OpenAI Atlas vs Perplexity Comet browser: Which AI browser is best for you?

OpenAI has entered the browser wars with Atlas, taking direct aim at Perplexity’s popular Comet browser. Both claim to redefine browsing with their built-in AI agents that think, plan, and act on your behalf. Comet is already known for its powerful automation, while Atlas brings ChatGPT integration directly into the browser. But since unlocking full features needs a subscription, the real question is: which browser gives better value for your money?

Design and Interface

Atlas and Comet are both Chromium-based browsers, which means they feel instantly familiar the moment you open them. You don’t need to learn new shortcuts or menus—everything works just like Chrome. The AI agents sit neatly in the toolbar, opening in a sidebar whenever needed, ready to summarise or break down whatever’s on your current tab with a single click.​

Where things differ is their home page. Comet’s homepage mirrors Perplexity’s layout, full of widgets and quick access cards, giving it a vibrant, information-heavy look. Atlas, on the other hand, opts for minimalism, a clean homepage with just one prompt: “Ask ChatGPT.”

The address bar is the next difference. Comet defaults to searching via Perplexity’s engine, pulling results with citations and short summaries, while Atlas uses Google Search by default. However, Comet gives the option to switch to Google or other engines from the settings.

AI agents

I have been using Comet for a while after Perplexity gave away its Pro subscription for free to Airtel subscribers. And it's serving me quite well, the agent can do a lot more than just summarise the webpage for you. It can shop for you, it can easily manage multiple tabs and much more.

Atlas also does mostly the same things that Comet’s agent can do, but since this is a new browser, I haven’t spent much time with it. OpenAI promises to offer all the functionalities, like browsing the web for you and carrying out tasks online.

Pricing and Availability

Atlas is free to download on macOS, but its full automation and “Agent Mode” features are tied to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, or Business plans, ranging from approximately $20 to $60 per month, depending on tier. Comet, on the other hand, gives you all the functionality for $5 a month or free for the Perplexity Pro and Max users.