Comparison

VanBrowser vs Surf

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

Head to head
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/

About

Surf

Features
Read full description

Browse, read and keep useful pages in one place. Surf Pro brings your bookmarks, history, Reading List and open tabs across iPhone, iPad and Mac. START WITH A COMPLETE BROWSER Browse for free, with no Surf account required. • Multiple tabs and private browsing • Webpage ad and tracker blocking, with per-site exceptions • Bookmarks, folders and history search • Reader with adjustable text and light, sepia or dark appearance • A file library with folders, tags, search and Recently Deleted • Import, rename, move and share ordinary documents, and create or open ZIP archives READ NOW, KEEP FOR LATER Save a readable article from Reader to keep its archived content for offline reading. Open it later from Reading List, even without a connection. Pages saved only as links still need the web. KEEP MORE WITH SURF PRO One subscription covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. • Sync bookmarks, history, Reading List and open tabs through your own iCloud • Keep an unlimited reading list and remember more website sign-ins • Remove the daily file-saving limit and save several files at once • Remember desktop mode and text size for each site Free includes up to five reading-list entries and five remembered sign-ins. Saved articles and sign-ins remain accessible if Pro ends. Browser-data sync requires Pro, iCloud sign-in and iCloud Sync enabled in Surf. File-library iCloud sync is available on every plan when those iCloud settings are enabled. CHOOSE YOUR PLAN Monthly and Yearly subscriptions offer a 3-day free trial for eligible new subscribers. Surf shows your localized price, billing period and applicable trial before you confirm with Apple. Membership shows your current plan and renewal or expiry details when available, with Restore Purchases and Manage Subscription. PRIVACY WITH CLEAR BOUNDARIES Surf includes no advertising or analytics SDK. Websites and your chosen search engine receive the requests needed to browse. Private tabs, cookies and form contents do not participate in browser-data sync. Saved sign-ins use the device keychain, with optional iCloud Keychain sync separately. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Eligible free trials convert to a paid subscription unless cancelled. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://mwsupplylimited.github.io/surf/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

VanBrowser4 screens
Surf4 screens

Verdict

The call

VanBrowser and Surf are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. VanBrowser sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Surf sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VanBrowser ships an update every 3 days, Surf weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
VanBrowser versus Surf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVanBrowserSurf
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB6 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperVertoliniMatthew Wong

In-app purchases

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
3 purchases

Surf

Subscriptions2
  • Surf Pro (Monthly)3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Surf Pro (Yearly)3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Surf Pro (Lifetime)$59.99

Questions

Is VanBrowser free?
VanBrowser is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Surf free?
Surf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do VanBrowser or Surf have ads?
Neither VanBrowser nor Surf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VanBrowser or Surf?
VanBrowser ships an update every 3 days, and Surf weekly. Most recently, VanBrowser was updated on October 31, 2026 and Surf on November 3, 2026.

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