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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: 28 March 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, AIXAll 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 Ye 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 No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension YesCollections No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Dropped (v79) (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Dropped (v15) (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Yes No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser 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 Dropped (v15) Dropped No Yes No No Yes No No
Can add new search engines Yes Yes Yes No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser 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 No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No No

Privacy
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 No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser 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" No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser 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
Doesn't share your interests with advertisers? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Opt-inTopics API, a part of Chrome's "Privacy Sandbox", will analyze user's interests based on their browsing history, and share that information with advertisers to serve targeted ads. Opt-inTopics API, a part of Chrome's "Privacy Sandbox", will analyze user's interests based on their browsing history, and share that information with advertisers to serve targeted ads. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Can grant ephemeral website permissions No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes No

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 Dropped Dropped 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 No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser 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")
Dropped (v97)feature 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 Dropped (v15) No No No No No No No No
Reader viewhides all elements but text Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Dropped (v79) (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension YesIn Accessibility Settings → Simplified View for Web Pages No Yes Yes Yes No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension Yes No Yes YesIn Accessibility Settings → Simplified View for Web Pages Yes No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser 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 No currently only available in Firefox Nightly(ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension Yes No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension hiddenin chrome://flags (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension hiddenin chrome://flags No hiddenin edge://flags (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension hiddenin edge://flags No Yes Yes Dropped hiddenin vivaldi://flags (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension Yes No hiddenin brave://flags (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension Yes Yes
Upload file from clipboard No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser 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 Dropped (v45) (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 (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension and hiding native tar bar with userChrome.css No No No No Dropped (v16) No No Yes No No Dropped (v15) No No Yes No No Yes No No
Configurable placement of new tabse.g. next right vs. far right on tab bar hiddenin about:config (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension Dropped No No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Dropped (v15) (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Yes Yes No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No
Configurable tab focus after closing tabe.g. go back to adjacent tab or to last used tab No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Dropped (v15) (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Yes No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser 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

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 Yes 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
Can disable JavaScript hiddenin about:config (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension Dropped No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No hiddenin Chromium settings (vivaldi://settings/content/javascript) 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 No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Dropped (v15) (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser 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 / hiddenuserChrome.css can be used, however since v69 this needs to be enabled first in about:config first No No No No No No No No No No Dropped (v15) No No limitedcan rearrange the elements shown in the toolbar / hidden.css files can be used, however this needs to be enabled first in vivaldi://experiments No No No No No
Support for JPEG XL image format No No No Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No Yes No 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 Dropped (v15) 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 Dropped (v15) Device PIN No No No No No No No

Connection
Proxy settings (independent from OS) Yes No No No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Dropped (v15) (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No
Automatic upgrading to HTTPS Yes Yes No for known websites for known websites Yes Yes No hiddenin edge://flags (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Data compression No No No No No No Dropped No No No No Dropped (v58) Yes Dropped No No No No No No
IPFS supportcensorship-resistent protocol and P2P network No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Yes Yes Yes No (ext.)possible with 3rd party browser extension No No Yes Yes No
DNS-over-HTTPS Yes Dropped No No No Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes No hiddenin Chromium settings (vivaldi://settings/security) Yes No Yes Yes No
Encrypted Client Hello Yes No No No No hiddenin chrome://flags hiddenin chrome://flags No hiddenneed to start with command line switch No No hiddenin chrome://flags No No hiddenin vivaldi://flags hiddenin vivaldi://flags No hiddenin brave://flags hiddenin brave://flags 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 No No Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No
Support for uBlock Origin (content blocker) Yes Yes No Dropped (v13) 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) Yes if signedExtensions have to be verified and signed by Mozilla No Dropped (v12) 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
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...