Comparison

GlassBrowser vs VanBrowser

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

GlassBrowser

Organize your favorite websites into live canvases for quick access. Switch to a full-screen browsing experience with Focus Mode. Designed for Apple devices, it offers enhanced privacy and a beautiful, distraction-free interface.

Highlights
  • Live Canvas for website organization
  • Focus Mode for full-screen browsing
  • Enhanced private browsing
  • Apple-first design
  • Flexible workspaces
  • Native iPhone and iPad experience
Features
Read full description

GlassBrowser is a modern browser built around live website canvases. Instead of managing endless tabs, organize your favorite websites in a single workspace and switch instantly into Focus Mode whenever you want a traditional full-screen browsing experience. Watch videos, monitor dashboards, browse the web, and stay productive with a browser designed specifically for Apple devices. Fast. Private. Beautiful. FEATURES • Live Canvas Arrange multiple websites in one elegant workspace. • Focus Mode Expand any website into a full browsing experience with a single tap. • Private Browsing Browse with enhanced privacy and support for reduced tracking. • Beautiful Apple-First Design Crafted for iPhone and iPad with smooth animations, dark mode support, and a clean, distraction-free interface. • Flexible Workspaces Create layouts that fit the way you browse, work, and organize information. • Built for Apple Devices Designed specifically for iPhone and iPad with a native experience throughout. GLASSBROWSER PRO Unlock additional windows, saved layouts, advanced customization, and future premium capabilities with a one-time upgrade.

About

VanBrowser

A fast, private web browser designed for Apple devices. It prioritizes user control and transparency by avoiding AI features and data collection. Offers advanced tools for inspecting web activity and managing online identities.

Highlights
  • No AI features
  • Advanced web inspection tools
  • Persona-based identity separation
  • Tracker and ad blocking
  • Local data storage
  • Optional iCloud sync
  • Native Apple device design
Features
Read full description

Fast, private, and built natively for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, VanBrowser puts you in control of your browsing experience instead of collecting data about it. Many browsers racing to add AI assistants, cloud services, and increasingly complicated and hidden interfaces. VanBrowser takes a different approach. It is a browser first, designed to help you browse the web with more transparency. NO AI. NONE. VanBrowser includes no AI features. No chatbot. No page summaries. No assistant watching what you browse. No prompts asking you to generate content. What you do in VanBrowser never becomes training data for us because we don't collect it in the first place. We don't collect data: You're not the product. Instead of monetizing your browsing activity, we rely on Pro subscriptions and optional tips to support continued development. SEE WHAT THE WEB IS DOING Most browsers hide what happens behind the scenes. VanBrowser puts that information in front of you. A live status bar shows page load times, transferred data, and resource counts as pages load. Open the Cookies, Network, and Page Info panels to inspect what a site sets, requests, and loads. Advanced users can also send and inspect raw web requests directly. PERSONAS: SEPARATE YOUR ONLINE IDENTITIES Keep work and personal accounts separate without juggling multiple browsers. Personas provide isolated browsing environments with their own cookies and device identities, making it easy to: • Stay logged into multiple accounts at the same time • Keep work and personal browsing separate • Open websites as a clean device • Automatically send specific websites to the correct Persona PRIVACY BY DEFAULT VanBrowser blocks many trackers and ads using maintained blocklists and is designed to give you greater control over your browsing data. History, bookmarks, passwords, and settings are stored locally on your Mac by default. If you use multiple devices, you can optionally enable iCloud sync to share supported data through your own iCloud account. VanBrowser is designed to minimize the collection of user data. We do not operate a cloud service for storing your browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, or synced data. BUILT NATIVELY FOR MAC, IPHONE, AND IPAD VanBrowser is designed specifically for macOS, iPhone, and iPad and feels at home here. Features include: • Tabbed browsing • Bookmarks and bookmarks bar • History and downloads • Reader View • Find in Page • Zoom controls • Built-in password vault • Built-in payment card vault • Per-site controls • Accessibility-focused design ACCESSIBILITY FIRST VanBrowser includes support for VoiceOver, Voice Control, and accessibility-focused customization throughout the app. FREE AND PRO VanBrowser is free to use. Upgrade to Pro to unlock iCloud sync, additional Personas, and other advanced features. A browser should work for you, not advertisers, data brokers, or AI companies. VanBrowser is a browser. That's the point. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

GlassBrowser4 screens
VanBrowser4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: VanBrowser at every 2 days against GlassBrowser's monthly. VanBrowser also leads on ratings volume (6 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.4). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. GlassBrowser sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and VanBrowser sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for GlassBrowser against 5.0 for VanBrowser. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VanBrowser has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GlassBrowser ships an update monthly, VanBrowser every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 1, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
GlassBrowser versus VanBrowser: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGlassBrowserVanBrowser
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings16 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS26.417.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB28 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperVincent GaleanoVertolini

Customer experience

GlassBrowser

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

VanBrowser

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

GlassBrowser

One-time1
  • GlassBrowser Pro$9.99
6 purchases

VanBrowser

Subscriptions2
  • VanBrowser (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • VanBrowser Pro (Yearly)$19.991 Year
One-time4
  • Small Tip$2.99
  • Medium Tip$6.99
  • Large Tip$12.99
Show 1 more
  • VanBrowser Pro (Lifetime)$49.99

Questions

Is GlassBrowser free?
GlassBrowser is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is VanBrowser free?
VanBrowser is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, GlassBrowser or VanBrowser?
GlassBrowser and VanBrowser are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 6 ratings respectively.
Do GlassBrowser or VanBrowser have ads?
Neither GlassBrowser nor VanBrowser shows ads.
Which is updated more often, GlassBrowser or VanBrowser?
GlassBrowser ships an update monthly, and VanBrowser every 2 days. Most recently, GlassBrowser was updated on September 1, 2026 and VanBrowser on September 13, 2026.

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