Helium Browser vs Tor Browser
Helium Browser
helium.computer
Tor Browser
torproject.orgSide by side
| Figure | Helium Browser | Tor Browser |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Web browsers | 8.5 (#35) | 9.1 (#10) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Helium is licensed under GPL-3.0, with some imported content under BSD-3-Clause. | Yes |
| Supported platforms | both | both |
| Support | Users can report issues on GitHub, and the maker asks them to check for duplicate issues first. | Tor Project provides a user support team and recommends its public forum for help; its support channels focus on assisting Tor users in censored regions. |
| What it does | Helium is a privacy-first browser that blocks ads, trackers, cookie banners, and third-party cookies by default. | Tor Browser routes browsing through the Tor network to hide the user's IP address, resist tracking and help bypass censorship. |
Plans
In their own words
Helium Browser
Helium Browser has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Tor Browser
Tor Browser routes its own web traffic through the Tor network to help hide a user's real IP address and resist tracking, surveillance, and censorship. Based on Mozilla Firefox ESR, it adds measures such as letterboxing, user-agent spoofing, and first-party isolation to make browser fingerprinting harder. Connections to different websites use different Tor circuits, while connections to the same website address use the same circuit. HTTPS-Only Mode upgrades connections to HTTPS where possible. Standard, Safer, and Safest security levels restrict browser features to varying degrees, which can cause some pages to work improperly. The browser can access onion services, and users in censored regions can configure bridges during setup. It is free, open-source software for Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Only Tor Browser traffic goes through Tor; other applications on the device are not automatically protected. The Tor Project recommends verifying download signatures and strongly discourages extra browser add-ons because they can affect privacy, security, or functionality.