Opera vs Tor Browser
Opera
opera.com
Tor Browser
torproject.orgSide by side
| Figure | Opera | Tor Browser |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $4/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · Web browsers | 9.2 (#5) | 9.1 (#10) |
| Founded | 1995 | 2006 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | Opera offers downloads for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and Chromebook. | both |
| Support | Opera directs users to its Help Center, community forums, and bug report wizard for assistance and issue reports. | 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. |
Plans
Opera
- Opera browserFree
- VPN Pro — six months$5 a month
- VPN Pro — one month$8 a month
- VPN Pro — one year$48 a year
In their own words
Opera
Opera is a free web browser for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, and the web, with extension support and cross-device sync. Tab Islands group related tabs for collapsing or expanding. Built-in tools include an ad blocker that can also block cryptocurrency-mining scripts, plus a free VPN with no data cap and three general locations. Opera AI can use open-tab context, generate images, summarize PDFs, and translate or summarize YouTube videos. ChatGPT and Gemini are available from the sidebar, and Opera says its AI tools do not require sign-up. The sidebar also offers WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, Messenger, and Telegram, while Music Player supports Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, and Deezer. Users can set browsing data—including history, cookies, passwords, and autofill data—to clear on exit. Opera browser costs nothing. VPN Pro is separate: plans cost $4 per month billed $48 yearly, $5 per month billed $30 every six months, or $8 per month billed monthly.
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.