Overlay vs Wavebox
I make Overlay. Wavebox is a browser you work in all day. Overlay is a panel that shows up over some other Mac app and then goes away. If you want to stop using Chrome, talk to Wavebox. Not to me.
They get mixed up because both can show two Gmails, both can put two pages side by side, and both say "web apps" instead of "tabs." Then you fullscreen Figma. Only one of them is still on the screen.
At a glance
| Overlay | Wavebox | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A panel over other Mac apps | A desktop browser |
| Systems | macOS 14 or later | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Free plan | 30-day trial of the whole app, then $12 once | 2 groups, 2 apps in each, 1 extension, one dashboard |
| Paid | No subscription | Pro $8.33/month, billed yearly ($99.96) |
| Trial | 30 days, no card | 7 days of Pro, no card. 30-day money back |
| Over a fullscreen app | Yes | No. It is the browser window |
| Extensions | Safari extensions. The direct download can also load ones already installed in Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc or Vivaldi. macOS 15.4 or later | Chrome Web Store, on Pro. Free plan: 1 |
| Several accounts | Per tab | Spaces, groups, and split view inside the browser |
Free-plan numbers are the card on wavebox.io/pricing. The FAQ on that page says after the trial you can keep two groups and two Gmail logins. I'm using the card. Their homepage lists Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Does Overlay replace Wavebox?
No. Wavebox wants to be the browser. Overlay assumes you still have one, and only takes the pages you need while some other app is fullscreen.
A day in Wavebox is spaces for work and home, groups of apps under them, a tab strip inside a group, a split when the calendar should sit next to the mail. Badges on the apps. On Pro, extensions from the Chrome Web Store, and the setup synced through their cloud. If that sounds like what you meant to buy, you meant a browser. Pay for the browser.
A day with Overlay still has Safari or Chrome for the long read, the shopping, the twenty-tab hole. The panel is the few pages that belong to the task in the other app. Mix those jobs and the panel turns into a second bad browser. It isn't quick at that, and it isn't priced as one.
Does Wavebox sit on top of a fullscreen app?
No. Wavebox is the window you'd fullscreen. Overlay is the opposite. Option-Space puts a page over Xcode, Figma, a spreadsheet, a call, and dismissing it doesn't rebuild the Space.
Wavebox can split pages inside its own window, two accounts of the same service included. Their site uses two Gmail calendars as the example. Fine if Wavebox is where you work. Useless if the work is in some other app and the browser is what you're trying not to switch to.
Fullscreen on a Mac is stricter than "a window in front." The fullscreen app owns a Space. Another browser, however tidy its Slack groups, is on a different Space until you leave. You notice on day one, usually in a call or a coding stretch you didn't want to break. Same reason Chrome "disappears."
Who is the free plan actually for?
Someone with about four apps and one extension. Two groups, two apps each. A day with several clients doesn't fit. One extension means the password manager or the ad blocker, not both. Pro is $8.33 a month billed yearly, $99.96 a year, unlimited spaces and extensions, cloud sync. Teams is $12.50 a user a month, shared dashboards, one bill.
Trial is seven days of Pro, no card. They say email them within 30 days if you want the money back. Apps you added in the trial stick around if you drop to Basic. The free caps still apply. The fifth app is why people subscribe.
Overlay's trial is 30 days of the thing you'd buy, then $12 once. No account. Two Macs on a code. No Windows, no Linux, so a mixed office can't standardize on it.
Extensions differ in kind, not just in count. Wavebox Pro is Chromium, so the library is the Chrome Web Store, holes included. Overlay runs Safari extensions. The direct download can also pick up extensions already installed in Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, or Vivaldi. Each one stays off until you turn it on, after you've seen the permissions. macOS 15.4 or later. The Mac App Store build is Safari extensions only. Anything that needs the old blocking webRequest API doesn't run. uBlock Origin's MV2 build is the one people hit. Don't switch to Overlay to keep a Chrome extension. Switch if you want a page over a fullscreen app, then see what survived.
What does each one cost?
Wavebox Pro is $99.96 a year. Overlay is $12 once.
Read their pricing page before you pay. Figures above are from 25 October 2026. They have education and non-profit discounts. I'm not restating the terms. Those are theirs, and they move.
If you wanted many accounts, one browser, Chrome extensions, get Wavebox, or look at Shift. Same day, Shift's page is free for 5 Spaces with 10 apps each, or $199.99 a year with the caps gone. If you wanted to stop leaving a fullscreen app, Overlay. A resident workspace that includes Linux without becoming your browser is Rambox. The coding setup is here.