When I see people using Chrome as their default web browser, I can only think it's because they don't know what's out there. I immediately recommend Brave, arguing that it's the closest thing to Chrome without Google's control, but I also understand that it has too many extras that make the experience strange for these types of users. Perhaps that's why, a few months ago, they started toying with the idea of Brave Origin.
When I recommend Brave as "Chrome without Google," you could also say that Brave Origin will be "Brave without Brave," in a way. The regular version offers Rewards, Wallet, Leo AI, and several other features that make it what it is, but not all of these features are for everyone. Brave Origin aims to be, as some describe it, the "de-bloatized" version of the brave lion's browser.
Upgrade Brave to Brave Origin or download the basic version
Brave hasn't posted it on social media yet, but there's plenty on their GitHub. For example, This pull request It shows a section in the traditional Brave browser that will allow you to disable all those little features to simplify the usual browser. this other request the paywall that will require a subscription to use Brave Origin.
Later, Brave's CEO stepped in to cut through what he considers "misinformation" and explained that Brave Origin will be a new, optional, separate version with fewer features that will be free on Linux, with a one-time payment on other platforms:
No, what you write here is not true. Is it Reddit misinformation?
Brave Origin is:
1/ new, optional, separate build (stripped down, no telemetry/rewards/wallet/vpn/ai);
2/ free on Linux, one time buy elsewhere. https://t.co/xsu5PtbwnL
- BrendanEich (@BrendanEich) December 31, 2025
Personally, I don't think what they post on Reddit is misinformation. Rather, they're interpreting what they see on GitHub, and if they see a paywall and the word "subscription" there, it seems clear. Or at least, it seems clear what the original intention was.
Free on Linux. Why?
Origin It will be free on Linuxwhile the rest of the users will have to pay for it. Why? They haven't said. It's possible they're using the 5% of desktop users as part of their promotion. Some in the community believe they intend to become the default browser on most Linux distributions, a position currently held by Firefox, but this is pure speculation.
The only certainty is that it It is expected to also come to Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, and all of them will have to pay.How much? No one knows. Currently, in the last six months, there's been conflicting information from GitHub vs. CEO, with one suggesting a monthly/annual subscription and the other a one-time payment. Putting a price on it in this situation is completely impossible. Even so, I've read something about $59.99 on the iOS version.
How to install the Nightly version
The Nightly version of Origin It is now available en on GitHubThere are dozens of packages available (Ctrl+F and searching for "origin" will help), but Linux users are interested in the .deb and .rpm packages for amd64 and arm64. Installation is as simple as downloading the package compatible with your distribution and installing it with the appropriate command (in Ubuntu, this would be `sudo apt install /path/to/package.deb`).
Users of an Arch-based distribution have it even simpler, since there is a package in AUR ending in -bin Which means it's already compiled. To install it, simply use a assistant like yay or paru and install brave-origin-nightly-bin (for example, yay -S brave-origin-nightly-bin).
Simplify the official version to get Brave Origin
The truth is, you can't access everything Origin offers from the official or standard version. However, you can disable some features:
- Rewards are deactivated by putting brave://rewards in the URL bar. At the bottom left, we find the "More" menu and there "Deactivate and reset Rewards".
- Brave Wallet can be deactivated from brave://flagsSpecifically, the "Enable Brave Wallet" flag.
- Brave Talk is in the left panel, and can be removed with a right-click and "Remove".
- Leo has its own tab in the settings. You just need to go there and disable all the options.
- In the Privacy and Security section of Settings, we can disable Tor (I wouldn't do it), and also avoid sharing statistics in the "Data Collection" section.
Even so, if someone is looking for a simple Chromium-based browser, Brave Origin is the best option. Especially since it's free.