Firefox vs Yandex Browser (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Firefox: it is third in our ranking of browsers, and it grades higher too, 3.8 against 3.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Firefox grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Firefox
Free, open-source browser from Mozilla with tracker blocking built in
Free
Yandex Browser
Free browser from Yandex with phishing warnings and neural translation
Free
Which one is for you
Pick Firefox if
- Fits if you want trackers blocked from day one without touching a setting
- Works for people who hop between Windows, Mac, Linux and a phone
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want the VPN on your phone, as the built-in one is desktop only for now
- Tight if you'd keep the VPN on all day, since it's capped at 50 GB a month and covers the browser only
- Pricey if you want a whole-device VPN, as Mozilla's separate service is $9.99 a month or $59.88 a year
- Watch out: the homepage shows ads to fund development until you switch them off
- Not for you if you're on Windows 8.1 or macOS 10.14 or older, which need Firefox ESR
Pick Yandex Browser if
- Fits if you want a no-cost desktop browser that imports your old browser's settings
- Makes sense if phishing warnings matter more to you than a long extension list
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need to know which phones the mobile version supports, because the English mobile page does not say
- Not for you if you only trust measured speed: the site's figures come from studies it cites
- Watch out: the download page has a box to send usage statistics to Yandex, unticked unless you tick it
- Tight if you care about whose privacy policy governs your data: the browser is run by Yandex
How we grade them
| 3.8GPAFirefoxExcellent | 3.0GPAYandex BrowserVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, with no paid tier at all. Mozilla sells a separate VPN service at $59.88 a year, but the browser is whole without it and nothing in it is held back for payers. | AFree, with no price or paid plan on the download page, so there is nothing to compare against the category's $7 to $20 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with tracker blocking, end-to-end encrypted sync, the PDF editor, translation, and a VPN for 50 GB a month on the desktop. The Mozilla account sync needs is free, and the homepage ads can be switched off. | AThe desktop browser downloads with no paid plan listed, and there is no cap to reach. |
| Features | AIt covers the job on its own Gecko engine rather than Chromium. Known trackers blocked by default, each site's cookies kept apart, tab groups and vertical tabs, a sidebar where you pick ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Copilot, reader mode, PDF filling and signing, translation done on your machine. | CPhishing warnings, data import from other browsers and translation, but the speed and phishing claims rest on third-party studies the site cites. |
| Ease of use | B4.65 from about 218,000 App Store ratings, below the 4.8 at the top of this category. Nothing needs configuring: blocking is on from the start and the shield in the address bar shows what it caught. | BNo rating on record. You install it and it copies your data and settings from your old browser on first run. |
| Platforms and integrations | AAll five: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iPhone, with bookmarks, history, passwords and tabs synced end-to-end encrypted, and Send Tab to throw a page at another device. Only the built-in VPN is missing from the phone apps. | CWindows, macOS and Linux downloads. The mobile page names no phone systems, so a phone cannot be counted. |
| Best for | a free browser that isn't built on Chromium | a free desktop browser with phishing warnings |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Firefox and Yandex Browser. How we grade
Price against what you get
Firefox has no paid plan and scores 3.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Yandex Browser has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
Firefox scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other browsers on the chart, none scores higher than Firefox for less, and none scores higher than Yandex Browser for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Firefox is open source and end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Firefox also covers password manager.
In commonFree planWindowsmacOSLinuxAI featuresWeb browser
At a glance
| Firefox | Yandex Browser | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The browser is free with no paid tier. The built-in VPN is free for up to 50 GB of browser traffic per month, and sync uses a free Mozilla account. | The download page lists no price or paid plan for the browser. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Mozilla Corporation | Yandex |
| Price read from | firefox.com | browser.yandex.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Firefox
- The built-in VPN is capped at 50 GB per month and protects browser traffic only. Mozilla's paid VPN service costs $59.88 per year or $9.99 per month, plus tax.
- Firefox shows optional ads on its homepage to fund development. They can be turned off.
- The built-in VPN has not reached Firefox for Android or iOS; Mozilla's roadmap lists VPN on mobile as upcoming work.
- Windows 8.1 and below and macOS 10.14 and below are no longer supported by the standard release; they need Firefox ESR.
Yandex Browser
- The download page has a checkbox to send browser usage statistics to Yandex, which is off unless ticked.
- The English site names Windows and Linux downloads; the mobile page does not state which phone systems it supports.
- Speed and phishing-detection figures on the site come from third-party studies the site cites.
- The site is run by Yandex, whose privacy policy governs the data the browser handles.
Key features
Firefox
- Tracking and cookie protection
- Enhanced Tracking Protection blocks known trackers by default, and Total Cookie Protection keeps each site's cookies separate. The shield icon in the address bar shows what was blocked.
- Built-in VPN
- A VPN toggle in the desktop toolbar routes browser traffic through a proxy server to hide the IP address, free for up to 50 GB per month. It covers the browser only, not other apps on the device.
- Tab groups, vertical tabs and sidebar
- Tabs can be grouped and color coded or stacked vertically, and a customizable sidebar gives one-click access to bookmarks, history, synced tabs and other tools.
- AI chatbots in the sidebar
- The sidebar can host a third-party assistant such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude or Mistral Chat. AI features are optional and can be turned off entirely.
- Sync with a Mozilla account
- Bookmarks, history, saved passwords and open tabs sync across desktop and mobile with end-to-end encryption, and Send Tab pushes a page from one device to another.
- Reader mode, PDF editor and translation
- Reader mode strips clutter from articles, a built-in editor fills, signs and annotates PDFs, and pages are translated in the browser without sharing the data with anyone else.
Yandex Browser
- Phishing warnings
- The site says neural networks were trained to recognize phishing sites and the browser warns you on arrival. It cites a Softline study for its detection claim.
- Data import from other browsers
- It transfers your data and settings from another browser on first run, so the setup looks like the one you used before.
- Neural translation and summaries
- The mobile page says the browser translates and summarizes videos and web pages.
- Cloud sync on mobile
- The mobile page says passwords, tabs and tab groups are saved in the cloud and available on other devices.
- Desktop downloads
- Windows installers come in 32-bit and 64-bit versions; Linux packages come as DEB and RPM files.
Plans
Firefox
Free$0
The full browser on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, including tracker blocking, sync and, on desktop, the built-in VPN up to 50 GB a month.
Yandex Browser
Free$0
The desktop browser downloads with no price or paid plan listed on the site.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Firefox or Yandex Browser?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Firefox and Yandex Browser are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Firefox or Yandex Browser?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Firefox and Yandex Browser have a free plan.
Which platforms do Firefox and Yandex Browser run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Firefox lists iOS and Android apps. Both list macOS, Windows and Linux apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.