Opera Neon Launches Publicly: A $20/Month AI-Powered Browser
Opera’s new subscription browser promises an agentic experience, but at a premium price.
Norway-based Opera has officially launched Neon, its ambitious AI-native browser, to the public after months of closed testing. Priced at $19.90 per month, Neon enters a crowded field of “AI-first” competitors like Perplexity’s Comet and The Browser Company’s Dia, but Opera is betting that deep integration and premium models justify the cost.
So, what exactly does Neon offer? It’s not just a browser with a chatbot bolted on. The core philosophy here is context. Neon ingests your browsing history to make the AI actually useful. Instead of asking a generic chatbot for information, you can ask Neon to “find the pricing details from the SaaS page I read yesterday” or “summarize the tutorial video I watched last week.” This contextual memory allows for a workflow that feels less like searching and more like collaborating with an assistant that knows your digital footprint.
The workflow is organized into “Tasks,” which function like advanced tab groups or the “Spaces” found in the Arc browser. These are contained workspaces where your tabs and AI chats share a specific context. If you’re juggling a research project and a separate shopping list, you can keep them segregated so the AI doesn’t get confused.
Furthermore, Neon introduces “Cards”—prompt-based templates for automating repetitive tasks. Think of these as mini-apps you can build without code to streamline your daily browsing routine. There is also a deep research agent designed to synthesize comprehensive reports on complex topics, moving beyond simple Q&A.
The premium price tag does come with premium firepower. Opera is granting subscribers access to an impressive roster of top-tier models, including GPT-5.1, Gemini 3 Pro, Veo 3.1 (for video generation), and the elusive Nano Banana Pro. This “all-you-can-eat” model access alone could be a value driver for power users who currently pay for multiple AI subscriptions.
Krystian Kolondra, EVP of browsers at Opera, describes Neon as a product for early adopters who want the latest AI tech. The company notes that while its other browsers (Opera One, GX, Air) include free AI features, Neon is a distinct, rapidly evolving project that benefits from direct developer access and a dedicated Discord community.
While Opera pushes the boundaries of agentic browsing, legacy giants are proceeding with caution. Google is currently focused on securing these new attack surfaces, and Brave is rolling out its agentic features in isolated profiles to protect user privacy. Opera, however, is going all-in.
Is Neon the future of browsing, or a niche tool for AI enthusiasts? For $20 a month, it asks users to bet on a new paradigm: a web where the browser does the work for you. If you value context-aware automation over the traditional search-and-click model, Neon might just be the edge you’ve been waiting for.
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