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.
Updated October 30th, 2015 by Matt Smith: Made minor revisions, updated popularity states
Installation, updates, and compatibility
Installation across the five 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 comes preinstalled on Mac OS X, Edge on Windows 10, And IE on all previous versions of Windows), and each will typically download in under 30 seconds depending on your Internet connection.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- Safari: Mac OS X, Windows (no longer updated)
- Opera: Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux
- Edge: Available with Windows 10
Internet Explorer is the only browser that’s no longer receiving updates, as it has been put out to pasture in favor of Edge. However, it’s still available for use on Windows machines.
Related: Our favorite Chrome extensions and guide to downloading the Windows 10 Technical Preview
Design and ease of use
If we didn’t know better, we’d say that the current trend in browser design is for the browser to disappear entirely. 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 like Windows 8 and Mac OS X. Overall, all five browsers appear to achieve their goals fairly well. Below we compare and contrast browser design.
Google Chrome
Google Chrome: Chrome
has a lean address bar configuration, stripping everything down into a
simple tab layout and address bar configuration that also doubles as a
search bar Google calls the “Omnibox.” Like most browsers, the window
can get incredibly cramped with 15+ tabs open, but it still does a
fantastic job of delivering content whether you have the browser fully
expanded or slightly minimized for the sake of space.
Adjacent to the omnibox is Chrome’s simple standard navigational features (i.e. back, forward, refresh, home)
by default, but you can easily slim down the window by customizing the
toolbar and deleting any buttons you deem pointless. 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 and hassle-free experience.
Related: Our favorite Google Chrome themes
Firefox
However, this is more of an aesthetic issue than a functional one — you can search within the address bar or the accompanying search bar to its right. 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 isn’t much 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 11
The two decade old browser is being phased out to make way for Microsoft’s newest browser, Edge. IE is still available in Windows 10, but is not the default and will not receive new features.
Related: How to delete IE and how to run IE in Mac OS X
Safari 8
Opera
Edge
Review: Edge is chunky, crude, and not that fast
Benchmark Tests Compared
Most browsers are compatible with Web standards and handle speed with relative ease. A casual user probably won’t notice a difference in the Web page rendering speed between browsers. All five browsers are much faster and leaner than the browsers of a few years ago and become even more so with each new build. Below are our benchmark results for the five browsers, bold text indicates the winner for each category.| Browser |
Acid3
|
Sunspider | Kraken JavaScript | Octane 2.0 | HTML5 Compliance |
| Chrome 45 | 100 | 759.3 ms | 4366.4 ms | 9437 | 523/555 |
| Internet Explorer 11 | 100 | 405.4ms | 7509.2 ms | 5748 | 348/555 |
| Mozilla Firefox 30 | 100 | 633.5 ms | 4580.6 ms | 6554 | 466/555 |
| Safari 8 (Mac only) | 100 | 144.5 ms | 3357.5 ms | 8615 | 400/555 |
| Opera 31 | 100 | 735.5 ms | 4256.6 ms | 8638 | 520/555 |
| Edge | 100 | 384.6ms | 4231.3 ms | 9117 | 397/555 |
Chrome was outpaced in two tests; IE, though ranking rather low in the HTML 5 Compliance benchmark test, performed remarkably well in the Kraken JavaScript benchmark, a test that measures rendering time. Safari did very well in the JavaScript-based benchmarks, but not as well in combined and HTML5 benchmarks.
The second of Microsoft’s web browsers, Edge was faster when running the Sunspider benchmark than its older counterpart, and it proved surprisingly efficient in regards to Octane 2.0. Like IE, it stumbled in regards to HTML5 — though, it still scored higher than its predecessor, which seems appropriate.
Related: Could Vivaldi be a great alternative to Chrome in 2015?
Extras
Features are what truly separate one browser from the next given that speed and compatibility are no longer really an issue. That being said, each browser does have its own slate of differentiating features, from expansive app stores and add-ons to various extensions and tools, that makes it shine in its own light.Chrome
Chrome
differentiates itself through its constant updates, but also through
its extensive Web Apps Store, which offers apps that blur the line
between Web and local apps in some unique ways. Much of this philosophy
comes from Chrome OS, Google’s desktop operating system based on the
Chrome browser. Still, 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.Check out the mobile versions for Android and iOS devices while you’re at it.
Firefox
Like Chrome, Firefox is on a six-week update schedule, and sports a
strong catalog of extensions. Developers will have to retool many of
these to support the newest Firefox iteration, but some users refuse to
leave Firefox solely because it offers unique extensions that have
become essential to their browsing experience. Most other browsers
support add-ons, but Firefox may have a lead in mindshare here (for
now). The built-in PDF viewer is incredibly handy, as is the browser’s
support for Macbook Retina displays and grouped tabs, and Firefox
remains the most customizable in terms of interface and display out of
the five on our list.Currently, Firefox offers a mobile version of its browser for Android. It also has its own mobile OS, though it hasn’t really caught on.
Related: Which browser makes you most productive? There’s now an answer
Safari
Safari
may not have the admirable extension catalog to rival its peers, but it
does have offer a good deal of extensions and utilities for
productivity and organization. Unlike Firefox and Chrome, though, the
third-party extensions are rather bland and aren’t as integrated into
the software as they probably could be. The bulk of them also lack the
“fun” factor found on other browsers, but hopefully Apple will take a
cue from the current market and work more accessible and entertaining
extensions into the Safari Extensions Gallery. Other awesome built-in
extras include the ad-free Safari Reader, which lets you view solely
text without all the unnecessary clutter, and comprehensive iCloud
integration for syncing pages across all your devices.Safari’s mobile version comes preinstalled on iOS devices. It’s not 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 new browser. It retains some of the unique features
introduced in IE10, 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 IE11 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 preinstalled on Windows devices. There’s no mobile version.
Opera
Creating
a browser that can compete with the browser giants is an an uphill
battle for Opera. That said, the decision to embed Chromium has proven
to pay dividends for the Scandinavian company. Opera’s add-ons library
utilizes Chrome’s major apps, including mail and pocket. Thankfully,
Opera doesn’t attempt to beat Google at its own game. Sure, the
extensive Web-app store offers a variety of mostly-free 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.Opera offers mobile versions for Android, iOS, and Windows devices.
Edge
At
this point, Edge doesn’t offer any extensions. 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, but there’s no word on
what exactly that will entail as of yet. However, Edge does offer an
attractive and easy to use reader mode, that removes clutter and
formatting from web pages and articles to make for comfortable reading
on the web.Security and Privacy
The most valuable tool for secure browsing is user discretion. Every browser has encountered security broaches in the past. And Internet Explorer and Chrome’s reputation for protecting users’ security and privacy credentials is spotty at best.Chrome, Safari, and Firefox 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 ad-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 honored by many websites, including Facebook and Google.
Related: How to stop Facebook from using your browser history
Popularity
NetMarketShare’s latest numbers
for desktop browser share show Internet Explorer 11 as the top dog, at
25 percent. It’s followed by Chrome with 15 percent, Firefox with 7.5
percent, and Sfari with 3 percent. Edge only has 2.5 percent and Opera
is way down on the list, at half a percent.If you’re wondering why those statistics don’t add up to 100 percent, it’s because there’s also a wide range of people using older versions of browsers. Mostly, this means Internet Explorer — version 8.0, which shipped with Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista, is still used by 11 percent of browsers.
StatCounter provides a much different view. According to its data,
Chrome is by far the most popular desktop browser, with over 56 percent
of all traffic. Internet Explorer and Firefox are tied at around 16
percent, while Opera has 1.86 percent. Edge is not yet listed.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.
Related: IE, Firefox, and Safari all have fewer desktop users, but Chrome gained some
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