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Browser comparison: How the five leaders stack up in speed, ease of use and more

The best browser for your desktop could be one you’re not using. Whether Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, or Safari is your current choice, our tests found distinct differences in speed and ease of use. We also compared how each browser uses system resources, a near-invisible trait that could be discreetly bogging down your PC. For the online lifestyle, the right browser could save you time and frustration.

See how they run

Browsers largely look and act the same: They render HTML in multiple tabs or separate windows, let you bookmark pages, support HTTP and FTP file transfer, or offer private browsing (no data is stored). Deep inside each one, however, are operational differences that may or may not fulfill your needs.

Opera had a long-standing and well-deserved reputation for being fast, but not rendering all pages correctly. A switch from a proprietary HTML layout engine to free and widely-used WebKit (currently version 537 as with Chrome) has made that a thing of the past.

Internet Explorer has a history of being exploited by bad guys, both because of its immense popularity and its ActiveX technology. Give Microsoft credit: It’s doggedly improved the Trident layout engine, adopted standards, and improved security. IE is no longer something I advise users to avoid.

Firefox is a longtime worthy IE competitor, and Chrome’s a strong newcomer. As Safari was installed with iTunes for years, many Windows users have it, but have never tried it—possibly because Apple has never given it a truly Windows-like look.

I’ll be comparing browser performance and resource usage as well as features and ease of use.

Chrome 36 (WebKit 537): Stable and speedy

Google’s Chrome browser has gained traction quickly against longstanding competitors like Internet Explorer.

A lot of people use Google’s Chrome browser, because lots of people use Google’s search engine. Chrome is fast and generally reliable. It was my go-to for a couple of years, partly because of a great text-to-speech add-on called SpeakIt! that I used to proofread articles. Recently, however, it revealed a propensity for playing the video and audio portion of some popup windows without actually showing the popup. This is an interaction with Adobe’s Flash player that also currently affects Firefox.

Chrome posted the fastest Browsermark score in our browser comparison tests.

There’s no denying that Chrome is fast: It scored 5773 on Browsermark, took 150.4ms to complete Sunspider, and scored 5627 on Peacekeeper. That’s two first places and a third. To achieve those results, however, it uses a lot of memory and separate processes: 775MB and 14 processes in my hands-on, nine tab test. And there was nothing special going on in any of the tabs.

Chrome is one of the fastest browsers for rendering HTML, but it spawns a lot of processes to achieve that.

Additionally, relatively simple options such as changing your homepage are distinctly unintuitive. You might even get the feeling that Google doesn’t want you to change things. Another issue with Chrome, as well as Opera and IE, is that it spawns a number of processes, making it harder to shut down when things go bad.

Minor issues aside, Chrome is still a top browser option because of its stability and speed.

Firefox 31 (Gecko): Looking good, running fast

Mozilla Firefox just got an interface makeover and offers many useful add-ons. 

Firefox is the long-time competitor to IE that staved off a Microsoft browser monopoly for years until Chrome showed up to “help.” It’s fast and very reliable. Despite a longstanding memory leak that forced the occasional restart, it was the browser I recommended for many users to avoid the malware attacks that once plagued IE.

The memory leak in its Gecko rendering engine seems to be gone and Firefox has recently received an upgrade that was radical enough to rile a few longtime users. (There is a way to bring back the old-style menus.)

I prefer the new look and find it the most intuitive of all the browsers for bookmarking and changing options. Firefox also has a vast array of add-ons, including one of the best video downloaders out there, the aptly-named DownloadHelper.

Firefox was the slowest among the browsers we compared in Browsermark, though its score was still decent. 

In our performance texts, Firefox tucked neatly into third place overall: It scored 4540 in BrowserMark; took 134.4ms to complete Sunspider (better than Chrome or Opera); and scored 3956 in Peacekeeper.

The feel is slightly slower than Chrome or Opera, but not enough that it should irritate you. It uses fewer resources than Chrome or Opera, spawning only a single process, and using only 510MB of memory. Only the super-thrifty Safari used less memory.

Keep reading for details on Internet Explorer 11 and more …

Internet Explorer 11 (Trident)

Internet Explorer remains the most widely distributed browser, and the one most targeted by malware.

IE remains extremely popular and useful—if for nothing else that downloading your browser of choice with a fresh install of Windows. It’s decently fast with HTML, exceptionally fast with Javascript, and renders pages reliably.

Also, because of its ActiveX technology, IE is sometimes easier to use with business-related sites such as Webex and HTML IT consoles such as Kaseya. These sites can seamlessly integrate their functionality into IE. With other browsers you must sometimes download and install an extension or background app. Windows User Account Control can prolong that process, so in a pinch I often simply switch to IE.

Internet Explorer 11 can be easier to use with business sites because of its ActiveX technology.

IE was unable to complete BrowserMark, a problem noted only after a recent update, but it did score 3670 on Peacekeeper. More notably, it took a mere 74.1ms to complete Sunspider, making it easily the fastest browser for running Javascript.

Sadly, it’s every bit the memory hog that Chrome and Opera are, using 714MB in my nine-tab test. On the other hand, it used “only” 7 processes, half that of the WebKit-based Chrome and Opera.

Opera 23 (WebKit 537)

Among the browsers we compared, Opera is worth a look for its easy configuration.

After a long, dark age of badly rendered pages, Opera’s now near-perfect in that regard. I say this even after uninstalling it just a few months ago due to its incompatibility with PCWorld’s own web tools. Updates have smoothed out those kinks, and it’s only a hair slower than Chrome.

Unlike Chrome and Firefox, Opera 23 doesn’t suffer invisible popups. It does use the same Webkit engine and run as multiple processes, and it’s more difficult to shut down. It also lacks a home button, instead relying solely on a launch page of oft-used sites (Speed Dial).

In our browser comparison running Browsermark, Opera was nearly as fast as Chrome.

Speed Dial is great if you work off of multiple sites, but it adds another step for those who work from a single page. My minor complaint: There’s no native feature for emailing a link to a page. You must install an extension for this functionality.

For HTML rendering, Opera was only a hair slower than first-place Chrome, scoring 5625 on BrowserMark and 5447 in Peacekeeper. It was a hair faster with Javascript, completing the Sunspider test in 150.1ms. Overall, you’d be hard-pressed to notice the difference between the two WekKit 537-based browsers in a hands-on.

Despite the list of minor complaints, Opera is currently my main work browser because it’s nearly as fast as Chrome, but easier to configure.

Safari 5.1.17 (WebKit 534)

Among the browsers we compared, Safari is easy to use and runs with very low processing overhead. 

Though king on the Mac, Safari is probably the least popular of the top browsers under Windows—a bit sad as it’s competent, easy to use, and light on the memory profile. Apple apparently ceased supporting Windows as of version 5.1.17, but we tested it anyway because of its thrifty use of memory.

And ‘thrifty’ is understating the case. It spawns only a single process and in my nine-tab hands-on test, required only 115MB of memory to display it. What happened between the WebKit 534 that Safari uses, and WebKit 537, the current choice of Chrome and Opera is quite amazing. The latter offers way more speed but sucks up a lot of resources.

Safari posted a slower score in Browsermark than most of the competition, but it’s still reasonably peppy. 

Safari could be very handy on older systems with only 512MB or 1GB of memory. It has all the standard features found in the others, so you’re not giving away anything.

Performance in BrowserMark and Peacekeeper was decent: 4831 and 3062, respectively. It lagged in the Sunspider Javascript test, with a score of 179.9ms.

In our browser comparison, the Browsermark test showed pretty close performance by all products (except IE, which Browsermark could not run).

Test Results

To gauge each browser’s rendering performance, we ran Rightware’s Browsermark and FutureMark’s Peacekeeper HTML5 tests, as well as the Sunspider Javascript benchmark.

If you want the fastest browser for rendering HTML—by far the majority of the actions that a browser performs—you have a choice between Chrome and Opera. They both spawn a lot of processes and memory to accomplish it. Of the two, I’d pick Opera for overall easier configuration.

In our browser roundup, Chrome 36 posted the fastest time on Peacekeeper, while Safari was almost twice as slow.

If Javascript is a priority, Internet Explorer is easily the fastest running it. IE uses a lot of memory as well, if about half the processes of Chrome and Opera.

A big shout-out to Safari which used by far the least amount of memory to present the same nine tabs. If you’re working on a computer with only 512MB or 1GB of system memory, its spend-thrift ways might come in handy.

However, if I had to pick just one to keep on my system, it would be Firefox. It’s fast enough, it has the slickest interface, it uses considerably less memory than Chrome, IE, and Opera, and it’s just generally the easiest to use.

 Internet Explorer emerged as the fastest browsers running the Sunspider Javascript test, with Safari limping in at more than twice as slow.

Performance and memory usage may be moot if your needs extend beyond the ordinary, in which case the browser you choose as your mainstay may come down to add-ons.

Fortunately, as all the browsers we tested are competent, free and export and import bookmarks, you can use any, or all of them. Yes, life is good in the browser world.

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

Compared: Safari vs. Chrome vs. Firefox vs. Edge on macOS in 2022

Safari vs. Chrome vs. Firefox vs. Edge on macOS, compared.

The truth is, the perfect browser doesn't exist. Each of the four most popular macOS browsers has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, just based on the engine that's used for web rendering, and what the developers of the big-four have prioritized.

While the best browser for the individual varies on use case, and which websites behave the best on any given browser, there are a series of benchmarking tools that can measure performance on synthetic tasks.

Browser benchmarks

We tested each browser on three different testing platforms: JetStream 2, Speedometer, and MotionMark.

JetStream 2 is a JavaScript-benchmark that scores browsers based on how quickly they can start and execute code, which translates to faster JavaScript performance. Since JavaScript is used on most web browsers, it's a good test of snappiness for code-intensive sites.

MotionMark is a graphical browser testing suite that measures the ability to render complex web pages. Think a page that has complicated graphics and animations. A higher score results in smoother transitions and animations.

Speedometer 2.0 determines the responsiveness of a browser when running web applications. Among the three, it's the truest option for testing real-world performance across many popular websites and online services. A good example is adding tasks to a to-do list in a web app.

Chrome came out on top in JetStream 2 testing, while Safari took second place.

Safari was the fastest in MotionMark benchmark testing.

Speedometer testing showed off interesting results, with Firefox and Edge coming in first and second, and Safari in last place.

Different testing platforms result in different scores, so your own mileage may vary. Safari was the best for graphical performance, for example, but its responsiveness lagged behind others. Choose what specific metrics are most important to you.

For Mac users, Safari is an institution. It's the default browser on Apple platforms and is generally lightweight and efficient. As you'd expect for an Apple product, Safari also emphasizing privacy while you browser online.

From the very first boot on a new Mac, Safari is instantly available and configured for easy, private browsing. That makes it the best choice for the most non-technical among us, since you won't need to download and install anything. Safari "just works" out of the box.

It also features the tighest integration across Apple's other devices and systems. You can use Continuity to easy hand-off your browsing between your Mac and any iPhone or iPad you have around. If you need to buy something with Apple Pay , you can authenticate purchases with Face ID or Touch ID.

Safari also features some strong privacy protections, including mechanisms aimed at mitigating cross-site tracking and ad targeting. It features a built-in password manager that allows you to save and store passwords — with easy autofill options — across your Apple devices.

As an Apple-made product, Safari is the most convenient option on this list for Mac users — particularly those who own multiple Apple devices. It's also a good choice for the privacy conscious, though it isn't the fastest and it doesn't yet have a strong extension marketplace.

• Default Mac browser with effortless setup
• Strong privacy protections
• Integration with other Apple products
• Not the fastest or most responsive browser in some testing
• Lackluster support for add-ons and extensions

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a massively popular browser, and a particular favorite of those who routinely use extensions to customize their web experience. It's the most-used web browser in the world, and it's faster and more RAM-efficient than it used to be. Chrome is even currently speedier than Safari on macOS.

The browser also has one of the world's most extensive list of add-ons, plug-ins, and extensions. From plugins focused on online privacy or to video content downloaders, there are around 190,000 extensions in total to choose from. You can also choose from a number of different themes and customization options.

Intelligent Google-made features include automatic site translations and deep integration with the company's online tools and services — so it's great for those who rely on Gmail, Google Docs, or another Google service. Syncing between Google apps on different devices is also top-notch.

However, Google is a data company that relies on collecting information about its users. While the company has taken steps to bolster its privacy reputation, it's still a company that makes money on harvesting data. Those who are particularly privacy-conscious will probably want to look elsewhere.

It's hard to go wrong with the world's most popular web browser, particularly with its seamless workflow features and customization options. However, if you are even slightly concerned about online privacy, you may want to go with another option.

• Simple to learn, fastest option in some cases
• Syncs your Google account across other devices
• Extensive list of extensions and add-ons
• It's Google — so not that private
• Is a RAM and CPU hog

Mozilla Firefox is one of the only popular and mainstream browsers to have started life as an open source project. It's still a free and open source browser with a hefty focus on privacy and security, which could make it a good fit for those who want a Google Chrome alternative.

Because of its open source nature, users are free to explore Firefox's code — and they do. The browser doesn't have any hidden secrets or data-harvesters. It also features some excellent built-in privacy and security protections, including Enhanced Tracking Protection and an extensive list of customizable permissions.

Firefox was also the first browser to actually offer third-party extensions and add-ons. Although it might not have as many extensions as Google Chrome, you'll still find a hefty list of options ranging from privacy add-ons to customizable themes for your browser.

Although Firefox has some cross-platform integration between its app and built-in Pocket support, it isn't as seamless as Chrome or Safari. If speed if your primary concern, it's also important to note that Firefox isn't the fastest browser by most metrics.

Users who want an open source browser or are committed to Mozilla's mission of keeping the internet open and free will find a browser after their own hearts here. For the average user, however, another browser on this list might be a better fit.

• Completely free and open source
• Extremely customizable with extensions, themes, etc.
• The best option for hardcore privacy
• Not the fastest or most RAM efficient
• Synchronicity isn't as robust

Microsoft Edge is the spiritual successor to Internet Explorer that was first released in 2015. Originally HTML-based, Microsoft overhauled the browser to be based on Chromium, which is the same underlying software used to make Google Chrome.

As such, Microsoft Edge is now much more competitive than it used to be. It's far from a Google Chrome clone, but you should expect a similar level of performance from it. Some users believe that Microsoft Edge even feels snappier than Chrome on a Mac.

Because it's Chromium-based, Microsoft Edge also has a list of extensions similar to Chrome. It also sports a number of unique features, such as a "Collections" ability that lets you save information like text or webpages to a built-in notebook. There's also a vertical tab bar, a built-in read aloud feature, and an easy native screenshot tool.

It's a solid option for anyone that doesn't like Safari and wants an alternative to Google Chrome because of privacy reasons. If you use a Microsoft account like some use a Google account, then Edge might also be a solid option.

• Snappy, lower RAM and CPU usage
• Unique features like Read Aloud and Collections
• Good performance in most metrics
• Can be slower than Chrome in terms of pure performance
• Syncing isn't as strong as Safari or Chrome

The perfect browser doesn't exist, but you can pick and choose what you need

There's no clear answer for what the "best" browser on macOS is. However, some browsers are better suited to specific tasks than others.

When it comes to smooth JavaScript execution, Chrome is in the top spot with Safari a close second. Safari, according to the MotionMark testing, handles complex web pages better than any other browser.

Firefox, interestingly enough, may be the fastest when it comes to general everyday web apps.

Of course, there's also the issues of extension support, privacy, and synchronization across other devices. Many of the browsers are evenly matched on these metrics, but some excel in specific areas like privacy or cross-platform integration.

But, unlike on iOS, you aren't effectively stuck with one browser core technology. These four browsers, and several more, are available on macOS, and can be run in parallel.

While we don't recommend running all four unless you're a web developer or unit case tester, two or three different browsers can be run at-will, if any given browser doesn't handle your work case well.

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Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, or Safari: Which Browser Is Best for 2024?

Don't take your browser for granted we help you narrow your options by comparing the best web browsers on speed, privacy, and other important features..

Most people browse the web using Google Chrome without really thinking about their options. Gmail or YouTube or some other site once suggested they use Chrome, and perhaps they never questioned it. The truth is you do have options when it comes to your web browser, and you may find another that serves your needs better. Browsers offer varying levels of privacy, security , performance, and power efficiency. They differ even more when it comes to unique and helpful features beyond merely displaying websites.

Here we examine the top five browsers in the US, in order of popularity. That criterion rules out  Brave  and  Vivaldi , with usage rates hovering near or below 1%, even though they are both first-class browsers. If you're interested in those two, check out our article on the  best alternative web browsers . Or, if your utmost concern is security, see what makes the best private browsers different.

Below are short reviews of the top five browsers. After that, keep reading for more information about the browser landscape, additional details about our testing, and advice on what you should take into consideration when choosing a web browser.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome Web Browser

Most people need no introduction to the search behemoth's browser, Google Chrome. It’s attractively designed and quick at loading pages. Most website codes now target Chrome, so compatibility is seldom an issue. Chrome is available for all major platforms, and the mobile version offers syncing of bookmarks, passwords, and settings.

Chrome doesn't have many unique browsing features, however, and it's the only browser included here that you won't find in the desktop app stores for macOS and Windows. There’s no built-in VPN, no cryptocurrency locker, no note feature, and no screenshot tool. Google has announced a feeble gesture towards adding a reading mode; feeble because it will only be in a sidebar, with the full, noisy distracting page still displaying in the main central browser window. The lack of a true reading mode makes sense for a company that earns its keep through web ads since reading modes hide them. All the other browsers here have full-page reading modes.

Chrome allows multiple user profiles, meaning different users of the same computer can have their own browser settings, history, and favorites. The browser also finally caught up with others by adding a Share icon to the address bar that eases sending sites via social media or email.

A few years ago, Google controversially announced it would be removing the API function that allowed ad-blocker software to fully block ads. As of now, it seems ad blockers may be limited starting at some point in 2024. Some Chrome development, though, has centered around security and privacy, notably among them a plan to kill off tracking cookies in favor of Google's tracking mechanisms. The company's Privacy Sandbox initiative (in development) tries to cater to both  ad targeting and user privacy . Some worry both of these developments will only result in more consolidation of the company's grip on web advertising and user profiling.

Apple Safari

Apple Safari 5

The default Mac and iOS browser is a strong choice, though its interface has some nonstandard elements. Safari was a forerunner in several areas of browser features. For example, it was the first with a Reading mode, which cleared unnecessary clutter like ads and videos from web articles you want to read. That feature debuted in 2010 and has made its way into all other browsers except for Chrome.

Apple has brought up the topic of fingerprinting protection—preventing web trackers from identifying you by your system specs. Unfortunately, the EFF's Cover Your Tracks test site only shows partial protection from trackers in Safari, while several competitors get a result of Strong protection. Other benefits include Apple Pay support and a "Sign in with Apple" feature to replace Facebook and Google as web account authorizers.

In macOS Monterey, the browser gained a compact tab bar with floating tabs like Firefox's and Tab Groups that live in a convenient sidebar, and with Ventura , they become shareable and pinnable. Safari also supports Apple's proprietary Shared with You feature in its proprietary iMessage system. For iCloud+ subscribers, a Private Relay obscures your IP address, similar to a VPN.

If you use an iPhone and a Mac, Safari integration makes a lot of sense, since Apple’s Handoff feature lets you continue your browsing session between devices. Safari trails other browsers on support for emerging HTML features, but we haven’t run into or heard of any major site incompatibilities with it.

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge Web Browser

The latest version of Microsoft Edge uses Chrome’s webpage-rendering code, Chromium, guaranteeing site compatibility and freeing up its developers to add unique features. You won’t run into the site incompatibilities users of the previous incarnation of Edge occasionally encountered, and the browser performs snappily. Edge now runs on Apple macOS and Windows 11 and earlier. Mobile versions for Android and iPhone let you sync history, favorites, and passwords.

Edge is a leader in performance, thrifty memory management, and disk usage. Startup Boost technology reduces the time it takes to open the browser, and sleeping tabs save memory on tabs you're not viewing. Edge's Efficiency mode can extend laptop battery life. The initial focuses for the browser were privacy, the customizable start page, and the intriguing Collections feature for web research. For enterprise customers who still rely on Internet Explorer to run legacy programs, Edge offers an IE Mode .

The Collections feature uses a sidebar onto which you can drag webpages and images, write notes, and then share the whole assemblage to Excel, OneNote, or Word. It's a great organization and planning tool . Edge's Immersive Reader mode not only offers distraction-free web reading, stripping out ads and nonessential eye candy, but it can also read webpage text aloud using lifelike Neural Voices. It's worth trying because it reads with sentence intonation, rather than simply word by word, as we’ve come to expect text-to-speech audio.

Other notable Edge options include built-in web sharing, tabs down the side rather than across the top, a built-in screenshot tool, automatic coupons for shopping sites, and timely themes to dress up your browser. Recent additions include a side panel that integrates the new Bing AI chat search , game controller haptic feedback, and a multitasking side toolbar that lets you access first- and third-party services for social networking, search, messaging, search, and productivity.

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox Web Browser

Firefox, an open-source project from the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation, has long been a PCMag favorite. The browser has pioneered many web capabilities and the organization that develops it has been a strong advocate for online privacy. It’s also notable for its wealth of available extensions. The unique Multi-Account Containers extension lets you sequester multiple logins to the same site on different tabs. Without it, you'd have to open a private browsing window or another browser to sign out of all your web accounts and start a fresh session.

Mozilla’s browser is in the vanguard of supporting new HTML and CSS capabilities, and the company is working on open-source AR and speech synthesis standards. The organization now offers a full password management service called Lockwise, which can generate complex passwords, sync them between devices, and secure everything under a strong master password. That and the organization's VPN offering are paid extras.

The mobile Firefox apps offer excellent interfaces, and you can send a webpage tab from any device to any others that are logged into your syncing account. That’s right: You can be reading a webpage on your desktop PC, and have it instantly open on your iPhone or vice versa. It's a slick and useful feature.

If that’s not enough, Firefox has a Pocket button in the address bar, letting you save a page for later viewing anywhere with one click. The Reader View button declutters a webpage loaded with ads, promos, and videos, so you can peruse it with no distractions. PiP video supports closed captions and HDR and AV1 video formats. The browser is ultra customizable, letting you select and arrange buttons on the toolbar to taste, as well as select from a large number of Theme add-ons that change window border patterns and colors.

Recent additions include PDF editing and the Firefox View feature, basically a pinned tab of recent sites that syncs between the desktop and mobile versions of the browser.

Opera Web Browser

Perennially hovering around the 2% usage level, the Opera browser has long been a pioneer in the segment, inventing basic browser innovations like tabs, CSS, and the built-in search box. Opera can make a bigger privacy claim than the other browsers here—if you’re a believer in VPNs. It includes a built-in VPN (actually an encrypted proxy server) that protects and reroutes traffic from Opera to cloak your IP address. Opera uses the Chromium page-rendering engine, so you'll rarely run into site incompatibilities, and performance is fast. It's available for all major platforms, and the Opera Touch mobile browser is a beautifully designed app that connects (via quick QR scan) to your desktop.

Beyond the VPN, another unique feature in Opera is its built-in ad blocker, which also blocks crypto-mining scripts and trackers. Ad blocking also means less data consumed, especially of interest to those using metered connections or mobile plans with data caps.

More unique features in Opera include its Speed Dial start and New Tab page, as well as its quick-access sidebar of frequently needed services like WhatsApp or Spotify. My Flow lets you send webpages and notes between devices easily. The browser also includes a video pop-out window, a Pinboard feature similar to Edge's Collections, and a Workspaces feature that lets you create function-based tab views. Opera uniquely offers a cryptocurrency wallet as an option, which supports most popular tokens.

Opera offers a gaming version called Opera GX , and the company recently bought a gaming engine , moving into that specialty even further. The company also offers a futuristic secure Crypto Browser for navigating Web3 . And like Edge, Opera is adding AI ChatGPT capabilities to the browser , starting with a summarizer tool for text you highlight or even full sites.

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About Michael Muchmore

PC hardware is nice, but it’s not much use without innovative software. I’ve been reviewing software for PCMag since 2008, and I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine , the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft win and misstep up to the latest Windows 11.

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The best web browsers for 2024

All web browsers have the same basic function, and yet, the choice between them has always been one of the most contentious in tech history. You have more options these days than ever before, whether you’re looking for the best web browser for privacy , the best for speed, or perhaps something a bit more adventurous.

To help you decide on the best web browser, we grabbed the latest browsers and put them through their paces. Even if some could use a complete overhaul, these options are your best chance for a great online experience.

The best web browser: Google Chrome

Chrome is ubiquitous — and for good reason. With a robust feature set, full Google Account integration, a thriving extension ecosystem (available through the Chrome Web Store), and a reliable suite of mobile apps, it’s easy to see why Chrome is the most popular and the best web browser.

Chrome boasts some of the most extensive mobile integration available. Served up on every major platform, keeping data in sync is easy, making browsing between multiple devices a breeze. Sign in to your Google account on one device, and all Chrome bookmarks, saved data, and preferences come right along. Even active extensions stay synchronized across devices.

Chrome’s Password Manager can automatically generate and recommend strong passwords when a user creates a new account on a webpage. Managing saved passwords and adding notes to passwords is even easier. The search bar, or Omnibox, provides “rich results” comprised of useful answers, and it now supports generative AI capabilities. Favorites are more accessible as well, and they’re manageable on the New Tab page. And it’s now easier to mute tabs to avoid unwanted sounds.

Other updates have included a Dark Mode for Windows and macOS , better New Tab customization and tab group creation, tab hover cards, and an in-browser warning if your password was discovered in a data breach. There’s a price tracking feature that can help locate the best deals. Android users will appreciate the Phone Hub for linking and monitoring their phones. There’s also the ability to quiet notifications, so websites don’t bombard you with requests to enable in-browser notifications.

What’s the bottom line? The Google Chrome browser is fast, free, and even better looking than before. With a thriving extension ecosystem, it’s as fully featured or as pared-down as you want it to be. Everything is right where it belongs, privacy and security controls are laid out in plain English, and the browser just gets out of your way. While it can be a little RAM-hungry at times , Google is working to make it more efficient — like Microsoft’s Edge, Google can now hibernate tabs in the background to stop them from using too many resources.

Overall, Chrome remains the best web browser download for the average user.

And, things are looking to get even better. Google announced some significant upgrades to the browser that haven’t gone live yet, to celebrate Chrome’s 15th birthday . A Material You design language will allow users to customize Chrome’s look and feel and attach themes to profiles to make it easy to tell them apart. The menu system will be revamped to provide easier access to a variety of settings and features including Extensions, Password Manager, Translate, and others. The Chrome Web Store will be redesigned using Material You to be easier to use, and AI will help identify useful extensions. And finally, Safe Browsing will now work in real time to protect against threats.

The best Chrome alternative: Microsoft Edge

In response to the market’s rejection of its original home-grown Edge browser, Microsoft rewrote Edge using the open-source Chromium web browser engine. The new Edge launched on February 5, 2020 , as a separate, stand-alone browser that replaced the integrated version. It became part of Windows 10 with the May 2020 update, although you can still download it for Windows 10 builds prior to version 2004. Of course, it’s the default web browser for Windows 11.

At first glance, the new Edge browser looks and feels like Google Chrome. It prompts you to import Chrome’s bookmarks toolbar and other settings. This is great if you hated the old Edge browser and want to give Microsoft’s new browser another shot. It also supports Chrome extensions , though the browser leads you to the Microsoft Store for add-ons. You must manually load the Chrome Web Store to install anything not listed in Microsoft’s repository.

However, it’s not Chrome with a Windows 11 theme. Microsoft reportedly disabled many features, including Google’s Safe Browsing API, ad blocking, speech input, Google-centric services, and more. In return, the company worked to optimize Edge and reduce its footprint while continuing to add new, Microsoft-oriented features. As of January 2023, Edge is the most efficient browser in terms of memory usage. It also allows sleeping tabs, to let tabs release their resources when they haven’t been used for some time.

Features launched since its release have included the new Edge Sidebar that provides easy access to various tools, more flexibility in managing how Edge starts up, Citations to make it easier for students to cite sources, and various other updates to make the browser more productive. Edge Workspaces lets users organize tasks into dedicated windows, and Microsoft has continuously tweaked various features, like the Edge Sidebar, to make them more user-friendly.

Microsoft Edge also provides simpler privacy settings and security updates. Microsoft Edge uses a graphically friendly interface that displays three security levels: Basic, Balanced, and Strict. With Balanced set as the default, many sites request you to disable your pop-up blocker even though one isn’t manually installed. All in all, we’re very optimistic that Edge is on its way to challenging Chrome as the best web browser.

The best Chromium alternative: Mozilla Firefox

Firefox is the best browser that’s not based on the Chromium browser engine. Mozilla has taken real strides to make its browser a truly modern way to surf from site to site, thanks to efforts like its upgrade to Firefox Quantum , its VR alternative Firefox Reality , and password-free browsing .

It wasn’t too long ago that Mozilla rebuilt the browser’s interface, offering a cleaner, more modern take on what a web browser should be. The changes weren’t just skin-deep, however. There’s some impressive engineering going on behind the scenes.

For example, Firefox Quantum is designed to leverage multicore processors in ways that its competitors just aren’t doing. It was not designed to make a huge difference in your day-to-day browsing, but Mozilla hopes this design will give Firefox Quantum an edge moving forward. By engineering for the future now, Firefox Quantum is in a better position to take advantage of quicker processors as they emerge.

Some Firefox strengths include privacy protections with SmartBlock anti-tracker support, improved password syncing across devices, enhanced readability, integrated breach alerts, and a Protections Dashboard that provides a summary of how Firefox protects your privacy behind the scenes. WebRender improves the graphics performance on Windows PCs with Intel and AMD CPUs.

Recent updates include easier download management, captions, and subtitle support on YouTube, Prime Video, and Netflix videos watched in picture-in-picture mode, HDR support in macOS, and the ability to edit PDFs with text, drawings, and signatures. Firefox can also recognize text from an image, which is copied to the clipboard when selected. Finally, Firefox Colorways provides new options for optimizing how Firefox looks on-screen.

Beneath those changes, Firefox remains a comfortable, familiar standby. It’s a capable browser with a deep catalog of extensions and user interface customization. While managing settings across platforms isn’t as seamless as Google Chrome , the mobile browser app lets you share bookmarks between devices when using a free Firefox account.

There’s a bit of a fringe benefit, too. Since it’s been around longer than Chrome, some older web apps — the likes of which you might encounter at your university or workplace — work better on Firefox than they do on Chrome. For that reason, it never hurts to keep it around.

Overall, Firefox is more privacy-centric than Chrome and comparably fast, but its feature set isn’t quite as expansive elsewhere. If you like the sound of this, download the Firefox browser today.

The most innovative web browser: Opera

Another venerable browser and popular alternative, the Opera browser shares much of Chrome’s DNA and deserves its place as one of the best web browsers. Like both Edge and Chrome, Opera is built on Google’s open-source Chromium engine and, as a result, they all have a very similar user experience. Both feature a hybrid URL/search bar, and both are relatively light and fast.

The differences appear when you look at Opera’s built-in features. Where Chrome relies on an extension ecosystem to provide functionality users might want, Opera has a few more features baked right into the browser itself. It introduced a predictive website preload ability, and an Instant Search feature isolates search results in their separate window while the current page fades into the background, letting users more easily focus on the research task at hand.

You can install extensions from the Opera Add-ons store , which are just like Chrome extensions. Similar to Google’s browser, you’ll find useful tools like Giphy, Amazon Assistant, Avast Online Security, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and more. If Chrome’s wide variety of extensions is important to you, then Opera becomes an intriguing alternative. It might just be one of the best browsers for quickly navigating web pages.

Opera also features a built-in “Stash” for saving pages to read later. There’s no need to sign up for a Pocket or Evernote account to save a page for later reading. Similarly, Opera features a speed-dial menu that puts all your most frequently visited pages in one place. Google Chrome also does this, but only on a blank new tab. Finally, Opera has a built-in unlimited VPN service, making it a more secure browser option.

The biggest changes came with Opera 60 and Reborn 3, a complete revamp that brought a new borderless design, Web 3 support, and a Crypto Wallet, allowing users to prepare for blockchain-based sites. With version 69, Opera became the first browser with a built-in Twitter tool, and the company has added others as well including Instagram and TikTok. Just click the icon on the toolbar, log in to your account, and tweet away right from within the slide-out menu.

Other recent advancements include Lucid Mode, which sharpens video playing on a variety of platforms, supports emojis instead of web links, and other enhancements. The Opera Sidebar adds new functionality much like Edge’s Sidebar, allowing quick access to various Opera features. And Opera Aria adds new generative AI capabilities built right into the browser.

You can see that we’re well into hair-splitting territory, which is why it’s important to remember that your choice of browser is, more than any other service or app you use each day, entirely dependent on your personal preferences — what feels most right for you. The Opera web browser has a unique look and feel, and it combines some of the best features of Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

Alternative browsers

While the preceding browsers will meet most users’ needs, other alternatives exist for anyone looking for something different. This section is for those who have a more niche preference in web browsers  or want to try something new.

Apple Safari

If you use Apple devices exclusively, Safari is already your default browser. It’s also significantly faster than in the past, surpassing Chrome in its quickness. It’s integrated into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, and you’ll likely get better battery life thanks to Apple’s in-house optimizations and the underlying hardware.

Safari also focuses a great deal on privacy and security. If you want to minimize how you’re tracked and whether Big Brother is looking over your shoulder, then Safari is a good choice. If you also use an iPhone and/or an iPad, then using Safari on your Mac will make for the most seamless transition between platforms. Open websites on an iPad or iPhone are carried over to macOS.

Safari is not offered outside the Apple ecosystem.

Vivaldi Browser

The Vivaldi browser is truly unique. No two Vivaldi users will have the same setup. When you run it for the first time, you’re guided through a setup process that lays out your browser in a way that makes sense for you. You choose where your tabs and address bar go and whether you want browser tabs displayed at the top of the page or in a separate side panel. This is a browser built from the ground up to deliver a unique user experience, and for the most part, it succeeds. Vivaldi 2.0 enhanced the customization features and made them easier to access.

This browser excels at customization, and you can choose from a variety of tasteful themes that don’t feel dated or out of place on a modern PC, in addition to the aforementioned UI choices. It also has some standout privacy-enhancing features, like its team-up with DuckDuckGo to make the non-tracking search tool the default option when in privacy mode.

Finally, recent updates added more powerful tab management, enhancements like Web Panels that make for smarter browsing, and (as mentioned) even more powerful customization options. Other new updates include a built-in ad blocker, a built-in tracker blocker, a clock in the Status Bar, a new Notes Manager, and a Break Mode for pausing the internet while keeping the browser open.

Brave Browser

One of the most unusual browsers around is Brave — or, perhaps, it’s Brave’s business model that’s the strangest. Brave blocks all ads on all web pages by default, which makes it arguably the fastest browser around. Ads are a huge portion of how many websites make money — block these ads, and suddenly the most important web financial tool is eliminated.

That’s where the Brave Rewards program comes in. Users receive Basic Attention Tokens (BATs) when they view alternative ads that Brave places in the browsing stream. Users can pass along a portion of their tokens to publishers. As of January 2021, there were over 70,000 websites that supported BAT-based transactions through the Brave browser, including Wikipedia, The Guardian, WikiHow, MacRumors, and more.

What’s in it for users? Simply put, if you’re not waiting for ads to download along with website content, then your web experience will feel much faster. Brave performs no user tracking, making it ideal for private browsing as well.

Tor Browser

The Tor Browser is a version of Firefox that serves one very specific purpose: A simple entry point for The Onion Router, or Tor .

Tor is software combined with an open network aimed at making you invisible by routing your traffic through several anonymous servers. While it’s not foolproof, it’s very difficult for someone to identify you when you’re properly configured and using something like the Tor Browser to surf the web — especially if combined with a VPN .

There are many legitimate uses of the Tor Browser and the Tor network. It’s a good choice for people who live in countries with repressive governments, as well as journalists and activists. The dark web is also one of the destinations for people using Tor, which includes many nefarious and illegal sites.

In any event, if you want to remain completely anonymous while surfing the web, the Tor Browser and network are for you. If you want a more mainstream alternative, Opera includes a VPN component, but it’s far less private.

Avast Secure Browser

Avast Secure Browser first arrived as the Opera-based Avast Safezone Browser in 2016 as part of the Avast Antivirus paid bundle. It was revised and rebranded in 2018 as a free stand-alone product based on Chromium. Originally the “SafeZone” aspect kicked in when users visited websites to make purchases or manage money.

Avast Secure Browser provides several built-in tools to protect your data and privacy. These include an anti-phishing module, fingerprinting and online tracking prevention, an ad blocker, and a Webcam Guard tool to control which websites can access your camera. The Hack Check tool will determine if your info was leaked in a data breach.

Avast Secure Browser is a stand-alone download for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. The desktop version doesn’t include an integrated VPN but instead directs users to download the company’s separate SecureLine VPN software. The listed Bank Mode — part of the Avast Free Antivirus client — flips on when users load a banking website.

Best web browser features — what to look for

Benchmark tests.

Notice we don’t include Safari in our main comparison. Apple’s Safari web browser is unavailable on Windows, Android, or Chrome OS, so we removed it from our primary list.

Most browsers are compatible with web standards and handle performance with relative ease. A casual user probably won’t notice a difference in the rendering speed between today’s modern browsers, as all six are much faster and leaner than those of a few years ago.

We ran the following benchmarks on a desktop with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X processor, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe solid-state drive, and Windows 11. All browsers were clean installs of the most current production versions as of January 2023, and all were run at their default settings.

First, JetStream 2 is a JavaScript and WebAssembly benchmark. It tests how quickly a web browser can start and execute code, and how smoothly it runs. Higher numbers are better.

Notice how all three Chromium-based browsers outperform Firefox. In fact, there’s very little difference between them, while Firefox’s performance is quite poor by comparison.

The next test we ran was Speedometer 2.0 . It measures how responsive a browser is to web applications by repeatedly adding a large number of items to a to-do list. Higher numbers are better.

Here, Opera led the pack, with Chrome and Edge running nearly neck to neck. Firefox came in last here with a relatively low score.

Finally, we tested how much RAM each browser uses, both with no tabs open and then with 10 tabs open accessing the same popular sites. We made sure that each browser had no extensions running, and we let each browser settle in before looking at its memory use. For the test with 10 tabs open, we averaged memory use when all the tabs were opened and then five minutes later to account for any variability.

It’s not a scientific test, but it should be sound enough to give you an idea of which browsers are the most and least efficient in terms of taking up your RAM. We found Opera to use the least amount of RAM when first opened, barely ahead of Edge, while Chrome used the most. Edge used the least with all 10 tabs loaded by a significant margin, a third or less than the other browsers. Chrome used the most with all 10 tabs open, and Firefox and Opera weren’t far behind.

Security and privacy

The most valuable tool for secure and private browsing is user discretion, especially when you consider that every web browser has encountered security breaches in the past. In particular, Internet Explorer and Chrome’s reputations for protecting users’ security and privacy credentials are spotty at best.

Chrome, Safari, Vivaldi, Opera, and Firefox all rely on Google’s Safe Browsing API to detect potentially dangerous sites. Thanks to constant updates, Mozilla, Chrome, and Opera all make constant security improvements. Microsoft disabled this API in Edge.

All browsers offer a private session option, too. Private sessions prevent the storage of browsing history, temporary internet files, and cookies. Browser support for Do Not Track remains spotty.

Mozilla made some strides in differentiating itself from others with a real focus on privacy in recent years. It even debuted a Facebook Container  in 2018 to make it harder for the social network to harvest user information.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need to use a VPN when browsing the web? 

You do not have to use a VPN when browsing the internet. However, a VPN can be a good tool to use as it protects your privacy and data by creating a secure and encrypted data tunnel between your browser and a VPN server. In turn, that server creates a secure and encrypted connection between it and the target website.

As a result, the website can’t identify you personally, nor can it see your true geological location or internet address. Not even your ISP knows where you’re surfing or the device you use with a VPN enabled. Some VPN services are free while others require a subscription. We have a list of the current best VPN services .

Which browser is most used in the world? 

Google Chrome leads the web browser market with a 64.68% share, according to Statcounter . Apple Safari follows with 18.29%, Edge at 4.23%, Mozilla Firefox at 3.01%%, and Opera at 2.25%. Internet Explorer is still in use with 0.81%, while Microsoft Edge “Legacy” is fading out at 0.32%.

What are the best ad blockers to use for your browser? 

We have a guide on the best ad blockers for Google Chrome , but here’s a short list:

• AdBlock and AdBlock Plus
• AdGuard (Chrome only)
• CyberSec by NordVPN
• Poper Blocker (Chrome only)
• Stands Fair AdBlocker (Chrome only)
• uBlock Origin (Chrome and Firefox only)

What is browser fingerprinting and how can you prevent it? 

Websites want to know everything about you: Your tastes, your habits, and where you like to surf. When you load a website, it quietly runs scripts in the background that collect information about you and your device. The operating system, the web browser, all installed extensions, your time zone — all of this information is strung together to create a “fingerprint,” which in turn can be used to trace you across the internet via cross-site tracking.

Avast provides a detailed explanation and outlines various forms of fingerprinting. For example, the “canvas” method forces the browser to draw an image or text in the background, without the user knowing, to determine the operating system, web browser, graphics card, installed drivers, and the current font style. Device fingerprinting determines all internal and external device components.

As your fingerprint is tracked across the internet, this “profile” can be sold to data brokers, who then resell the data to advertisers. It’s a more silent means of gathering information about you versus using cookies that require your consent. The problem is, browser fingerprinting is still perfectly legal.

The best way to prevent browser fingerprinting is by randomizing and generalizing data. Third-party software like Avast AntiTrack does this by inserting “fake” data when website scripts try to collect your information. However, this tool allows scripts to continue running in the background so the website doesn’t “break.”

Many browsers offer some type of anti-fingerprinting protection. These include Avast Secure Browser (see above), Brave Browser (randomization), Mozilla Firefox (blocks fingerprinting scripts), and Tor Browser (generalization).

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Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for technology into a marketing, consulting, and freelance writing career aimed at helping people use technology to enhance their lives. At Digital Trends, he reviews laptops and desktops, including the latest from HP, Dell, Lenovo, Apple, and more, and writes news and easy to understand how-to articles about the computing industry as a whole.

When he’s not writing, you’ll find him reading and watching science fiction, taking photos with his family, and obsessing over Indiana University basketball.

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Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, or Safari: Which Browser Is Best?

You probably take your web browser for granted, but you have real options: performance, feature sets, and privacy tools vary wildly among internet-surfing apps..

The browser battle has been raging almost as long as the internet has existed. But with new competitors in the fray and longtime entries revving up new technologies, the stakes have never been higher.

In the late nineties and early aughts, it was Microsoft’s Internet Explorer versus Netscape Navigator. Fast forward 20 years, and IE’s proprietary technologies for enabling interactive, application-like websites have given way to W3C standards-based features for delivering the online experience.

Meanwhile, the browser landscape has a new dominant force: G oogle, the search and web advertising behemoth that delivers the most content of any source on the internet (according to comScore ), also claims nearly 70 percent of the browser market with Chrome (based on both NetMarketShare and StatCounter numbers). That’s for desktop use; if you add in mobile, Chrome is still king at over 60 percent.

Chrome may be leading in usage (except, of course, on Apple devices), but it’s not ahead by every measure or by number of capabilities. Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Opera all have features not found in Google's browser. That’s not to say that Chrome isn't an excellent piece of software, but you should know there are worthy alternatives. This article examines the top five browsers in the U.S. in order of popularity. Unfortunately, that rules out Brave and Vivaldi —both first-class and unique choices—but you can read about them in my article covering the best alternative web browsers .

So what’s important in a browser these days? Speed and compatibility remain the top requirements. But in this day of the ever-present smartphone, the linkage between your desktop browser and your phone has become increasingly important. Indeed, some browsers now let you send a webpage from one device to another, and all let you sync bookmarks between them.

A rough measure of standards compatibility is the HTML5test website, which scores browsers’ compatibility with the moving target of web standards. The maximum possible score is 555, with points awarded for each standard supported. The new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge has taken over the lead from Chrome on this test with a score of 535 compared with Chrome's 528. The difference? Support for Dolby Digital and screenshots. Opera and other Chromium-based browsers hew closely to Chrome, while Firefox gets 491, and Safari 471. Just a few years ago, a score in the 300s was considered excellent, and Internet Explorer (still used by millions) is stuck at 312.

For speed testing, I ran each browser through the WebXPRT 3 benchmark, which tests the speed of internet applications such as photo enhancement, stock option pricing, encryption, and text manipulation. I tested on my Asus Z240IC 4K touch-screen all-in-one PC with a 2.8GHz Core i7-6700T processor running Windows 10. For Safari I used a 3.1GHz Core i7-4770S iMac (I realize the hardware is not completely comparable, but it’s sufficient for a rough comparison). Take benchmark results with a grain of salt, however, since purely synthetic tests don’t measure every component of actual browsing conditions.

In terms of disk space usage, on my Windows test system (after a cache clear) Edge took 319MB, Firefox 187MB, Opera 191MB, and Chrome 437MB. Since Chrome and Opera don’t report their storage use in the Settings / Apps & Features page, I used the size of their folders. I noticed that Chrome installs itself in the Programs (x86) folder, which is normally only for 32-bit apps; nevertheless, typing chrome://version/ in the address bar showed I was testing with the 64-bit version.

Privacy, customization, convenience features, tab and start-page tools, and mobile integration have replaced speed and standards support as today's primary differentiators. All browsers now can remember passwords for you and sync them (in encrypted form) as well as your browsing history and bookmarks between desktops or laptops and mobile devices. Chrome by default signs you into Google services like Gmail and YouTube, which some consider presumptuous .

Privacy mavens like to use VPNs (virtual private networks) to hide browsing activities from ISPs and any other intervening entities between you and the site you’re visiting. Opera is the only browser that includes a built-in VPN. Firefox also has a good privacy story, with a private mode that not only discards a session’s history and cookies but also hides your activities from third-party tracking sites during the private session. In addition, Firefox and Safari include fingerprint protection—preventing trackers from identifying you based on your hardware and software setup. Firefox also has built-in Content Blocking to fend off known trackers and cryptocurrency-mining ploys.

Useful browsing tools can play a part in your decision, too. One, Reading Mode, strips webpages of clutter—mostly ads, videos, and content pitches—so you can focus on text. Another is the Share Button. With this era’s obsession with social media, it’s nearly an essential convenience.

Opera is alone among the popular web browsers included here with a built-in cryptocurrency wallet, though the aforementioned Brave browser also includes one. Opera is also notable for its Speed Dial, which consists of pinned tiles on your home screen (though the other browsers have similar functionality) and a toolbar for accessing frequently needed services such as WhatsApp.

Microsoft Edge offers voice-reading of webpages with remarkably realistic speech, a helpfully customizable homepage, detailed privacy settings, and (soon) a Collections feature for web research. Firefox lets you instantly save a page to Pocket or open a new Container in case you want to be logged into the same site with two different identities. Screenshot tools are making their way into browsers, with Edge, Firefox, and Opera for starters.

If you feel strongly about one browser or another, as is likely the case if you’re reading this, please feel free to let us know about it in our social channels.

Google Chrome

Most web users need no introduction to the search behemoth's browser, Google Chrome. It’s attractively designed and quick at loading pages. At this point most every website’s code targets it, so compatibility is usually not an issue. That said, every browser is occasionally flummoxed by a particular site or two, and sometimes a browser update breaks even well-crafted sites.

As mentioned earlier, Chrome gets top marks on the HTML5Test website. It also does reasonably well on the WebXPRT 3 benchmark, which tests the speed of internet applications like photo enhancement, stock option pricing, encryption, and text manipulation. It uses more RAM than other Windows browsers, but some of that is for speeding up operation by preloading content. It also creates far more program processes than the others, to ensure stability by isolating not only tabs, but also plug-ins and frames from other domains on the page.

Google is constantly working on security and feature enhancements, but as with all software, bugs happen, so make sure you stay updated . Another benefit of using Chrome is that you won’t have to dismiss those messages urging you to switch to Chrome every time you visit Google News, Gmail, YouTube, and so on.

Chrome can no longer boast any unique browsing features: There’s no built-in VPN, no fancy tab organization tools, no cryptocurrency locker, no Reading Mode, no share button, and no screenshot tool. That’s just fine for most web consumers, apparently. The Android version of Chrome has been getting more love from Google lately, with tab groups and dark mode.

Google has lately made two seemingly contradictory announcements, both concerning privacy. In May, it announced that it would be removing the API function that allowed ad-blocker software to fully block ads. Then in August it announced a set of open standards intended to enhance privacy on the web, called Privacy Sandbox. It’s just in the planning stage at present, and it tries to cater to both ad targeting and user privacy .

There are loads of features in Chrome that are only available to web geeks who can tinker in the about:flags settings. Examples include the recently announced password leak detection, a distilled page view, and forced dark mode for websites.

The Chrome mobile browser is very capable, and offers syncing of bookmarks, passwords, and settings. Like the desktop browser, it includes voice input when using Google search. The mobile browser also suggests content that may be of interest to you based on your browsing.

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox, an open source project from the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation, has long been a PCMag favorite. The browser has pioneered many web capabilities and the organization that develops it has been a strong advocate for online privacy. It’s also notable for its wealth of available extensions. Pocket , the synchronizable site-saving service, is built in, and the unique Multi-Account Containers extension lets you sequester multiple logins to the same site on different tabs—without this, you'd have to open a private browsing window or another browser to sign out of all your web accounts and start a fresh session.

Mozilla’s browser is in the vanguard of supporting new HTML5 and CSS capabilities, and the company is working on open-source AR and speech synthesis standards. The organization now offers a full password management service called Lockwise, which can generate complex passwords, sync them between devices, and secure everything under a strong master password.

The mobile Firefox apps offer excellent interfaces, and you can send a webpage tab from any device to any others that are logged into your syncing account. That’s right: You can be reading a webpage on your desktop PC, and have it instantly open on your iPhone or vice versa—a slick and useful feature.

If that’s not enough, Firefox has a Pocket button in the address bar, letting you save a page for later viewing anywhere with one click. The Reader View button de-clutters a webpage loaded with ads, promos, and videos, so you can peruse it with no distractions. Finally, the browser is ultra-customizable, letting you select and arrange buttons on the toolbar to taste.

Apple Safari

The default Mac and iOS browser is a strong choice, though its interface has some nonstandard elements on both desktop and mobile. Safari was a forerunner in a few areas of browser capability: For example, it was the first with a Reading mode, which cleared unnecessary clutter like ads and video from web articles you want to read. That feature debuted in 2010 and has made its way into all other browsers except for Chrome.

More recently, with macOS Catalina and iOS 13, Safari adds fingerprinting protection—preventing web trackers from identifying you by your system specs. The new version also gets Apple Pay support and a Sign in with Apple feature to replace Facebook and Google as web account authorizers.

If you use an iPhone and a Mac, Safari integration makes a lot of sense, since Apple’s Handoff feature lets you continue your browsing session between devices.

Safari has trailed other browsers on support for emerging HTML5 features, but I haven’t run into or heard of any major site incompatibilities with it. It performed faster than the other browsers here on the WebXPRT 3 benchmark, even though I was using an iMac with a Core i7 CPU a generation earlier than that of my Windows machine.

Microsoft Edge

There’s a new Edge in town. The Microsoft developers in charge of Windows’ default web browser got tired of chasing compatibility issues resulting from site developers’ only targeting Chrome for compatibility. So, they decided to switch to using Chrome’s webpage-rendering code, Chromium, in the Edge browser software. That freed them up to add unique features instead of putting out compatibility fires. Notably, Edge now runs on Apple macOS and earlier Windows versions, in addition to Windows 10.

The compatibility is certainly now there in spades: For the first time since I’ve been reviewing browsers, another browser edges out Chrome on the HTML5Test measure of supported web standards. See the intro and table above for the actual scores. What pushes Edge over is support for Dolby Digital, ObjectRTC, and the Screen Capture API. In general, however, you won’t run into the kind of site incompatibilities that the previous Edge incarnation occasionally encountered. Amusingly enough, Google still prompts you to download Chrome on its websites, even though there’s no difference in compatibility or performance when using Edge on those. If you’re a Netflix watcher, Edge is the only web browser that lets you view shows in 4K, and also the only Windows browser that supports Dolby Digital audio (Safari supports it, too).

But compatibility isn’t the only benefit of the new Edge: As you can see in the table above, it’s also a leader in performance as well as thrifty memory and disk usage.

What new features has the Edge team been working on, you ask? The initial focuses have been privacy, the customizable start page, and the intriguing Collections feature for web research. For enterprise customers who still rely on Internet Explorer to run legacy programs (and I still run into these at places like insurance and doctors’ offices), Edge offers an IE Mode, but this won’t be available in standard consumer setups.

Another new feature worth highlighting is Immersive Reader mode. Not only does this offer distraction-free web article reading, stripping out ads and nonessential eye candy (or eye poison , more aptly), but It can also read webpage text aloud using lifelike Neural Voices. This is really something to try: It reads with sentence intonation, rather than simply word-by-word, as we’ve come to expect text-to-speech audio.

The Collections feature presents a sidebar onto which you can drag webpages and images, write notes, and then share the whole assemblage to Excel or Word. This feature hasn't appeared in the released version, but works well in the beta and Microsoft says it's coming soon.

Maybe you don’t want a colorful corporate logo burning itself into your consciousness every time you open your browser? Edge offers four Home page options: Focused, Inspirational, Informational, and Custom. Focused is a blank page with search and buttons for your most-visited sites; Inspirational adds the gorgeous Bing photos that change daily as backgrounds; to all this, Informational adds customized news, weather, sports, and finance cards.

The browser offers three preset privacy levels: Basic, Balanced, and Strict. As you move from the first to the last, you increase privacy but possibly disable site features. The private browsing mode, like that in all browsers, doesn’t save any history from a private session.

Mobile versions for Android and iOS with syncing smooths moving from desktop to mobile, and I find that password management works more reliably than in most other browsers, though it’s still a good idea to use a separate password management utility such as LastPass.

For a more in-depth look, read my hands-on preview of Microsoft’s Edge web browser .

Perennially hovering around the 2 percent usage level, the Opera browser has long been a pioneer in the segment, bringing us innovations as basic as tabs, CSS, and the built-in search box. Some people got scared of Opera when its parent company was bought by a Chinese investment coalition, but the firm is now publicly traded on NASDAQ, so the move was clearly just an investment and not some scheme to send data to Beijing.

In fact, Opera can make a bigger privacy claim than any other browser—if you’re a believer in VPNs , since it includes a built-in VPN that works well and quickly. Some consider Opera’s VPN to actually be an encrypted proxy server, but the only real difference between it and a standard VPN is that it only protects and reroutes traffic from Opera itself, rather than from any internet-connected app on the computer or smartphone.

Opera uses the Chromium page-rendering engine, so you'll rarely run into site incompatibilities, and performance is fast. Opera also takes up far less drive space and memory than Chrome—hundreds of megabytes less in my testing with 10 media-rich websites loaded.

Beyond the VPN, another unique feature in Opera is its built-in ad blocker, which also blocks crypto-mining scripts and trackers. Note that Opera added crypto-mining protection more than a year before Firefox did. (Google is still mulling adding similar protection to Chrome.) Ad blocking also means less data consumed, especially of interest for those using metered connections or mobile plans with data caps.

More unique features in Opera include its Speed Dial start and new-tab page, its quick-access sidebar of frequently needed services like WhatsApp, and its cryptocurrency wallet, which supports Bitcoin and Tron.

On mobile, Opera Touch is a beautifully designed app that connects (via quick QR scan) to your desktop. My Flow is the result of this connection, letting you send webpages and notes between devices easily.

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About Michael Muchmore

PC hardware is nice, but it’s not much use without innovative software. I’ve been reviewing software for PCMag since 2008, and I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine , the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft win and misstep up to the latest Windows 11.

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Which of the big five Web Browsers is the Best? (Review)

With Firefox 8's early arrival , and new major updates to three of the other major Web browsers, Chrome 15 ; Opera 11.5 , and Safari 5.1.1 it's high time to take another look at our current generation of Internet Web browsers and see what's what. Only Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) 9 hasn't seen a significant improvement in the last few months.

Why did I choose these browsers? The answer is simple. These are the most popular Web browsers out there. While Internet Explorer has dropped below 50% of the total Web browser market , it's still the most popular Web browser. In most of the world, IE is followed by Mozilla Firefox , although in some places, such as much of Latin America, number three, Google's Chrome, has already moved up to second place . After that Apple's Safari, which owns the mobile Web browser market, comes in number four, and Opera hangs out to the fifth spot.

As time has gone on, Web browsers have been improving. For example, it wasn't that long ago that Microsoft's Internet Explorer was a major security problem in and of itself. True, the pre-historic IE 6 is still an infamous security hole, but only a fool would run it. Today, IE 9 is probably as secure as Google Chrome and they don't come any safer. But, in all honesty, all the 2011 Web browsers are far more secure than their predecessors.

Instead, what I look for in a Web browser today is JavaScript speed. But even here it should be kept in mind that all of the current generation of Web browsers are far faster than they were just in March 2011 . The one exception to this is the 64-bit version of IE 9. 64-bit IE 9 is, in a word, "dreadful ".

That said, JavaScript speed is important. Web 2.0 sites, which include most of today's popular sites, rely on JavaScript to render their increasingly complex pages. If you're running multiple tabs at once, you'll appreciate every bit of speed a browser's JavaScript rendering engine can give you.

You need mote than just speed though. You also need to look at what features come with a browser and what additional features its software developers can bring to it. Chrome and Firefox, for example, have large independent software vendor (ISV) ecosystems, while Opera includes more features in its basic browser than do the others.

So, which really is the best? Well, let's start with performance and then look at each browser in turn.

Page 2: [Twice around the track, Web browser performance.] »

Twice around the track, Web browser performance.

For my performance tests, I used a Gateway PC with 2.5-GHz Intel Core 2 Quad processor and has 6GBs of RAM and an Intel GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) 3100 for graphics. This system runs Windows 7 SP1. It's hooked to the Internet via a Netgear Gigabit Ethernet switch, which, in turn, is hooked up to a 60Mbps (Megabit per second) cable Internet connection.

Kraken November 2011 Web Browser Benchmarks

For my first benchmark, I used Mozilla's Kraken 1.1 benchmark. In Kraken, which like most Web browser benchmarks measures JavaScript performance, lower scores are better. The winner here, and it wasn't even close, was Chrome 15. Firefox came in a distant second, followed a long way back by Opera, Safari and IE.

V8 November 2011 Web Browser Benchmarks

In Google's JavaScript V8 Benchmark Suite , where higher scores are better, Chrome left the others eating its dust. Firefox, once more, came in second but it wasn't close to being competitive. Opera took third, Safari was fourth, and IE was in last place.

Sunspider November 2011 Web Browser Benchmarks

On the oldest JavaScript test, SunSpider 0.9.1 , where lower results are better, IE finally won one. In this round, Firefox took second, with Opera edging just ahead of Chrome and Safari.

PeaceKeeper November 2011 Web Browser Benchmarks

The beta Peacekeeper Web browser test suite looks not only at JavaScript performance but at HTML5 compatibility, video codec support and other Web browser features as well. With Peacekeeper, higher is better and this time Opera edged ahead of Chrome. Safari, Firefox and, finally, IE came well behind Opera and Chrome.

These results pretty much agreed with Adrian Kingsley-Hughes' overview of Web browsers, he found that IE 9 32-bit topped one test, and Chrome 15 topped the other three .

I've used all these browsers, with the exception of IE 9, which is Windows 7 and Vista specific, on Mint Linux, Mac OS X Lion, and Windows XP and 7. In my hand-on experience, Chrome not only tends to win, or at least be competitive on the benchmarks, Chrome simply feels faster. Therefore, if speed was your only consideration, I'd heartily recommend Chrome. But, there are other factors to consider.

Basic compatibility with older HTML standards, as measured by the Acid3 test isn't an issue anymore. All the browsers, for the first time in my experience, scored 100.

It's another story though when it comes to HTML5. On the HTML5 compatibility test , where higher is better and 450 is perfect. Chrome 15 took first place with a score of 343. It was followed by the new Firefox with 314, Safari at 293, Opera with 286, and IE at the bottom of the pack with 141.

While HTML5 still isn't a finalized standard, HTML5 compatibility is becoming increasingly important. If I were an IE user, I'd be getting worried about how Microsoft talks up HTML5 compatibility but can't deliver the goods .

The performance numbers out of the way, let's take a closer look at each browser.

Page 3: [Web Browser Reviews] »

Web Browser Reviews

Chrome 15 New Tab System

I like Chrome 15 for more than its sheer speed. I like it because of its clean design, its sandboxed security system, and its Chrome Web Store and the ISVs behind it.

Among other new features, the latest Chrome features a redesign of its "new" page. Now, at the bottom of this page, you can jump to either your Chrome Apps or a page with your most often visited sites. Besides giving you easier navigation between online apps and your favorite Web sites, you can also organize apps by dragging and dropping them into new sections. You do this by dragging a program to the bottom of the page until a new apps section appears. You can then name the section to something useful by double-clicking on its label. For example, you can make one called "Office" to place Google Docs and Gmail in.

As Google continues to integrate more and more of its services, such as Google+ , into one whole, it becomes clearer and clearer that Google wants Chrome to not just be a Web browser, but your universal interface to everything you might want to do. This works hand-in-glove with Google's Linux-based operating system with a Chrome Web browser interface, Chrome OS , and even PCs that use nothing but Chrome OS such as Samsung's ChromeBook .

Even if you don't like the idea of an all-Google, all the time, computing world, Chrome itself if an exceptional browser. Download Chrome and see for yourself .

Firefox 8 Setup Screen

Firefox 8 is better than Firefox 7, which I had found to be disappointing . Its performance, I'm sorry to say hasn't gotten any better though. It is, however, even in the brief time I've had it, noticeably more stable.

That last part is important. I have to say I'd gotten to the point where I was going to give up using Firefox on any kind of regular basis. Firefox 6 and 7 just kept locking up over and over again. I'd loved Firefox from its very first days, but the way it was breaking every time I looked at it in recent months had gotten me to the point where I was going to toss in the trash. Firefox 8 seems to have fixed whatever it was that kept it crashing on a regular basis on both my Linux and Windows systems. Thank God.

This latest version also gives users more control over its add-on programs. Firefox, even now, has more extensions and add-ons than any other browser. Unfortunately, many of them weren't that good. Now, you must specifically opt-in before an add-on can be installed to Firefox. Better still, when you start Firefox for the first time, you're presented with a list of the add-ons you already have. Firefox automatically disables any that in the past you didn't explicitly give permission to run. You can also choose to disable extensions and add-on programs that you're no longer using. Both features are really handy.

So, if you're still a Firefox user, run, do not walk, to the Firefox ftp site and get the latest version. There may be better choices, but if you're a Firefox fan, Firefox 8 is the version you want.

Internet Explorer 9

Microsoft is offering gifts if you switch to IE 9.

I've never been a fan of the IE family, but IE 9 is easily the best of the bunch. It's a pity that Microsoft won't let XP users have it. If you're running XP, IE 8 is still the best choice Microsoft will give you.

If you can get it, what IE 9 gives you is reasonably good performance, far better security than any of its predecessors, and a cleaner interface. It's easily the best browser Microsoft has ever produced.

That said, even on Windows 7, IE 9 doesn't compare that well with the other Web browsers. It's telling that Windows SuperSite's Paul Thurrott, TWiT's Leo Laporte and ZDNet's own ace Microsoft reporter Mary Jo Foley all use Chrome on Windows 7 . If even Windows experts aren't using IE, you might want to think about making another choice as well.

Opera's app. store sadly lacks engaging programs.

Opera wants to be more than just a Web browser. It includes its own mail client, and file, message, and music-sharing service, and a built-in BitTorrent client. On top of that it includes Speed Dial, a page that lets you access live Web pages and widgets. That sounds good, but like many similar schemes I've seen over the years, in practice it doesn't work that well.

Opera also, like most of the other Web browsers, includes automatic bookmarks, passwords, and settings synchronization via its Opera Link cloud. It sounds great, but it didn't work that well for me. It would take minutes before it would successfully sync between systems. Chrome, Firefox, and Safari all do a better job at this.

Taken all-in-all, I have to say I see why Opera's always been an also-run in Web browsers. Simply put, you can do better.

Safari in full-screen mode.

Safari is very pretty, especially on Mac OS X Lion. The Top Sites' new-tab page view of your most-visited sites and Cover Flow history are lovely, but once you get past its pretty looks you're left with a pretty ordinary Web browser.

The one feature it has, that the others don't have, which I think is noteworthy is "Safari Reader." In this mode, Safari removes all the images, ads, and other junk and just leaves you with the text. There are extensions that give you this power to clean up Web pages in other browsers, but Safari has it baked in. , If, like me, you want the text and nothing but the text on some pages, it's a really attractive feature.

Now in the mobile world, Safari is the best Web browser around. But, on PCs, well, you can just do better. The one possible extension is on Mac OS X Lion systems. There, where Safari can be displayed in full screen and you get swiping, pinching, and tapping gestures support, Safari is a worthwhile choice.

The Final Choice

There is no one size fits all solution when it comes to Web browsers. I know Opera fans who will never leave Opera and some people who are remain convinced that IE or Firefox will always be the best browser. All that said, if you're open to a new browser, or you just want the best of the best, Chrome is the clear winner.

Don't take my word for it. Try it yourself and you'll see what I mean.

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Windows 10 Web browser shootout: Edge vs. IE vs. Chrome

Is Microsoft's new Edge browser faster than the competition?

• Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings

The Edge Web browser built into Windows 10 promises a new ground-up experience after years of diminishing returns from the company's longtime staple, Internet Explorer. Besides new features, such as the ability to mark up and share annotated pages, Edge promises to be more secure and even more useful, thanks to the addition of the Cortana personal assistant.

There's certainly room for a new player in the crowded Web browser landscape. The major browsers, Microsoft's own Internet Explorer, Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox, cult favorite Opera, and even Apple's Safari, have all faced criticism that years of tacked-on updates and changing Web technologies have made them slower, riddled with performance-sucking plug-ins, and, in some cases, a needless drain on battery life . Chrome especially has gone from being a near-universal favorite to a browser many people have issues with.

Can Edge solve all these issues, at least for Windows 10 users? CNET Labs is in the process of comparing Edge to its largest Windows competitors, Internet Explorer and Chrome. In the first part of this series, we ran a collection of simple browser-based benchmarks on both high-end and low-end PCs, in Edge, IE and Chrome. In the second part of this series, you'll see tests that report the battery life of similar high and low-end laptops when using Edge, IE and Chrome for sustained online video streaming. Previously, we've shown that the Windows 10 operating system itself has benchmark application performance on par with Windows 8 when running programs other than Web browsers.

For the browser performance tests, we compared the Dell XPS 13 , which has a current-gen Intel Core i5 CPU and costs $1,299 as configured, with the Microsoft Surface 3 , the entry-level Surface hybrid, which uses an Intel Atom processor and starts at $499 (plus $129 for the keyboard cover).

There are many cross-platform, browser-based benchmarks one can run, and we chose a selection that includes Peacekeeper from Futuremark, a leader in technology benchmarking, as well as Jetstream , a JavaScript test that replaces the older SunSpider test we've occasionally run, and finally the Octane test developed by Google (and surprisingly, the Chrome browser did not always have the top score in that test). You can run any of these tests from the links above, or feel free to suggest your own in the comments section below.

Our takeaway is that for a brand-new browser, Edge performs well, as evidenced by both these test scores and our own hands-on usage. Chrome still had the fastest performance in half of our test runs, but that benefit may be balanced by its battery life scores, something we're in the process of testing right now. Meanwhile, Internet Explorer, the browser people love to hate, was either a close runner-up or a distant third in most of these tests.

Futuremark Peacekeeper

• Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Microsoft Edge
• Google Chrome

Google Octane

As we're still in the early days of Windows 10, based on our initial benchmark and hands-on testing, you should feel free to test-drive Edge as your primary browser and see if its speed and compatibility work for you. Chrome remains a solid choice, even if it's starting to show its age, and IE (still built into Windows 10) should be kept around primarily for proprietary websites, such as company intranets and tools, that require it.

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The best Web browser: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, or Safari?

Find out which of the leading browsers is the perfect balance of features, speed, innovation, and flexibility for you.

Contributing writer, InfoWorld |

Not too long ago the job of a Web browser was simple: Get the text from the Internet and pour it into the window. If a tag like <strong> comes along, change the font. Now the challenges are greater because the browser is becoming the home for almost everything we do. Do you have documents to edit? There's a website for that. Did you miss a television show? There's a website for that. Do you want to announce your engagement? There's a website for that too. The Web browser handles all of that and more.

Choosing a best browser is an impossible job. On one hand, the programs are as close to commodities as there are in the computer industry. The core standards are pretty solid and the job of rendering the document is well understood. Most differences can be smoothed over when the Web designers use cross-platform libraries like jQuery. Many websites look the same in all of the major browsers, a testament to the hard work of the developers and their desire to get their information out to the largest audience.

[ Which Web browser is the most secure? Download InfoWorld's PDF report, "Web Browser Security Deep Dive: How to stay secure on the Internet." ]

On the other hand, there's a lot of competition, and some very smart people are working hard to produce very clever new innovations. Yes, some of the so-called innovations are trivial, but if you're going so spend all day with a piece of software, it makes sense to be picky. While you may not care if someone moves a button from the left to the right, other users do -- and the discussion forums are filled with debate.

It may be impossible to be rational about many of the cosmetic issues, like the placement of buttons or the location of the tabs. These are intensely personal decisions, and the look and feel can often be changed with add-ons. There's not much point debating these issues.

The technical details can also be a bit personal and political, but they have bigger implications for developers and consumers everywhere. You may or may not like Adobe Flash , but the support or lack of support is important for all of us. Careers of Flash developers and the fate of projects they build will rise and fall on these issues. And Flash is just the beginning -- all of the browsers are rolling out various combinations of new features, but developers can't begin to use them until there's a stable platform with wide enough adoption. The control of the living room screen is worth billions of dollars, and the success or failure of the browser's video delivery mechanism will determine who may or may not have control over that shimmering rectangle and the zombie eyes glued to it.

Choosing a Web browser is made even harder because solid numbers are often preludes to debate. Some people complain when their browsers suck up every spare byte of memory. Others want their browsers to respond immediately. In many cases there's a trade-off because the programmers gain speed by filling up the memory and precomputing and precompiling every part of the Web page. You can have small or you can have fast, but you can't have both. In my SunSpider JavaScript benchmark tests, Opera and Chrome were fastest. In my memory consumption tests, Firefox proved leanest. And in HTML5 compatibility tests, Safari led the way. For more detail, and caveats, see the sidebar, " Battle of the Web browsers: HTML5 and memory tests ." 

Often, the bloat isn't the fault of the browsers themselves, but the Web designers who lard up the site with endless AJAX calls and slick morphing features. Some users may blame the browser when they have 80-odd tabs opened to pages that are issuing AJAX calls left and right. The poor browser has to try to keep them all ready in case someone wants to see any of those tabs immediately.

Choosing among Chrome , Firefox , Internet Explorer , Opera , and Safari is not simple. All are perfectly good choices, but one may be slightly better for certain users than others. Sophisticated users, including developers, may want a browser that supports the latest standards, while casual users may want to avoid the cutting edge for simplicity and stability. Others may have a favorite plug-in they can't live without. Some users may want to choose based on the location of the buttons. The choices are close enough that this could be fair if you really care about your interface.

• Internet Explorer

Comparison on all Major Web Browsers: Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, and Google Chrome

What is internet explorer.

Internet Explorer is generally the first component of Windows used in 1995 that is generally known as Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE or MSIE) containing a series of graphical web browsers and works only on Windows Operating systems. Over the years, it has been updated to different versions to improve the operating system for Microsoft Windows.

Most people started out using Internet Explorer the majority of the time when it comes to browsing the internet, checking emails, listening to music online, shopping online, and etc. This was the first web browser consumers used in technology world before other web browsers came out. For more information check out Internet Explorer .

Looking at the latest updates, compared to 2012, the majority of users on the internet use Chrome while Firefox is in second in the competition of usage share followed by Internet Explorer.

• Free to download at no cost
• Offers every help option we looked for, including direct support via email and telephone
• Provides speed and functionality
• Easy to use
• Mostly used throughout the world
• Bugs come in IE (Internet Explorer) users at different times and fixing them is time consuming
• Microsoft is unaware of finding any bugs hidden within the browser to fix
• Installation on software such as Adobe Flash Player can be slow and has to be done manually sometimes when it comes to updates that need to be install
• Lack of security in ActiveX controls
• Lack of built in features to synchronize bookmarks
• Confusion between 32 and 64 bit versions for IE
• Lack of cross-platform experience (ie. used in Windows but not Mac)
• Huge target for hackers and cyber-thieves

What is Safari?

Safari is web browser that was produced and developed by Apple Inc. which functions on a Mac OX, iOS, and Windows operating system. It was first put out in public on January 7, 2003 by Apple Inc. It was Apple’s default browser known as “Panther” for Mac users and released on June 11, 2007 on Microsoft Windows operating system.

• Ease of Use
• Page-load times impressive
• Provides all of security features
• Cleans up unnecessary junk
• Great for Mac users and free to download
• Speed compatibility
• Extremely Fast to download for Mac users
• Add extensions from Safari Extensions
• Lack of customization options many competitors offer
• Support system may be missing some options for users in FAQ section
• Trouble with Google built-in search engine that can’t be change
• Difficulty deleting cookies on exit automatically

What is Google Chrome?

• Fast browsing performance
• More control over your tabs
• More dynamic home page for common used search engines and bookmarks
• More speed and won’t slow down on your browsing through internet
• Built-in Flash and PDF Support
• Has sync capabilities that allow you to access your customized browser from any computer
• Makes searching so much simpler
• Ease of use
• Great security
• Lack of parental controls
• Minor site incompatibilities
• Graphics hardware acceleration doesn’t work with all graphics cards

What is Firefox?

Firefox is a free and open source web browser developed for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux coordinated by Mozilla Corporation and Mozilla Foundation. It was first version 1.0 released on November 9, 2004. It is now available in about 78 languages worldwide. The original title was Phoenix from the Phoenix Technologies and had to be renamed because of trademark problems. It was renamed to Firebird which was a free database software project. There was conflict in using the name and the matter was resolved when they renamed the browser again to Firefox. Later on February 9, 2004, Mozilla Firebird became known as Mozilla Firefox then simply referred to as Firefox (Fx, fx, or FF).

• More secure privacy mode and downloading
• More intuitive navigation
• Contains minimalist interface
• Offers lot of help and support on Firefox tutorial
• More Customization
• Speed and more compatible
• Easy to have add-ons
• No thumbnail previews or mouse gestures however there are free plug-ins from Firefox Mozilla that address both these issues
• Resource heavy “uses a heavy portion of memory to run”

Conclusion:

I’m pretty sure most of you may already feel comfortable of the differences between web browsers. The next time you are on the Internet you may get a better idea of why the certain browsers work better than the other web browsers. Its always good to take time to learn more about how you or your business use certain web browsers.

Overall, everyone has their own preference on which browser they prefer to use. To find out more about the browsers you can check out TopTenReviews or Browser Information online. Marketing and Website Design Contact Us Facebook Sources: 1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Explorer 2. www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/Internet_Explorer.html 3. http://blogs.computerworld.com/18552/12_reasons_not_to_use_internet_explorer_ever 4. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safari_(web_browser) 5. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome 6. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2373853,00.asp 7. http://internet-browser-review.toptenreviews.com/google-chrome-review.html 8. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox 9. http://internet-browser-review.toptenreviews.com/mozilla-firefox-review.html 10. http://internet-browser-review.toptenreviews.com/ 11. http://internet-browser-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-explorer-review.html 12. http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/default.asp 13. http://deflexion.com/2007/07/safari-3-pros-and-cons

14 thoughts on “Comparison on all Major Web Browsers: Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, and Google Chrome”

The choice depends on your choice: If you want speed & performance as your metric then Chrome & Opera. Chrome with the enhanced extension capabilities. If you want the best User Interface, Microsoft Edge could be your preference Mozilla allows customization. So, if you want to twist & turn, firefox could be the choice

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Albert Luther Jackson liked this on Facebook.

This article is very interesting especially if people want to get to know more about technology of how each major browser is different.

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Joseph Hanna liked this on Facebook.

I think Google Chrome having built-in flash and PDF support will finally fix those annoying browser crashes due to adobe plugins. Although I’ve been using Firefox for a while, the frequent updates making it less usable every time and the plugin crashes hanging the browser is starting to make me consider Google Chrome.

RT @centennialarts: Comparison on all Major Web Browsers: Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, and Google Chrome: … http://t.co/Id5U3G2Y

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Battle of the browsers: Edge vs. Chrome vs. Firefox vs. Safari vs. Opera vs. IE vs. Vivaldi

Google Chrome used to clearly be the best browser, with its speed advantage and extension ecosystem, but that’s changing. We’re living in the golden age of web browsers, and users are spoiled when it comes to choice.

After decades of criticism, Microsoft is replacing Internet Explorer with Edge, a lean browser designed for Windows 10. Mozilla Firefox and Opera, meanwhile, continue to optimize features and add new tools, while Safari’s focus on power usage gives Mac users a serious reason to consider using the default. And then there’s the new kid in town, Vivaldi, with a minimalist design and near-total customization.

You can’t really go wrong with any of the popular browsers, but there are a few things here and there that give each its own competitive edge.

Installation, updates, and compatibility

Installation across the browsers is basically the same. Users can download them from their respective websites if they aren’t built into your operating system already — i.e. Safari, Edge, IE — and each will typically download in under 30 seconds.

Below is a list of browser compatibility.

• Google Chrome :  Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux
• Mozilla Firefox  :  Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux
• Internet Explorer   (32 and 64-bit): Windows
• Safari : Mac OS X (Windows version no longer supported)
• Opera :  Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux
• Edge : Available with Windows 10, not available for older versions of Windows.
• Vivaldi : Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux

When it comes to updates, most of the browsers are now more or less equivalent. Background updating is the default practice. In the case of Chrome, Firefox, Vivaldi, and Opera, it’s handled through the app. Edge and Safari are updated through Microsoft and Apple’s respective update utilities. Internet Explorer is the only browser that’s no longer receiving updates, as it’s been put out to pasture in favor of Edge. However, it’s still available for use on Windows machines for compatibility reasons.

Design and ease of use

The current trend in browser design is for the browser to nearly disappear. IE, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome all attempt to be as minimal as possible, offering next to no actual text and small, monochromatic buttons that discretely blend with the aesthetic design of operating systems such as Windows 8 and Mac OS X. Vivaldi fights back against this somewhat, offering a splash of color and bringing back the statusbar, but it’s still largely governed by the minimalist ethos. Overall, all the browsers stay out of your way and let you focus on the site you’re looking at. Below we compare and contrast the design of each browser.

Google Chrome

Chrome was the first browser to radically simplify the user interface, offering users little more than an address bar and just a few other buttons. It’s a clean look, and though installing enough extensions can clutter things up, for most users, this won’t be confusing. Like most browsers, the window can get incredibly cramped with 15 ore more tabs open, but it still does a fantastic job of delivering content whether the window is expanded or slightly minimized for the sake of space.

Adjacent to the omnibox are standard navigational features (i.e. back, forward, refresh, home), but you can easily slim down the window by customizing the toolbar and deleting any buttons you deem useless. Chrome’s single-click bookmarking method, done by simply clicking the star located on the right side of the address bar, also makes bookmarking your favorite webpages a breeze.

Mozilla Firefox

This browser features a similar, yet more useful layout when compared to its competitors, and places the tab bar above the address bar. The URL and search boxes are still separate by default, a unique feature among current browsers, despite the fact that searching from the address bar works fine. Recently added buttons for Pocket and Hello also take up space while other browsers are slimming things down. But if you want to, you can remove any of these elements in just a couple of clicks. Firefox is nothing if not customizable.

The browser offers the same kind of single-click bookmarking that Chrome does — all you have to do is click the star located to the right of the search bar — but there’s little else that separates it from the rest of the pack. The settings menu is accessible in a similar fashion to that of Google Chrome, allowing you to access various options by clicking a simple button depicting three horizontal bars located in the upper-right corner of the window. Unfortunately, it also takes up a bit of space that could otherwise be used by the tab bar.

Internet Explorer

In terms of screen space, Internet Explorer is minimalist, with less “chrome” than Chrome itself. IE 11 features a single bar that simultaneously functions as the browser’s address and search bar. The space at the top places your open tabs to the right of the address-search bar, making it somewhat more cluttered than some of our other picks given the amount of space the search field takes up, but it typically isn’t worrisome unless you’re really stacking up a high volume of tabs. Other notable design features include the single-click bookmarking star now widely adopted by almost all other prominent browsers.

However, the 20-year-old browser is being phased out to make way for Microsoft’s newest browser, Edge. IE is still available in Windows 10, but is no longer the default and will not receive new features.

This long mediocre browser is now a serious competitor when compared to the likes of Google and Firefox. The newest version of Apple’s browser is fairly minimalist in design, but retains enough familiarity for old users of the browser to feel at home. Like its peers, Safari offers the address-search bar hybrid. Recent features include a share icon embedded to the right of the search field, which serves as a way to bookmark pages, post to social networks, and share via native Apple platforms like iMessage and Mail. An optional sidebar also give you quick access to your bookmarks, social media shares, and a reading list that syncs with iOS and works offline.

This browser uses Google’s chromium Web engine while retaining a set of signature features that distinguish the browser from the rest. Opera has a single hybrid address-search bar like Chrome, but the alternative browser also sports Opera’s signature features,  stash  and  speed dial.   S peed dial  allows for easy bookmarking and functions like “the most visited page” on Safari.  Stash  is similar to  P ocket,  and thus allows you to quickly store pages for future browsing. The bottom line? Opera sports a clean design with innovative features that hold their own against the rest of the competition.

Edge resembles IE 11, though with even smaller borders, fewer icons, and a streamlined toolbar designed to take up more real estate on your display than IE 11. A solitary, address-search bar also runs the width of the page, along with a trio of headline features that include markups, reading view, and Microsoft’s equivalent to Siri (aka Cortana). It is the standard web browser for Windows 10, and has integration with many of the OS’s features and apps, including Outlook and the aforementioned Cortana. The latest update even gives it the ability to cast video, audio, and pictures to Miracast and DLAN devices.

This browser doesn’t just offer customization, it actually asks you to choose where things like the tabs and address bar should go when you first launch it. If you want your tabs in a panel to the left of your window, you can do that, or you can leave them above the address bar. Bucking recent trends, Vivaldi also brings back the status bar at the bottom of the window, giving you a quick place to zoom in and out and preview URLs from. The current tab also takes on the primary color of whatever site you’re visiting, making the browser chrome seem like a natural extension of the site you’re visiting and adding some visual flair.

Benchmark tests

Most browsers are compatible with web standards and handle speed with relative ease. A casual user probably won’t notice a difference in the rendering speed between today’s modern browsers, but all six browsers are much faster and leaner than those of a few years ago — and become even more so with each new build. Below are our benchmark results for the six browsers, with bold text indicating the winner for each category.

Google Chrome has long dominated the HTML5 compliance benchmark, but it has some competition at the top now: Vivaldi. The two browsers support the same number of standards, meaning both should be able to perfectly render just about anything you can find.

The Jetstream benchmark, which focuses on modern web applications, has a surprising winner: Edge. Microsoft’s been working hard on optimizing its new browser, and it shows. Safari, Chrome, and Vivaldi aren’t too far behind, though.

Two Javascript benchmarks, Mozilla’s Kraken benchmark and Google’s Octane 2.0, give us more split results. Edge just barely beat Chrome on Octane 2.0, while Chrome came out ahead on the Kraken test. The results suggest most modern browsers are pretty fast, however, with the exception of Internet Explorer 11.

This suggests that Microsoft’s Edge is a huge leap forward from its old browser, and that competition in the browser market is pretty tight overall.

Extensions and extra features

Features are what truly separate one browser from the next given that speed and compatibility are no longer the defining issue. That being said, each browser has its own slate of unique features, from expansive app stores and add-ons to various extensions and tools, that makes it shine in its own light.

Chrome has become the starting point for browser extension developers, and it shows. If an extension exists, you can probably get it for Chrome before you can get it for any other browser. There’s also Apps, which blur the line between web and local apps in some unique ways. We like the idea, and Chrome remains the most integrated software for accessing anything Google-related (i.e. Gmail, Google Drive). If web apps and seamless dashboard features are important to you, check out what Google has to offer.

Download now

Like Chrome, Firefox is on a six-week update schedule, and sports a strong catalog of extensions. Some older extensions have broken with recent Firefox releases, and at this point, cutting-edge extensions tend to be offered first on Chrome and show up on Firefox later. Having said that, a few power-user extensions are exclusive to Firefox, making this hard to call definitively. The built-in PDF viewer is incredibly handy, as is the browser’s support for Macbook Retina displays and grouped tabs. Firefox also remains one of the most customizable in terms of interface and display out of the five on our list, though Vivaldi is a legitimate threat on the horizon.

Safari’s extension ecosystem isn’t massive, but Apple’s default browser has come a long way since its initial beginning. Most major extensions are available at this point, even if the collection is nowhere close to competing with Chrome or Firefox. Other awesome built-in extras include the ad-free Safari Reader, which lets you read any article without all the unnecessary clutter, and comprehensive iCloud integration for syncing pages across all your devices. There’s also built-in RSS support, and a reading list that syncs with your mobile devices.

Safari’s mobile version comes pre-installed on iOS devices, but isn’t available on other mobile platforms.

Internet Explorer 11

IE11 sports heavy integration and optimization for Windows 7 and 8. Many functions, like turning tabs into new windows, are much easier with Microsoft’s stalwart browser. It retains some of the unique features introduced in IE 10, like individual tab previewing from the task bar and a new feature called site pinning, which lets you ‘pin’ a website to the Windows 8 task bar like you would a normal application. However, unlike an ordinary taskbar shortcut, pinned websites can offer customized “right click” menus. For example, pinning the Facebook toolbar will let you right click and auto browse to different sections of the Facebook site like News, Messages, Events, and Friends. In addition, when you open a pinned site, the IE 11 browser customizes itself to resemble the site you’re viewing. Currently, this only means the icon in the upper-left corner will change along with the colors for the back and forward buttons, but we like the idea.

IE’s mobile version comes pre-installed on Windows devices. There’s currently no mobile version, though.

Opera has always stood out in part by bundling features that other browsers offer as add-ons. The inclusion of both ad blocking and a VPN in recent builds of Opera are prime examples, and make this a go-to browser for the privacy set. But it’s not just about the included features: Opera’s  add-on library  is fairly complete. The extensive web-app store offers a variety of free and premium apps, but Opera’s extensions are centered around the browser’s signature tool,  Speed Dial —  a touchscreen-optimized homepage. Each extension can be tacked to Opera’s  Speed Dial  homepage. The simplicity of having your Gmail account stored next to a dependable news aggregatior on your homepage is hard to pass up.

At this point, Edge doesn’t offer any extensions (unless you are a Windows Insider and have the preview version). However, extensions have proven to be more than just a niche feature given their wide-spread adoption in other browsers. Microsoft has confirmed that Edge will support extensions in one capacity or another down the line, but there’s no word on when they’ll be enabled for regular users. For now, Edge does offer an attractive and easy-to-use reader mode, one that removes clutter and formatting from webpages and articles to make for a more comfortable reading experience on the web.

As the newest browser in this list, Vivaldi doesn’t have an extension ecosystem, and extensions aren’t supported by default. Extensions are planned, however, and some users have even managed to get a few Opera extensions working in the browser (though the method isn’t straight-forward). Outside of the robust customization options, the sidebar offers a lot of compelling features. You can write notes about any URL, for future reference, or add any site as a side panel. This isn’t the most feature-filled browser as of right now, but it’s clearly an ambitious one.

Security and privacy

The most valuable tool for secure browsing is user discretion, especially when you consider that every web browser has encountered security breaches in the past. And Internet Explorer and Chrome’s reputation for protecting users’ security and privacy credentials is spotty at best.

Chrome, Safari, Vivaldi, Opera, and Firefox all rely on Google’s Safe Browsing API to detect potentially dangerous sites. Thanks to constant updates, Mozilla, Chrome, and Opera all make constant security updates. But Chrome takes security a bit further by also scanning for potentially harmful downloads. There’s also  encryption add-ons currently in the works at Google .

All browsers offer a private session option, too. Private sessions prevent the storage of history, temporary Internet files, and cookies. For example, Internet Explorer 11 features a security measure called Do Not Track. Only Internet Explorer goes so far as to to block trackers completely from communicating with your browser. What’s more, according to a 2013 NSS study , only Internet Explorer blocks trackers used on more than 90 percent of potentially hazardous sites.

Nonetheless,  Microsoft has stated that Edge won’t offer IE’s Do Not Track feature , though you will be able to enable some tracking protection. This change of heart is because Do Not Track isn’t really honored by many websites, making it largely pointless in 2016.

Popularity & Verdict

Internet Explorer has been the number one browser for decades, but that’s changing right now, according to  NetMarketShare’s latest numbers . They show Chrome as edging out Microsoft’s default for this first time this year, with 41.71 percent of the market. The closest competitor to these two browsers is Firefox, with a distant 10.06 percent of the market. Safari, the default browser on the Mac platform, captures a respectable 4.47 percent of the market, while Opera sits at 2.1 percent. Vivaldi doesn’t show up in these numbers.

StatCounter provides a much different view. According to its data, Chrome is by far the most popular desktop browser, with more than 56.75 percent of all Internet traffic. Firefox is up next, at a distant 14.24 percent, and a declining Internet Explorer sees 12.14 percent of the market share. Safari nets 9.47 percent of traffic, while Opera captures about 1.87 percent.

Why the big difference between these reports? It’s because NetMarketShare counts unique visitors, while StatCounter tallies all visits. In other words, NetMarketShare’s numbers reflect how many people are using a browser, while StatCounter reflects how much a browser is used.

Once you know that, the numbers make sense. A lot of people default to Internet Explorer because they don’t know any better, and only visit a few websites each day. Chrome is often preferred by people who browse heavily and might visit hundreds of sites in a day. And Firefox, despite being used by fewer people than Internet Explorer, generates more web traffic because of its power-user base.

Chrome is still king

It’s getting closer every month, but it still seems like Chrome is the best browser overall. It’s still a top-performing browser, and its extension eco-system is the best. There’s a reason why it’s the most popular browser ever made, and while specific users might prefer something different, most people can safely default to Chrome.

Source :  https://www.yahoo.com/tech/battle-best-browsers-edge-vs-190732036.html

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Firefox vs. Internet Explorer

Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla Foundation's Firefox are the two most popular browsers in the world. A few years after the open source Firefox browser was introduced, it has successfully chipped away at IE's monopoly.

Comparison chart

The first version of Internet Explorer (IE) was released in August 1995, a time when Netscape had a near monopoly in the browser market. IE was bundled together with the dominant Windows operating system and by 2001 had a monopoly market share of over 90%.

Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross began working on the Firefox project as an experimental branch of the Mozilla project. They believed the commercial requirements of Netscape's sponsorship and developer-driven feature creep compromised the utility of the Mozilla browser. To combat what they saw as the Mozilla Suite's software bloat, they created a stand-alone browser, with which they intended to replace the Mozilla Suite. On April 3, 2003, the Mozilla Organization announced that they planned to change their focus from the Mozilla Suite to Firefox and Thunderbird.

Market Share

From 2005 to 2010, Firefox had been steadily gaining market share from Internet Explorer. Wikipedia states that IE's market share in 2007 was 78.6% and around 75% in Jan 2008. [1] This includes all versions of IE. Firefox had close to 20% share in 2008. By June 2010, Firefox share was 31% and IE was down to 50%. In August 2011, Firefox share was around 23% and IE's share was around 38%.

In June 2012, the desktop browser market share of Internet Explorer and Firefox relative to other browsers was as follows [2] :

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers
• http://crave.cnet.co.uk/software/0,39029471,49296021,00.htm

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Exploring alternative web browsers: beyond Safari on iPhone

A pple Inc.’s standard browser for the iPhone is Safari. However, the App Store provides a plethora of other web application options. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge offer unique features. Chrome is celebrated for its synchronization capabilities, while Firefox boasts powerful privacy tools. Microsoft Edge, offers additional features like vertical tabs and an immersive reader mode – catering to a variety of user preferences. Cross-platform use is also standard with most of these browsers.

Probably the best-known alternative is Google Chrome

One notable alternative is Google Chrome — the world’s most popular internet browser. Known for its user-friendly interface, lightning-fast browsing speeds, and robust security measures, this browser tops many user preferences. Its ability to seamlessly sync bookmarks and search histories via a Google Account, host a built-in password manager, and support a vast array of custom extensions that cater to individual needs makes it particularly noteworthy. Chrome’s translation feature and regular updates ensure it remains an evolving and dynamic platform.

A newer player in the arena, Arc Search, brings artificial intelligence (AI) to the fore with its ‘Browse for Me’ feature. It emphasizes security and privacy, with no storage of browser activity or search history. The AI processes information from six different online sources to generate a personalized webpage based on user queries, thereby revolutionizing online browsing with depth and privacy.

Microsoft Edge is another competitor.

Microsoft Edge is another competitor popular among Mac and PC users who prefer its unique features like password surveillance and ad tracker blocking. It provides a private browsing option, InPrivate, which ensures no browsing history, cookies, or associated data retention. The innovative Copilot tool uses AI technology to streamline searches and promises a seamless user experience by syncing data across devices.

Another alternative is the Aloha Browser, which doubles as a web browser and a security tool. Users can enjoy an ad-free browsing environment with its integrated Adblock Plus plugin. While the browser provides a no-cost, basic version, users can unlock its complete functionality through the premium version, thus offering a versatile and high-performing tool for online navigation.

The post Exploring alternative web browsers: beyond Safari on iPhone appeared first on Under30CEO .

Firefox is no longer supported on Windows 8.1 and below.

Please download Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release) to use Firefox.

Download Firefox ESR 64-bit

Download Firefox ESR 32-bit

Firefox is no longer supported on macOS 10.14 and below.

Firefox vs Apple Safari

Safari and Firefox both have good privacy and security features.

But Firefox also has built-in tools such as:

• Edit PDFs on the go within your Firefox browser window - no extra software needed.
• Translate a web page locally and privately.

Firefox offers a wide range of customization options, including the ability to move menus and toolbars to different locations on the browser window. Safari’s interface is less customizable.

Since we don’t have to make shareholders happy, we can focus on making you happy and always put your privacy and convenience first.

It’s easy to switch

Switching to Firefox is easy and fast - import your Safari bookmarks, your passwords, history and preferences with one click and immediately be ready to use Firefox. Here’s how to import your Safari data .

Do more with Firefox

Get the fast, lightweight, privacy-focused browser that’s backed by a non-profit and works across all your devices.