Dia vs Opera

Dia

• Mac users whose work is spread across Slack, Notion, Google Workspace and Teams
• People who want a daily brief and meeting prep prepared for them
• Arc users moving to the company's newer browser

Opera

• People who want an ad blocker and a VPN without installing extensions
• Keeping messengers and music in a sidebar next to the page
• Trying Opera AI, ChatGPT and Gemini from one browser

Dia

• The free Better Browser plan has no AI features; chat needs Better Answers at $20 per month, and the Morning Brief and reports need Better Days at $100.
• Paid usage is metered in Tasks. When the monthly allowance runs out, AI features pause unless extra usage is bought in $20 credit blocks.
• Dia is available for macOS only; the site lists Windows as coming soon.
• Paid plans began rolling out to new Mac users on August 17. Existing users keep free access until they get at least 30 days' notice.

Opera

• The free VPN protects the browser only. VPN Pro, which covers the whole device, is a paid subscription from $4 per month.
• Opera earns revenue from ads, sponsored Speed Dials and promoted address-bar suggestions. The sponsored items can be replaced or switched off in settings.
• The Android app lists in-app purchases of $5.99 to $29.99 per item on the US Google Play store, without naming them.
• Opera GX, Opera Air, Opera Mini and Opera Neon, an AI browser at $19.90 a month, are separate products; this entry covers the main Opera browser.

Dia

Chat with context from tabs and tools

On paid plans, a question asked on any page is answered using open tabs and connected tools such as Slack, Notion, Google Workspace and Microsoft Teams.

Morning Brief

A daily brief lays out the calendar, inbox and key links before the workday starts. It is part of the Better Days plan.

Reports, decks and recaps

Dia gathers context scattered across tools into a shareable report or a slide deck with headers and layout. These are part of the Better Days plan.

Meeting prep

Before a call, Dia opens the meeting page, agenda, notes and related documents and shows a countdown to the start time.

Profiles, tab groups and split view

Profiles keep work, freelance and personal tabs, logins and AI separate. Related tabs are grouped under descriptive names, and split view layouts are remembered.

Privacy controls

Ad and tracker blocking are built in, memory and chat personalization can be switched off, and synced data is end-to-end encrypted. Dia for Work adds SSO and admin tools.

Opera

Ad blocker and free VPN

The ad blocker removes ads and pop-ups without an extension. The browser VPN is free, has no data cap, needs no subscription or login and follows a no-logs policy; on Android it offers three virtual locations.

Opera AI, ChatGPT and Gemini

Opera AI is free with no sign-up and can read the current tab or a group of tabs for context. ChatGPT and Gemini open in the sidebar, and an AI image generator is included.

Tab Islands, workspaces and split screen

Tab Islands keep related tabs together in groups that collapse and expand, workspaces separate tab groups, split screen shows several tabs at once and vertical tabs are available.

Sidebar messengers and music

WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Discord, Slack and Bluesky open in the sidebar, as do Instagram, X and a music player that works with services such as Spotify.

Flow and sync

Flow sends files, links and notes between a person's own devices, and a free Opera Account syncs open tabs, bookmarks and speed dials between mobile and desktop.

Built-in utilities

Extras include a snapshot tool for capturing and editing screenshots, video pop-out, page translation, a unit and currency converter, a battery saver and a volume booster of up to 5x.

Dia

• Better Browser$0

  The browser with no AI features: profiles and tab groups, split view, picture-in-picture video, ad and tracking blocking and cross-device sync.

• Better Answers$20

  per month

  Adds chat on any page with context from tabs and connected tools, within a monthly usage allowance measured in Tasks.

• Better Days$100

  per month

  6x the usage of Better Answers, plus the daily Morning Brief, meeting prep and follow-up, and generated reports, decks and recaps.

Opera

• Free$0

  The full browser with the ad blocker, the free browser VPN, Opera AI, sidebar messengers, Flow and sync through a free Opera Account.

• VPN ProFrom $4

  per month; billing term for this rate not stated

  Device-wide VPN for up to six desktop and Android devices at once, with servers in 48 countries. Sold on monthly or annual plans.