Brave officially announces Origin release for desktop and Android, iOS version coming soon

Brave has officially announced Brave Origin, its paid stripped-back browser, even though the first stable desktop build had already gone live a few days earlier.

In the announcement that just dropped, Brave pitched Origin as a minimalist version of Brave for people who want the browser’s privacy and ad blocking without the long list of built-in extras. Brave is charging $59.99 as a one-time purchase, while Linux users can get Origin free.

So the new browser keeps the tried-and-tested privacy stack, Shields, and the main browsing experience, but removes or disables features like Leo, Rewards, Wallet, VPN, News, Talk, Tor, Wayback Machine, Web Discovery Project, and other extras that many users never touch. Meanwhile, the regular Brave Browser will still be usable for free.

As we reported earlier, the stable desktop release already showed up days before this official post, and Android had already been lined up for the next step in the rollout. Brave probably wanted both parts ready before putting out the formal announcement.

Think of Brave Origin as a way for fans to support the company directly. Brave says the paid version is for users who don’t want the revenue-generating features that help fund the free browser but still want Brave’s privacy protections.

How to get Brave Origin on your device

Brave Origin costs $59.99 as a one-time purchase, but you can get it as an upgrade to your existing Brave install or as a separate standalone app depending on your platform. Linux users get Origin for free, though they can still pay if they want to support Brave.

Android and iOS only get Origin as an upgrade inside Brave 1.91 or later, not as a separate app. macOS, Windows, and Linux can use Origin either as an upgrade or as a standalone download from the website, with separate Nightly, Beta, and Release channels for the standalone version.

On desktop, you can upgrade through Settings → System → Brave Origin, then click Buy now or enter your Purchase ID, restart Brave, and toggle features off in the new Origin panel. As a standalone app, you download Origin from brave.com/origin/, install it, open the app, complete the purchase (or click Proceed with Origin for free on Linux), enter your Purchase ID, and finish onboarding.

On mobile, open Brave, tap the menu (⋮ on Android, … on iOS), go to All Settings → General → Origin, tap Buy now on the Play Store or App Store, or click Verify Brave Origin purchase if you already own it, then restart the app and use the Origin panel to toggle features. iPhone and iPad will get Origin when Brave 1.91 reaches iOS, roughly 1–2 weeks from now.

You can contact Brave support for a full refund within 30 days of purchase if you decide Origin isn’t for you.

Brave had already spent time earlier this year clearing up confusion around the project after misinformation started spreading about what Origin actually was. That older mess mostly came down to people assuming Brave was replacing the regular browser or gutting core features, and neither of those things turned out to be true.

A paid browser still sounds weird on paper. Brave is betting that a cleaner interface, built-in privacy, no crypto clutter, no AI stuffed into every corner, and a one-time fee will be interesting enough for some users to support the company, while also getting rid of all bloatware from their favorite browser.

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