Vivaldi

What Is Vivaldi?

Chrome is fast but tracks everything. Firefox is private but increasingly stripped of power-user features. Safari is locked to Apple's ecosystem. Edge is Chrome with a Microsoft skin. For users who want a browser that is both deeply customisable and genuinely private, the mainstream options are a series of compromises.

Vivaldi rejects every one of those compromises. Founded in 2015 by Jon von Tetzchner — the co-founder of Opera — and Tatsuki Tomita, Vivaldi is built on Chromium (so it runs every Chrome extension) but wrapped in a proprietary UI layer that is the most customisable browser interface ever built. Tab stacking, tab tiling, custom keyboard shortcuts, mouse gestures, command chains, themeable everything, web panels, and a built-in email client, calendar, RSS reader, and note-taking tool. All of this, with zero user tracking.

The company is headquartered in Oslo, Norway (EEA member), and operates as a privately held, employee-owned business. There are no external investors. Revenue comes from search engine partnerships and pre-installed bookmark links — not from advertising or user data. This is not just a privacy policy; it is a business model that structurally eliminates the incentive to track users.

Vivaldi is free. Not freemium. Not "free with a premium tier." Completely free, with every feature included. There is no premium version because there is nothing held back.

Key Features

Extreme Customisation

Vivaldi's customisation capabilities are unmatched by any browser. You can rearrange the toolbar, move the tab bar to any edge of the window, create custom themes (with scheduled theme switching based on time of day), map custom keyboard shortcuts, define mouse gestures, and build command chains — automated multi-step browser actions triggered by a single command. The Quick Commands palette (Ctrl+E) provides Spotlight-style access to every browser function, open tab, bookmark, and setting.

This is not surface-level theming. Vivaldi allows you to change the fundamental layout and behaviour of the browser to match your workflow. Users who work with many tabs simultaneously can use tab stacking (grouping related tabs) and tab tiling (viewing multiple pages side by side). Users who prefer a minimal interface can strip it down to nearly nothing. The flexibility is extraordinary — and the learning curve is proportional to how deep you go.

Built-In Productivity Suite

Vivaldi includes a suite of tools that most browsers require separate applications for. Vivaldi Mail is a full IMAP/POP3 email client. The built-in calendar supports CalDAV sync. The RSS feed reader handles content subscriptions. The notes tool includes screenshot annotation. These are not bookmarks to web apps — they are native browser features that run alongside your browsing.

For users who currently switch between Chrome, Thunderbird (or Outlook), a calendar app, and a notes app, Vivaldi consolidates that workflow into a single application. The individual tools are not the most feature-rich in their respective categories, but the integration is seamless and the convenience is significant.

Web Panels

Web Panels are sidebar-mounted web pages that open alongside your main browsing. You can pin a chat application, a to-do list, a translation tool, or any web page as a panel, accessing it without leaving your current tab. The panels are persistent across sessions and resize independently. This feature transforms the browser from a tab-switching tool into a workspace with persistent reference content.

Tab Management

Tab management in Vivaldi is best-in-class. Tab stacking groups related tabs under a single tab header. Tab tiling displays multiple tabs side by side or in a grid layout. Tab hibernation frees memory from inactive tabs without closing them. Session saving preserves complex tab arrangements for future restoration. For researchers, developers, and anyone who routinely works with dozens of open tabs, these features are not luxury — they are necessity.

Privacy and Sync

Vivaldi does not track users. No profiling, no data collection, no browsing history analysis. The company's revenue model (search engine partnerships) does not depend on user data. Sync between devices uses end-to-end encryption — Vivaldi cannot read your synced data. All sync data is stored on Vivaldi's servers in Iceland. The built-in ad and tracker blocker provides additional privacy protection without requiring a third-party extension.

Pricing

Vivaldi is completely free. There is no premium tier, no subscription, no paid features. Every capability — mail, calendar, RSS, tab management, customisation, sync — is included at no cost.

The company generates revenue through default search engine partnerships (configurable by the user) and pre-installed bookmark links to commercial websites (removable by the user). This revenue model sustains the company without monetising user behaviour — a conscious trade-off that prioritises user trust over maximum revenue extraction.

For a browser with this depth of features, zero cost is remarkable. The value-for-money rating of 9.5 reflects this — it is difficult to argue with "everything, for free."

EU Compliance & Privacy

Vivaldi Technologies AS is headquartered in Oslo, Norway (EEA member state). The browser is GDPR compliant by design — not because of a privacy policy, but because there is no data to protect. Vivaldi does not collect browsing data, does not profile users, and does not transfer personal data to any third party.

Data is stored locally on the user's device by default. When sync is enabled, data is end-to-end encrypted and stored on Vivaldi's servers. The company has stated publicly that it would not comply with any government request that would compromise user privacy, and its Norwegian EEA jurisdiction provides a strong legal framework for that position.

With an EU compliance rating of 9.0, Vivaldi scores among the highest of any product in the directory — limited only by the fact that its UI layer is not fully open-source, preventing complete independent auditing.

Who It's Best For

Power users who want complete control over their browser's interface, shortcuts, and behaviour. Vivaldi's customisation depth is unmatched.

Productivity-focused professionals who want email, calendar, RSS, and notes integrated into their browser rather than scattered across separate applications.

Privacy-conscious users who want Chromium compatibility (Chrome extensions) without Google's tracking infrastructure. Vivaldi provides the engine without the surveillance.

Tab-heavy workflows — researchers, developers, journalists, analysts — who need tab stacking, tiling, hibernation, and session management to handle complex browsing sessions.

The Verdict

Vivaldi is the browser that browser enthusiasts build in their dreams — and then discover someone actually built it. The customisation is extraordinary, the built-in productivity tools are genuinely useful, the tab management is the best available, and the privacy commitment is structural, not performative. The trade-offs are a steeper learning curve than Chrome, higher memory usage from the feature density, and a smaller community than mainstream browsers. The proprietary UI layer means it is not fully open-source, which purists may object to. But for users who spend their working day in a browser and want that browser to adapt to them rather than the other way around, Vivaldi is the definitive choice — and it costs nothing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Vivaldi open source?

Partially. Vivaldi uses the open-source Chromium engine, and its modifications to the Chromium source are publicly available. The custom UI layer is proprietary. The company maintains that this protects against browser cloning while keeping the rendering engine transparent.

Does Vivaldi track its users?

No. Vivaldi has a strict no-tracking policy. It does not profile users, collect browsing history, or sell data. Revenue comes from search engine partnerships and pre-installed bookmark links — not advertising or user data monetisation.

Can Vivaldi use Chrome extensions?

Yes. Vivaldi is fully compatible with the Chrome Web Store. You can install and use Chrome extensions exactly as you would in Google Chrome.

Who owns Vivaldi?

Vivaldi Technologies AS is a privately held, employee-owned company in Oslo, Norway. It was co-founded by Jon von Tetzchner (co-founder of Opera) and Tatsuki Tomita. There are no external investors or venture capital involvement.

How does Vivaldi make money?

Vivaldi generates revenue through partnerships with search engines (users can change the default) and pre-installed bookmark links to commercial websites (users can remove these). This model sustains the company without tracking users or displaying advertisements.