Head to head 2026 edition
Dia Browser vs Sidekick Pro
Dia asks you to browse somewhere new. Sidekick Pro works in the Chrome you already use, and keeps going on your phone and your phone line. Here is where each one wins.
Dia Browser
Chromium browser with a built-in AI sidebar by The Browser Company (Atlassian)
From $20/mo
Best for Reading, research and drafting across many open tabs, on a Mac, in one calm browser.
Visit Dia Browser
Sidekick Pro
AI agents for your email, calendar, calls and browser
From $59/mo
Best for Professionals and small teams who want email, web chores, calls and meetings handled for them.
The short answer
Dia Browser or Sidekick Pro: which should you use?
Choose Dia if you want a calmer browser with an AI sidebar that reads your open tabs, on a Mac. Choose Sidekick Pro if you want an assistant that does the work: it clicks and types in your own browser, flags the email that matters, answers your business phone, and runs on GPT, Claude or Gemini, from $59 a month.
Dia is the browser The Browser Company built after Arc. Atlassian bought the company in a $610 million deal that closed in October 2025, and Dia is now an Atlassian product. It is Chromium underneath, so your extensions come along, and an AI sidebar sits beside every page to answer questions about what is open.
Sidekick Pro is not a browser. It is an assistant that lives in the Chrome, phone and desktop apps you already have. It reads your email, watches your calendar, clicks through web tasks with your own logins, and answers your phone.
We compared the two on the jobs people hand an assistant: reading and research, web tasks that need a login, email and calendar, calls and meetings, teams and price. We used each vendor's own pricing and release notes, and we say where Dia is the better pick.
Dia Browser vs Sidekick Pro, feature by feature
Prices and features come from each vendor’s own site. Dia Browser pricing was last checked on October 4, 2026.
| Feature | Dia Browser | Our pick Sidekick Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| Starting price | From $20/mo | From $59/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Plans | Better Browser free (no AI) · Better Answers $20/mo · Better Days $100/mo | Personal $59/mo · Business $149/mo |
| Platforms and setup | ||
| How you install it | A separate browser | Chrome extension |
| Mac | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | In development | Yes |
| iPhone and Android apps | No | Yes |
| Keeps your current extensions | Chromium extensions | Yours, unchanged |
| Email, calendar and the daily brief | ||
| Reads your email | Connected tools | Gmail |
| Flags important email without being asked | Not listed | Yes |
| Daily brief | Better Days plan | Yes |
| Calendar alerts | Not listed | Yes |
| Doing the work | ||
| Clicks and types on sites for you | Some actions | Yes |
| Keeps working with your laptop closed | Not listed | Private cloud browser |
| Scheduled and recurring tasks | Not listed | Yes |
| Other agents can drive it (MCP) | Not listed | Yes |
| Phone, texts and meetings | ||
| Answers your business phone | No | Every plan |
| Sends and replies to texts for you | No | Every plan |
| Joins Zoom and Google Meet calls | No | Business plan |
| Meeting prep and follow-up | Better Days plan | Business plan |
| Models, memory and teams | ||
| Choose your AI model | Not listed | GPT, Claude, Gemini |
| Remembers you between sessions | Paid plans | Yes |
| Voice conversation | Not listed | Yes |
| Share skills with teammates | Not listed | Business plan |
Head to head, topic by topic
A new browser, or the one you have
Dia Browser
Dia is the whole browser. That is the point: tabs, split view, ad and tracker blocking and the AI sidebar are one calm product, and because it is Chromium your extensions still work. The cost is the move. Dia is a Mac app on Apple Silicon, the Windows build is still in development behind a waitlist, and there is no iPhone or Android app, so your other machines stay on something else.
Sidekick Pro
Sidekick Pro leaves your browser alone. You install a Chrome extension and the assistant appears beside the pages you already use, signed in as you. Nothing to migrate, no second browser to keep open. The same assistant runs on the web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and Apple Watch, so a task you start at your desk finishes on your phone.
Reading versus doing
Dia Browser
Dia is strongest at reading. Ask about the tabs you have open and it answers with their contents, drafts from them, and keeps reusable prompts as Skills. Its paid plans can take some actions on the web, and the $100 Better Days plan adds reports, decks and recaps. The shape of the work is still a question you ask about pages you opened.
Sidekick Pro
Sidekick Pro is built to finish the job. It clicks, types and fills in forms on real sites with the logins already in your own browser, and for long jobs it moves to a private cloud browser that keeps working with the laptop closed. You can start a task by voice, schedule it, or let it run in the background and report back.
Email, calendar and what lands on its own
Dia Browser
Dia connects to the tools you work in. The September 2026 macOS update added Microsoft Outlook, SharePoint and Teams connections and Slack voice note transcripts, alongside Gmail, Drive and Notion. You still open Dia and ask. The Morning Brief that summarizes your day sits on the $100 plan.
Sidekick Pro
Sidekick Pro reads every new email as it arrives and alerts you only when something needs your attention (Smart Inbox), watches your calendar, and sends a daily brief on every plan. It drafts the reply or starts the task, and nothing goes out without your OK.
Phone calls, texts and meetings
Dia Browser
Dia is a browser, so it does not answer a phone line or text your customers. On the $100 plan it prepares you for a meeting and writes the follow-up, but it does not sit in the call.
Sidekick Pro
On every plan, Sidekick Pro gets its own phone number and works as an AI receptionist: it answers calls and texts, books appointments, confirms them and transfers the calls you should take. On the Business plan it also joins your Zoom and Google Meet calls, takes notes and follows up.
Models, memory and teams
Dia Browser
Dia does not publish a model picker, and memory arrives with the paid plans. It is an individual product today. Atlassian talks about Dia as a browser for teams, so admin controls may follow, but there is no team plan to buy yet.
Sidekick Pro
You pick GPT, Claude or Gemini, or let Auto choose per turn, in one subscription. Memory follows you across the web app, the extension, the phone app and the phone line. The Business plan includes unlimited teammates at no extra cost, who share skills, documents, pages and data tables while each person keeps a private assistant.
Which should you choose?
Choose Dia Browser if you
- work on a Mac and want one calmer browser instead of an extension
- spend your day reading and drafting across many open tabs
- want a free browser with the AI switched off, and no subscription
- are an Atlassian shop and want to follow where Dia goes next
Choose Sidekick Pro if you
- want to keep Chrome, your logins and your extensions
- want your inbox and calendar watched for you
- need your business phone answered and your texts handled
- want an assistant in your Zoom and Google Meet calls
- need the same assistant on Windows, your phone and the web
- want GPT, Claude and Gemini in one subscription
Our verdict
Dia is the better browser. Sidekick Pro is the better assistant.
Dia is a genuinely nice place to read the web. If you live on a Mac, keep twenty tabs open and want the AI to explain what is in them, it earns its $20, and the free tier is a good browser with the AI turned off.
If the work you want handled is email, calls, meetings and the web chores that need your logins, Dia is not built for it and Sidekick Pro is. It costs more, $59 a month against Dia's $20, and it keeps the browser you already use and runs on Windows and your phone too.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Dia Browser now?
Atlassian. It agreed to buy The Browser Company, Dia's maker, for $610 million, and the deal closed in October 2025. The Browser Company now runs as an Atlassian subsidiary and Dia is an Atlassian product.
Is Dia Browser free?
There is a free tier, Better Browser, which is the browser without the AI features. Chat and tools cost $20 a month on Better Answers, and the $100 Better Days plan adds more tasks, a Morning Brief, reports and meeting prep. New users get a 14-day trial of Better Days.
Does Dia Browser run on Windows?
Not yet. Dia is a Mac app and the Windows build is still in development behind a waitlist. There is no iPhone, Android or Linux version. Sidekick Pro runs on the web, Chrome, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and Apple Watch.
Do I have to switch browsers to use Sidekick Pro?
No. Sidekick Pro adds a Chrome extension to the browser you already use, so your logins, extensions and bookmarks stay where they are. It also runs in the web app and in the phone and desktop apps.
Can Dia Browser answer my phone?
No. Dia is a browser and does not give you a phone number. Every Sidekick Pro plan includes an AI receptionist on its own number that answers calls and texts, books appointments and transfers calls to you.
How do the prices compare?
Dia is free without AI, $20 a month for chat and tools, and $100 a month for the top plan. Sidekick Pro is $59 a month for Personal, which includes the phone line and texts, and $149 for Business, which adds the whole team, meetings and the coding agent. Sidekick Pro has no free plan or trial, and Business is one flat price however many members you invite.
Can I use both?
Yes, but they overlap less than you would think. Dia replaces your browser; Sidekick Pro's browser work happens in Chrome, so you would run Sidekick Pro in Chrome and keep Dia for reading.