launched Answer with AI within Brave Search. The system auto-triggers for question-like queries to synthesize answers directly on the results page, though readers can also run queries through other search engines without AI.

How to Turn Off AI in Brave

Disabling generative features in Brave requires visiting two separate configuration screens across the browser and search engine. According to user-reported steps documented in a Brave community thread, you open the hamburger menu, select Settings, click Leo in the left navigation, and switch off the toggles there. On macOS, users can also access those controls through the three-dot menu located on the sidebar.

Turning off search summaries requires an additional step outside browser settings. You must visit search.brave.com, click the gear icon in the corner, and toggle off the Answer with AI setting. These steps are user-reported instructions rather than directions from an official Brave help center article.

Users have encountered technical friction when attempting to keep these assistants disabled permanently. On April 8, 2024, community members filed GitHub issue #37394, marked with the labels "bug" and "browser-ai", after Leo re-enabled itself in the sidebar. Readers who want Brave without automated assistants must monitor their settings periodically to ensure toggles remain inactive.

Business Models and Funding

Vivaldi and Brave fund their development teams through distinct commercial models that avoid selling private personal browsing histories. Vivaldi Technologies was founded in 2013 by Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Tatsuki Tomita, with headquarters (HQ) in Oslo, Norway. Vivaldi Technologies is employee-owned, has no external investors, and generates revenue from product placement rather than harvesting personal data.

Vivaldi serves 4.0 million users across its supported operating systems and mobile platforms, as noted on the Vivaldi company page. Its income streams consist of partner deals with search engines, bookmark distribution agreements, direct match transactions, and voluntary user donations.

Brave Software, Inc., was founded in 2015 by Brendan Eich and Brian Bondy, with headquarters in San Francisco, California. Brave funds its work partly through an opt-in advertising and loyalty network called Brave Rewards. Brave Ads appear as sponsored background images on new tab pages or as system push notifications, with ad matching done on the device.

Participants in Brave Rewards receive Basic Attention Token (BAT), a cryptocurrency. Brave also sells a Leo Premium tier. The Wikipedia entry for Brave Leo notes a price of $15 per month or $149.99 annually as of September 2026, though readers should verify current rates on the Brave Leo pricing page before subscribing.

Built-In Features and Tracker Blocking

Vivaldi bundles an extensive suite of local desktop productivity utilities, while Brave concentrates on web filtering and crypto utilities. Vivaldi includes a full mail client with a unified inbox, an integrated calendar, an algorithm-free feed reader, and a scratchpad for notes. It also provides tab stacks, custom workspaces, and built-in translation.

Brave delivers preconfigured web filtering through its native Brave Shields engine. Shields blocks third-party advertisements, behavioral trackers, cross-site cookies, and device fingerprinting attempts from first launch. Brave also includes a native cryptocurrency wallet, which aligns with its web3 token ecosystem.

Brave's About page says Shields blocks fingerprinting by default. Vivaldi's features page lists an Ad Blocker and a Tracker Blocker and does not list fingerprinting protection. If fingerprinting is your main concern, Brave documents the stronger default.

Source Code Availability and Licensing

Brave and Vivaldi handle source code availability through different licensing structures. Changes made by Vivaldi to the underlying Chromium code are published under a Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) license at vivaldi.com/source. However, the graphical user interface (UI) is built from HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that remains proprietary, as documented on the Vivaldi open-source licensing page.

This hybrid approach means Vivaldi code is auditable by independent programmers, but the entire browser cannot be freely recompiled and redistributed as open-source software. Vivaldi states that the browser is not made available under one unified open-source license. The core user interface remains protected intellectual property belonging to Vivaldi Technologies.

Brave describes its software as an open-source Chromium fork that removes privacy-harmful features. Brave publishes the full source code for its desktop and Android browsers under open licenses. On Apple iOS devices, Brave uses the WebKit engine, as Vivaldi does, across platforms listed on the Vivaldi download page, including its Android package kit (APK) releases.

Vivaldi vs Firefox

Comparing Vivaldi to Mozilla Firefox exposes the fundamental choice between Chromium compatibility and engine independence. Firefox runs on the Gecko rendering engine, which operates independently from Google and Apple. Our detailed comparison of Brave vs Firefox highlights how engine variety helps preserve open web standards.

Firefox has also integrated artificial intelligence into its desktop software, but it gives users centralized administrative controls. On February 24, 2026, Mozilla released Firefox 148, adding an AI Controls section in Settings. This menu includes a single "Block AI enhancements" toggle that switches off translations, Portable Document Format (PDF) image descriptions, tab grouping, link previews, and the sidebar chatbot.

Vivaldi offers far more integrated productivity tools than Firefox, including its built-in feed reader and mail client. However, Firefox maintains complete engine independence and offers one Block AI enhancements switch covering translations, PDF alt text, tab grouping, link previews, and the sidebar chatbot. Readers interested in independent engines without default automation should also look at our Zen Browser review and our guide comparing Waterfox vs Firefox.

Vivaldi vs Chrome

Google Chrome has accelerated its integration of automated machine learning tools directly into the browser shell. On September 18, 2025, Google announced that its Gemini model was rolling out to Chrome users on Mac and Windows computers in the United States using English. Google confirmed that Android and iOS rollouts would follow shortly thereafter.

Google also introduced AI Mode in the omnibox address bar, enabling users to generate syntheses directly from typed queries. Google announced development on agentic tools designed to complete multi-step tasks.

Vivaldi provides the exact opposite experience while maintaining full compatibility with websites designed for Chromium. Vivaldi refuses to ship generative chatbots or automated address bar summarizers. If you want to replace Chrome entirely, examine our broader list of Chrome alternatives or follow our walkthrough on how to turn off Gemini in Chrome.

Who Should Skip Vivaldi

Certain browsing priorities make Vivaldi a poor fit despite its refusal to install machine learning assistants. Open-source purists should skip Vivaldi because its user interface code is proprietary rather than licensed under a free software license. If you require a browser where every layer of code is open source, Brave or Firefox fits your requirements better.

Users who demand advanced out-of-the-box fingerprinting randomization should also pass on Vivaldi. While Vivaldi blocks network ads and known tracking domains, Brave Shields blocks fingerprinting by default and Vivaldi's features page lists no equivalent. Anyone browsing on iOS will encounter Apple WebKit constraints regardless of whether they install Vivaldi or Brave.

Finally, people who want a minimal, lightweight interface without personal information managers may find Vivaldi overly complex. Vivaldi includes mail, calendars, feeds, and extensive window management panels that can feel overwhelming if you only want a clean web viewer. In that case, Brave's default interface carries fewer built-in apps, and our guide to browsers without AI lists lighter options.

Our Verdict and Next Steps

Vivaldi is our top recommendation between these two browsers for readers who want to eliminate artificial intelligence from their desktop workflow. Vivaldi has committed by executive policy to omit conversational bots and automatic text summarization. Brave delivers capable ad blocking, but it bundles Leo and search synthesis directly into default user experiences.

Our recommendation would flip if Vivaldi broke its pledge by shipping an automated chatbot, or if Brave removed Leo and its search summaries from the default installation.

You do not need to commit to one application permanently before testing both options on your computer. Download both to run your own Vivaldi vs Brave speed and interface comparison on the sites you read every day.

FAQ

Does Vivaldi have AI?

No, Vivaldi does not include an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot or automated summarizer. Chief Executive Officer Jon von Tetzchner pledged on August 28, 2025, that Vivaldi will not use large language models (LLMs) to add chatbots, summarizers, or suggestion engines. The browser does include offline translation, but it avoids generative cloud-based text assistants entirely.

Is Vivaldi more private than Brave?

Vivaldi and Brave protect user privacy through different technical methods. Vivaldi avoids cloud AI connections and generates revenue from search deals without tracking individuals, but its default fingerprinting protection is minimal. Brave includes stronger automated fingerprinting and ad blocking in Brave Shields, but it connects to third-party AI models through Leo unless you manually turn those features off.

Can you turn off Leo in Brave?

Yes, you can turn off Leo in Brave by adjusting user settings. In the browser, navigate to Settings, select Leo from the left menu, and turn off the assistant toggles. To disable search summaries, open search.brave.com, click the gear icon, and switch off Answer with AI. Note that users have reported instances where Leo reappeared after software updates.

Is Vivaldi open source?

Vivaldi is not fully open source. The company publishes all modifications made to the Chromium engine under a Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) license. However, the user interface (UI) code is written in proprietary HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that is publicly readable and auditable, but not licensed for free redistribution.

Is Vivaldi better than Firefox?

Vivaldi is better than Firefox if you want integrated productivity tools like a mail client, calendar, and feed reader alongside full Chromium site compatibility. Firefox is better if you prioritize engine independence from Google or want a single switch in Settings to disable all AI enhancements. Firefox 148 added an AI Controls panel that blocks all assistant tools at once.

Sources

• Vivaldi: Keep Browsing Human Policy Statement
• Vivaldi: 2025 Annual Review
• Vivaldi Company Information
• Vivaldi Browser Features
• Vivaldi Platform Downloads
• Vivaldi Help: Is Vivaldi Open Source
• Wikipedia: Vivaldi Technologies
• Brave Software Overview
• Brave Leo Assistant
• Brave Rewards Details
• Brave Blog: Answer with AI
• Wikipedia: Brave Leo
• Brave Community: Turn Off Leo and AI Search Features
• GitHub Issue 37394: Leo Re-enabling in Sidebar
• Firefox 148.0 Release Notes
• Mozilla Blog: AI Controls in Firefox
• Google Blog: Chrome Reimagined with AI