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Comparison of Web Browsers

This comparison compares the most popular cross-platform (desktop and mobile) browsers and their features. Until 2016, there were the "Big 5" browsers (Firefox, IE/Edge, Chrome, Opera, and Safari), but since then the market has become more fragmented with new browsers such as Brave and Vivaldi becoming more popular. I have decided to limit my test to these 7 browsers as they are both available on PCs and on phones (unlike for example Pale Moon, which stopped developing its mobile version), and also have decided against including "regional" browsers such as Yandex Browser (Russia), Naver Whale (Korea) or the Chinese browsers (Baidu, 360, Sogou, QQ, ...).

The result of the comparison is less clear than last time. In terms of pure features, Vivaldi, Opera and Firefox are at the top of list, followed by Edge and Brave, with Chrome and Safari being the most "bare-bones" and least customizable browsers. Ironically, the "worst" browsers have the highest market shares, thanks to their being preinstalled on iOS and Android.

Comparison of Web Browsers

Source: eylenburg.github.io

Last updated: 2 October 2024

Mozilla Firefox Apple Safari Google Chrome Microsoft Edge Opera Vivaldi Brave

Developer
Developer name Mozilla Corporation & Foundation Apple Inc. Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.) Microsoft Corporation Opera Software AS Vivaldi Technologies AS Brave Software Inc.
Developer country United States United States United States United States Norwaybut owned by Chinese investor Norway United States
Privacy ratingsSources are linked bad / mixed / good / mixed / bad bad / NA / bad / good / NA bad / bad / bad / bad / bad bad / NA / mixed / bad / bad NA / bad / bad / bad / bad NA / mixed / good / mixed / mixed good / bad / good / mixed / bad

General technical information
Based on forked from Netscape, via Mozilla Suite forked from Konqueror forked from Safari, based on Chromium (the unbranded, FOSS version of Chrome) based on Chromium since 2020,
previously forked from Internet Explorer
based on Chromium since 2013,
previously an independent product
based on Chromium,
founded by ex-CEO of Opera
based on Chromium,
founded by ex-CEO of Mozilla
Predecessors and first release 1994 Netscape → '98 Mozilla → '02 Firefox 2003 Safari 2008 Chromium/Chrome 1995 Internet Explorer → 2015 Edge 1995 Opera 2016 Vivaldi 2016 Brave
HTML and Javascript engine Gecko/SpiderMonkey
WebKit/Nitro on iOS
WebKit/Nitro Blink/V8
WebKit/Nitro until 2013 + on iOS
Blink/V8
WebKit/Nitro on iOS
Trident/Chakra in IE Mode
EdgeHTML/Chakra until 2020
Blink/V8
WebKit/Nitro on iOS
Presto/Carakan until 2013 + in Opera Mini
Blink/V8
WebKit/Nitro on iOS
Blink/V8
WebKit/Nitro on iOS
Gecko/SpiderMonkey in very early versions
Usage share
Usage share over time
• worldwide
• all device types included
• source: TheCounter 2002-07, StatCounter 2008-23
Market share mid-2023 2.8% (9% of Firefox users on mobile devices) 20.0% (72% of Safari users on mobile devices) 62.8% (58% of Chrome users on mobile devices) 5.1% (11% of Edge users on mobile devices) 3.0% (36% of Opera users on mobile devices) 0.1% (estimate based on MAU, no device split available) 0.8% (estimate based on MAU, no device split available)

Operating system support
Windows Yes Dropped Yes Yes (preinstalled) Yes Yes Yes
macOS Yes Yes (preinstalled) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
GNU/Linux Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
BSD Free/Net/Open/DragonFlyBSDAll inofficial builds (not provided or supported by Mozilla).
FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD are mentioned as Tier-3 targets by Mozilla:
https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/contributing/build/supported.html
No No No Dropped: Free/Net/OpenBSDNetBSD and OpenBSD had only had inofficial ports (not provided or supported by Opera Software) No No
Unix System V Solaris, Illumos. Dropped: HP-UX, AIX, ...Formerly also for IRIX and Unixware. All inofficial builds (not provided or supported by Mozilla).
Solaris is mentioned as a Tier-3 target by Mozilla:
https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/contributing/build/supported.html
No No No Dropped: Solaris No No
Android Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
iOS Yes Yes (preinstalled) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Other modern operating systems Dropped: AmigaOS, ArcaOS (OS/2), Haiku (BeOS), OpenVMS, QNX, and RISC OSInofficial builds (not provided or supported by Mozilla) No Chrome OS, Fuchsia Xbox System Software Dropped: ArcaOS (OS/2), Haiku (BeOS), and QNX No No
Legacy operating systems Dropped: Maemo, Firefox OS, SkyOSInofficial builds (not provided or supported by Mozilla) No No Dropped: Windows Phone/Mobile Dormant: Opera Mini for basic phonesOpera Mini for basic phones is not actively developed anymore, but is still available for download and comes preinstalled on some feature phones. Rendering is down server-side using the Presto engine. /
Dropped: MacOS Classic, Wii, Nintendo DS,
MeeGo, EPOC/Symbian, Bada, BlackBerry,
Windows Mobile/Phone, Linux-based TVs
No No
Feature Comparison
Win/Mac/Linux AndroidThis comparison looked at Firefox and not Firefox Focus or Firefox Klar. iOSThis comparison looked at Firefox and not Firefox Focus. Mac iOS Win/Mac/Linux Android iOS Win/Mac/Linux Android iOS Win/Mac/Linux AndroidThis comparison looked at Opera and not Opera Mini or Opera Touch. iOSThis comparison looked at Opera (formerly Opera Touch); dropped features may refer to Opera Mini. Win/Mac/Linux Android iOS Win/Mac/Linux Android iOS

Bookmarking & archiving
Bookmarks bar or speed dial with folders Yes (bookmarks bar) No No Yes (bookmarks bar) No Yes (bookmarks bar) No No Yes (bookmarks bar) No No Yes (both) Yes Dropped Yes (both) Yes No Yes (bookmarks bar) No No
Session manager with extension YesCollections No with extension No with extension No No Droppeddropped in version 79 (w/ ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Droppeddropped in version 15 (w/ ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Yes No No with extension No No
Download/screenshot whole website HTML/PNG PDF No Webarchive/PDF No (M)HTML MHTML No MHTML/PNG MHTML/PNG No (M)HTML/PDF (M)HTML/PDF No (M)HTML/PNG/JPG MHTML/PNG No (M)HTML MHTML/PNG PDF

Search
Default search engine Google Google Google Bing Google Bing Brave Search
Can delete/hide preinstalled search engines Yes Yes No No No Yes No No Yes No No Droppeddropped in version 15 Dropped No Yes No No Yes No No
Can add new search engines Yes Yes Yes No with extension Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes Dropped Yes No No Yes No Yes
Search keywordse.g. type "b <text>" to search for <text> in Bing Yes No No No with extension Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No No

Tracking
Tracking protectioncan include blocking of tracking scripts, tracking cookies, URL tracking parameters, fingerprinting attempts via canvas or supercookies, and more Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes with extension No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ad blocking (cosmetic, alongside trackers)incl. blocking of "acceptable ads" and "non-intrusive ads" with extension w/ ext. No with extension with extension with extension No No with extension Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Can clear cookies on exit Yes Yes No No No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
CNAME uncloaking support Yes Yes YesWebKit's "Intelligent Tracking Protection" applies to all iOS browsers Yes Yes No No YesWebKit's "Intelligent Tracking Protection" applies to all iOS browsers No No YesWebKit's "Intelligent Tracking Protection" applies to all iOS browsers No No YesWebKit's "Intelligent Tracking Protection" applies to all iOS browsers No No No Yes Yes YesWebKit's "Intelligent Tracking Protection" applies to all iOS browsers
Partitioning of third-party storage Yes Yes YesWebKit's "Intelligent Tracking Protection" applies to all iOS browsers Yes Yes No No YesWebKit's "Intelligent Tracking Protection" applies to all iOS browsers No No YesWebKit's "Intelligent Tracking Protection" applies to all iOS browsers No No YesWebKit's "Intelligent Tracking Protection" applies to all iOS browsers No No No Yes Yes YesWebKit's "Intelligent Tracking Protection" applies to all iOS browsers
Can grant ephemeral website permissions Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes No
Can disable built-in ad measurements/tracking? OptionalThe so-called "Privacy-Preserving Attribution" tracks which ads you're clicking on, despite having "Privacy" in the name. It can be disabled but is enabled by default. NoneThe so-called "Privacy-Preserving Attribution" is not supported on Android, for now, despite being seemingly enabled in about:config. None OptionalThe "Web AdAttributionKit", also called "privacy-preserving measurements of ad effectiveness" in the settings, tracks which ads you're clicking on, despite having "Privacy" in the name. It can be disabled but is enabled by default. OptionalThe "Web AdAttributionKit", also called "privacy-preserving ad measurements" in the settings, tracks which ads you're clicking on, despite having "Privacy" in the name. It can be disabled but is enabled by default. OptionalChromiums's "Privacy Sandbox" will, despite having "Privacy" in the name, analyze user's interests based on their browsing history (via Topics API) and share that information with advertisers to serve targeted ad, and track which ads you're clicking on (Attribution Reporting API). It can be disabled in the settings where it's called "Ad Topics", "Ad Measurement" and "Site-Suggested Ads". Opt.Chromiums's "Privacy Sandbox" will, despite having "Privacy" in the name, analyze user's interests based on their browsing history (via Topics API) and share that information with advertisers to serve targeted ad, and track which ads you're clicking on (Attribution Reporting API). It can be disabled in the settings where it's called "Ad Topics", "Ad Measurement" and "Site-Suggested Ads". None NoChromiums's "Privacy Sandbox" will, despite having "Privacy" in the name, analyze user's interests based on their browsing history (via Topics API) and share that information with advertisers to serve targeted ad, and track which ads you're clicking on (Attribution Reporting API). Both APIs are supported by Edge as per MDN Web Docs, with no obvious way to opt out in the browser. NoChromiums's "Privacy Sandbox" will, despite having "Privacy" in the name, analyze user's interests based on their browsing history (via Topics API) and share that information with advertisers to serve targeted ad, and track which ads you're clicking on (Attribution Reporting API). Both APIs are supported by Edge as per MDN Web Docs, with no obvious way to opt out in the browser. None NoChromiums's "Privacy Sandbox" will, despite having "Privacy" in the name, analyze user's interests based on their browsing history (via Topics API) and share that information with advertisers to serve targeted ad, and track which ads you're clicking on (Attribution Reporting API). Both APIs are supported by Opera as per MDN Web Docs, with no obvious way to opt out in the browser. NoChromiums's "Privacy Sandbox" will, despite having "Privacy" in the name, analyze user's interests based on their browsing history (via Topics API) and share that information with advertisers to serve targeted ad, and track which ads you're clicking on (Attribution Reporting API). Both APIs are supported by Opera as per MDN Web Docs, with no obvious way to opt out in the browser. None NoneVivaldi disables Chromium's "Privacy Sandbox" NoneVivaldi disables Chromium's "Privacy Sandbox" None NoneBrave disables Chromium's "Privacy Sandbox" NoneBrave disables Chromium's "Privacy Sandbox" None

Freedom
License MPL Proprietary Proprietary Proprietary Proprietary Source available MPL
Web Environment Integrity APIThis can used to prevent users from blocking ads, trackers and other harmful content. It allows website owners to lock out users of unapproved browsers, unapproved operating systems, and older hardware. No No No No No Stopped Stopped No No No No No No No No No No No No No
EME & DRMEncrypted Media Extensions, an implementation of Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes

Synchronisation
Bookmarks sync Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Dropped Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Passwords sync Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Dropped Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
History and open tabs sync Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Dropped Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
End-to-end encryption of sync data Default E2E encryption Default E2E encryption Optional E2E encryptiononly passwords encrypted by default Limited E2E encryptiononly for passwords, or when using a school or work account Optional E2E encryptiononly passwords encrypted by default Default E2E encryption Default E2E encryption
Ability to sync without creating an account Yes (self-hosted server) No No No No No Yes (sync chain)

Convenience
Autofill (passwords, addresses, payments) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Website translation Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes with extension Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
Dynamic text reflow when zoomingline breaks adjust to avoid horizontal scrolling Yes No No Yes No Yes Dropped No Yes No No Yes Yes Dropped Yes No No Yes No No
Temporary downloads ("Open" file)download files into a temporary location ("Open")
rather than save them in the Downloads folder ("Save")
Droppeddropped in version 97feature was dropped in v97 but Firefox developers have announced that it will be brought back in the future with a setting in about:config No No No No No No No Yes No No Droppeddropped in version 15 No No No No No No No No
Reader viewhides all elements but text Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Droppeddropped in version 79 (w/ ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension YesIn Accessibility Settings → Simplified View for Web Pages No Yes Yes Yes with extension Yes No Yes YesIn Accessibility Settings → Simplified View for Web Pages Yes with extension YesIn Accessibility Settings → Simplified View for Web Pages Yes
Enforce dark theme for websiteschanges the website to a dark design to match the browser's or operating system's dark theme with extension w/ ext. Yes with extension with extension No Yes No Yes Yes Dropped Yes No Yes Yes
Upload file from clipboard with extension No No No No No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No No

Tab handling
Tab groups/stacks/workspaces Droppeddropped in version 45 (w/ ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
Change between horizontal and vertical tabs No (w/ ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension and hiding native tar bar with userChrome.css No No No No Droppeddropped in version 16 No No Yes No No Droppeddropped in version 15 No No Yes No No Yes No No
Configurable placement of new tabse.g. next right vs. far right on tab bar Dropped No No No with extension No No with extension No No Droppeddropped in version 15 (w/ ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Yes Yes No with extension No No
Configurable tab focus after closing tabe.g. go back to adjacent tab or to last used tab with extension No No No No with extension No No with extension No No Droppeddropped in version 15 (w/ ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Yes No No with extension No No
Quickly jump back to last active tab Yes (Ctrl+Tab) No No No No No No No No No No Yes (Ctrl+Tab) No No Yes (Ctrl+Tab) No No Yes (Ctrl+Tab) No No

Connection
Proxy settings (independent from OS) Yes w/ ext. No No No with extension No No with extension No No Droppeddropped in version 15 (w/ ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No with extension No No with extension No No
Automatic upgrading to HTTPS Yes Yes No for known websites for known websites Yes Yes No No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Data compression No No No No No No Dropped No No No No Droppeddropped in version 58 Yes Dropped No No No No No No
IPFS supportcensorship-resistent protocol and P2P network with extension No No No No with extension No No with extension No No Yes Yes Yes with extension No No Yes Yes No
DNS-over-HTTPS support Yes DroppedCan be enabled in about:config, which in the stable version of Firefox is accessible via the undocumented URL chrome://geckoview/content/config.xhtml No No No Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No
Oblivious-DNS-over-HTTPS support No No No in private mode in private mode No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Encrypted Client Hello support Yes No No No No No No No No No No No
Can access .onion websites (ootb) No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes No No
Can access .i2p websites (ootb) No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No

Extensions
Extension support Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Limited No Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No
Support for uBlock Origin (content blocker) Yes Yes No Droppeddropped in version 13 No Yes (limited features)some features only available on Firefox:
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/uBlock-Origin-works-best-on-Firefox
No No Yes (limited features)some features only available on Firefox:
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/uBlock-Origin-works-best-on-Firefox
No No Yes (limited features)some features only available on Firefox:
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/uBlock-Origin-works-best-on-Firefox
No No Yes (limited features)some features only available on Firefox:
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/uBlock-Origin-works-best-on-Firefox
No No Yes (limited features)some features only available on Firefox:
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/uBlock-Origin-works-best-on-Firefox
No No
Can "sideload" extension (install from file) If signedExtensions have to be verified and signed by Mozilla. Otherwise it is also possible to disable the signing requirements in about:config, but this only works in the Nightly, Developer and ESR versions of Firefox. No Droppeddropped in version 12 No Recurring warningbrowser will keep warning and recommending to disable sideloaded extensions No No Recurring warningbrowser will keep warning and recommending to disable sideloaded extensions No No Yes No No Yes No No Recurring warningbrowser will keep warning and recommending to disable sideloaded extensions No No
Extension store Mozilla Apple Google Microsoft & Google Opera & Google Google Google

Advanced features
Can clear browsing history on exit Yes (flawed)If "clear history on exit" is selected,
the previous session will not be restored after restarting the browser,
even when "restore previous session" is enabled.
Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes On startYou can set Brave to delete all browsing data (including cookies etc.) on exit, but not only the history. However, it is possible to set it to delete the history on start-up instead. No
Multi-account containers w/ official extension No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Switch between browser profiles No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No Yes No No Yes No No
Can disable JavaScript No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Supports PWAsProgressive Web Apps/add to homescreen No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Userscript support with extension w/ ext. No with extension with extension with extension No No with extension No No Droppeddropped in version 15 (w/ ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No with extension No No with extension No No
Portable settings profiles Yes (user.js) Noon rooted devices only No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Browser's UI elements can be modified limitedcan rearrange the elements shown in the toolbar / No No No No No No No No No No Droppeddropped in version 15 No No limitedcan rearrange the elements shown in the toolbar / No No No No No
Support for JPEG XL image format with extensionCan be enabled via the image.jxl.enabled flag in about:config in Nightly only. This flag has no effect in the stable build. w/ ext.Can be enabled via the image.jxl.enabled flag in about:config in Nightly only. This flag has no effect in the stable build. Yes Yes Yes with extension No Yes with extension No Yes No Yes with extension No Yes with extension No Yes
Can use another HTML engine No No No No No No No No Yes (Trident)Internet Explorer mode on Windows No No No DroppedPresto engine used in the "Extreme Data Savings" mode DroppedPresto engine used in the "Extreme Data Savings" mode No No No No No No
Can view and save files in cacheexample use-case: stream a video,
find video file in cache, save video on device
Yes No No No No No No No No No No Droppeddropped in version 15 No No No No No No No No
Master password for password autofill Yes (no mobile sync)Passwords will not sync to mobile devices if protected with master password Dropped No No No No No No Yes Device PIN No Droppeddropped in version 15 Device PIN No No No No No No No
Site isolation (to enhance security) Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Other notable, still developed browsers which were not included in this comparison (list not exhaustive):
Using Blink/V8 engine: Samsung Browser, ungoogled-chromium, Falkon, Yandex Browser (except iOS), Naver Whale (except iOS), DuckDuckGo Browser (Android), Cromite, Vanadium, seemingly all Chinese browsers (e.g. 360 Secure, Baidu, CM, Maxthon, QQ, Sogou, UC), many more...
Using WebKit/Nitro engine: GNOME Web, Otter, Orion, DuckDuckGo Browser (macOS/iOS), Yandex Browser (iOS), Naver Whale (iOS), all iOS browsers...
Using Gecko/SpiderMonkey engine: Floorp, Waterfox, LibreWolf, Mullvad Browser, Fennec F-Droid, Mull, SeaMonkey, Tor Browser, ...
Using Goanna/SpiderMonkey engine: Pale Moon, Basilisk, K-Meleon, ...
Using other engines: NetSurfusing Hubbub/Duktape engine, Ekioh Flow, Ladybird, iBrowsefor AmigaOS/MorphOS, Servo, text browsers...