Internet browser shootout: Chrome vs. Firefox vs. Opera vs. Safari vs. Vivaldi

Note: This shootout first appeared in the July 2019 issue of HWM. It has been edited with additional details.

I cannot remember the last time I looked up anything in a book. If you are like me and most other people, you’ll simply start searching on your favorite web browser. And if you are searching on the desktop, there’s a good chance you are doing it using Google Chrome. After all, an estimated seven out of ten people use Google Chrome on the desktop.

With privacy and security issues at the forefront of everyone’s minds today, there’s a concern that Google Chrome isn’t as secure as it used to be. Lest we forget, the Big G makes most of its money from advertising. Having said that, Google isn’t going to be blatantly shoving ads in your face, but there’s a growing fear that they are tracking and monetizing your browsing habits, which, to me, is far more disconcerting and sinister. If you are going to get me, I would rather be punched in the face than stabbed in the back.

A case in point is how some of Chrome’s new user policies are turning away computer science experts. And more recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chrome welcomed over 11,000 tracker cookies in a single week of browsing.

Fortunately, there’s no shortage of alternative desktop web browsers and I’m going to evaluate them today. Here is the list of web browsers that I’m going to test.

Eagle-eyed readers will notice the absence of Microsoft’s Edge — the world’s fifth most popular web browser. It was omitted because Microsoft has a new Chromium-based Edge browser in the works and will be retiring the current incarnation of Edge soon.

Test Setup

Features are important but so is performance, especially since the web is so important to today and web browsers are expected to work across a wide range of devices with varying levels of computational power.

For this shootout, we will be using a 2018 MacBook Air as our test mule. The MacBook Air was chosen because it runs all browsers (Safari is macOS only), it is a highly popular notebook, and it only has a modest low-power (read power-efficient) Y-series processor.

To test the browsers’ performance, we will launch 20 tabs featuring the world’s 20 most visited websites simultaneously. We will then record CPU and memory utilization for one minute. And on top of that, we will also be running JetStream 2, a JavaScript and WebAssembly benchmark suite; and HTML5 Test, a benchmark that measures how well a browser supports HTML 5.

Firefox

• Developer: Mozilla Foundation
• Engine: Gecko
• Desktop platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Price: Free

Pros: Highly customizable, slick interface, good security features

Cons: Poor benchmark scores, a little sluggish

Prior to the arrival of Google Chrome, Firefox was the browser of choice among the tech-savvy and hip. To a certain extent, it still is today, preferred by many who value performance and customizability without the ubiquity of Google Chrome.

 Firefox is powered by a browser engine called Quantum — an improved version of Gecko — making it one of the few browsers today to be powered by an engine that isn’t Blink or WebKit. Quantum was introduced in late 2017 and introduced numerous performance, feature, and interface updates to Firefox to give it a fresh look and to make it competitive with other browsers. To be honest, it desperately needed this makeover as it was becoming slow and a resource hog.

Customizability is still one of Firefox’s tenets. Firefox’s interface is slick as it is but there are themes to download to change its looks. And the toolbar, your main means of interacting with the browser, can be easily rearranged to your liking and buttons can be added for quick access to your most commonly used features and extensions.

Speaking of extensions, thanks to its active community of users, Firefox’s extensive library of extensions and themes is matched only by Google Chrome’s. What this means for users is that you can customize Firefox to your liking. Apart from your usual ad blockers and password managers, there are extensions that can help you quickly download videos, translate text,  and even automatically dim the page when you are watching videos.

And if you want a cohesive web browsing experience across your devices, you can create a Firefox Account that syncs your bookmarks, opened tabs, passwords, and even add-ons and preferences across all of your devices that have Firefox installed.

On the security front, Firefox has tracking protection that blocks third-party trackers from monitoring your browsing behavior. In keeping with the times, it also has the ability to detect and block scripts that mine cryptocurrency in the background without the users’ knowledge. It also has a rudimentary form of password manager.

When Quantum was first announced, Mozilla claimed that it was faster and used less memory than the competition. However, that was over a year and a half ago. In our tests, Firefox achieved the lowest scores on the JetStream benchmark; and it recorded the highest memory usage as well as one of the highest CPU utilization rates in our test of opening 20 of the most popular websites. If it’s any consolation, at least its HTML 5 scores quite good.

In my time using Firefox on the new MacBook Air, I found it to be mostly quick and snappy. It only showed signs of slowing down when I was scrolling through media-rich sites and that was only after I had over 20 tabs opened. Unless you are the kind that likes to have multiple windows and tabs opened, I think most users will do just fine with Firefox.

Though Firefox scored poorly in our benchmarks, I still found it to be pleasant enough to use and I enjoyed its customization options and various features. If you are concerned about Google’s attitude toward privacy, Firefox could very well be the next best thing.

Google Chrome

• Developer: Google
• Engine: Blink (Chromium)
• Desktop platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Price: Free

Pros: Fast, intuitive, clever smart address bar, tight integration with Android

Cons: Concerns around security and privacy

The rise of Google Chrome as the most popular web browser in the world mirrors the meteoric rise of its parent company’s search services. Today, on the desktop, Google Chrome has an unassailable market share of just under 70% — way ahead of second-place Firefox with about 10% and third-place Safari with 7.25%.

One of the reasons for Google Chrome’s popularity is its customizability. Like its rival Firefox, Google Chrome has a library of extensions that range from the useful and practical — like adblockers and quick translators — to the whimsical and fancy — like Tabby Cat, an extension that opens every new tab with an interactive kitty cat. On top of extensions, you have Themes that enable users to change the look of the browser too.

Another reason for Google Chrome’s popularity is Android. If you are an Android phone user, there’s a good chance you want to use Google Chrome on your desktop too just so you can consolidate and sync all of your opened tabs, bookmarks, and browsing history on your Google account. Doing so allows you to quickly switch between devices and continue browsing. It’s not quite as seamless as Safari on an iPhone and Mac but it’s probably the next best thing.

It’s also worth mentioning that the above-mentioned syncing feature isn’t limited to Android devices. Because Google Chrome is available on every major platform, you can even do this if you are using an iPhone or iPad. Simply download Google Chrome on your iOS device and you are good.

One of Google Chrome’s standout feature is its smart address bar. You can type questions like, “How many grams is 1kg” or “Japan weather”, and get answers directly in the address bar without having to navigate to another page. It even searches your Google Drive to see if there are relevant documents. It’s intuitive and fast and makes you wonder why this feature isn’t available on more browsers. Only Safari has something similar but its implementation is a little different.

Performance was Google Chrome’s biggest advantage when it was first released. But over the years, it gained a reputation for being a resource hog. Fortunately, recent updates have been aimed at addressing this and it seems to have paid off. Google Chrome is powered by the Blink engine, which is actually a fork of the WebKit engine. Compared to WebKit, Blink favors flexibility over efficiency.

In our tests with 20 tabs opened, Google Chrome recorded the least memory usage. Its CPU utilization was also one of the lowest and it managed one of the highest scores on JetStream 2. I concur with these findings as I found Google Chrome to be really snappy and responsive, even with many tabs opened and on my 2018 MacBook Air - which isn’t the most powerful device. It seems then that its reputation for being bloated and a memory hog is undeserved.

Overall, I found Google Chrome to be a capable browser offering good performance, customization options, and useful features. Its position as the world’s most popular browser is well deserved even if there are surrounding concerns around privacy and security.

Opera

• Developer: Opera Software AS
• Engine: Blink (Chromium)
• Desktop platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Price: Free

Pros: Fast and comes with useful and thoughtful features

Cons: Not as customizable as rivals

It might surprise you to learn that Opera is the oldest out of all the browsers gathered here. The first version of Opera was released way back in 1995 just a year after Netscape Navigator. Opera built its reputation on being the browser of choice for advanced users and the tech-savvy, but the switch in 2013 from its own tried-and-tested Presto engine to Blink — the same engine Google Chrome is using — left many long-time users disappointed as signature features, such as tab stacking, was lost. Additionally, it's now owned by the Chinese, which also raises some questions around security and privacy.

Because Opera now runs on Blink, it is highly similar to Google Chrome in terms of features and functionality. Open the settings menu and you’ll notice it’s nearly identical to Google Chrome’s. You can even get Opera to run Google Chrome extensions with some tweaking. This makes Opera one of the more customizable browsers, even if customizing it takes a bit more work.

Opera has a couple of standout features that distinguish it from Google Chrome and the competitor. There’s a sidebar that works like a dock, giving access to frequently used services and features. From the sidebar, you can quickly launch popular chat services like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and VK. It makes it very easy to chat with friends and get back to your browsing. Unfortunately, there’s no option to add services so bad news if you use other services like Google Hangouts, Slack, or Discord.

Another highlight feature is the built-in free VPN. It can be easily turn on or off from the address bar and you can even select your VPN location. There’s the option of Europe, Americas, or Asia. Like any VPN, Opera claims it reduces online tracking and makes it hard for websites to track your browsing behavior and computer. However, Opera is vague about how the VPN actually works so you don’t know your data is encrypted or if browsing and traffic are being logged. In short, if you are concerned about security, you should still seek out a full-fledged VPN provider.

Opera also has other thoughtful little features that make it pleasant to use. It has a built-in currency, measurement, and time zone converters that can be especially useful to avid online shoppers. If you are shopping online, you can quickly get currency conversions into your local currency. For those frequently on the go, there’s a handy battery saver feature that turns off plug-ins, reduces background activity, disables theme animations, and more to eke out more battery life.

Since Opera is powered by Blink, it was no surprise to see it scoring well in our benchmarks. CPU utilization and memory usage were amongst the lowest, which is in line with my own experience with the browser. Even with over 20 tabs opened on a MacBook Air, I found scrolling through webpages and opening webpages in new tabs to be generally smooth and fluid.

All things considered, Opera is a charming browser that offers good performance, neat features, and customizability that comes to close rivals like Google Chrome and Firefox. And because it has syncing features and is available on a variety of platforms, it could be the one browser that you use across your desktop and mobile devices. The only niggling factor is that it is owned by the Chinese.

Safari

• Developer: Apple
• Engine: WebKit
• Desktop platforms: macOS
• Price: Free

Pros: Excellent performance on macOS, thoughtful security features

Cons: Poor customization options, only on macOS

Safari is the default browser for all Mac computers and has been for the past 16 years. There used to be a Windows version but Apple stopped supporting it in 2012.

If the ability to customize the interface is important to you, Safari is not the browser for you. There are precious few customization options in the Preferences menu and there are only a smattering of extensions available on the Safari Extensions Gallery and on the Mac App Store. Fortunately, you have a selection of various ad blockers and some useful extensions like Polyglot for quick translations. Safari is also supported by all major password managers like LastPass and 1Password. But if you don’t want to use third-party password managers, Safari has a built-in password manager that can generate and store passwords for you.

Privacy and security are amongst Safari’s most highest priorities. The built-in password manager aside, it also has Intelligent Tracking Prevention that prevents advertisers from tracking your online behavior, and stops embedded content such as social media like and share buttons from tracking you. Safari also makes it difficult for advertisers to track and identify you by presenting on a simplified system profile when you visit websites. Furthermore, Safari runs websites as separate processes so if a site that you visit is compromised, the code is confined to a single Safari browser tab and doesn’t crash the entire browser or access your system data.

But the biggest reason why any Mac user would use Safari is because they own additional Apple devices. Safari’s tight integration with Apple platforms means bookmarks and even opened tabs are easily synced across your Apple devices. Thanks to a feature called Handoff, you can browse on your desktop and pick up exactly where you left off on your iPhone or iPad when you are ready to leave.

Safari’s close integration with Apple’s other services extends beyond bookmarks and browsing. On websites that support Apple Pay, you can purchase things directly using Touch ID on your Mac notebook, Face ID or Touch ID on your iPhone or iPad, or even by double-clicking on your Apple Watch.

Safari does have some quirks such as its inability to playback videos above 1080p resolution on YouTube. This has to do with Safari’s non-support of VP9, the video codec YouTube uses to encode videos above 1080p. So if YouTube is a big part of your online life, you might want to consider alternatives.

Powered by the WebKit browser engine, Safari is no performance slouch. It racked up one of the highest scores on the intensive JetStream 2 benchmark — matched only by Google Chrome and Vivaldi. Unsurprisingly, CPU utilization and memory usage were amongst the lowest recorded in our tests too. These findings corroborate with my usage experience. Webpages load quickly and the browsing experience was generally responsive even on my not-so-powerful MacBook Air test machine. Safari makes up for what it lacks in customization with blazing performance.

In closing, despite the dearth of customizability, Safari is an easy recommend for Mac users whose priorities are performance, security, and close integration with other Apple devices.

Vivaldi

• Developer: Vivaldi Technologies
• Engine: Blink (Chromium)
• Desktop platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Price: Free

Pros: Lots of features and customization, especially with tab management

Cons: Not the most intuitive, sluggish when many tabs are opened

Of all the browsers here, Vivaldi is the youngest by far. It was only released about three years ago by Vivaldi Technologies — a new company founded by Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner, who used to be the CEO of Opera Software, and Tatsuki Tomita.

Apart from being the youngest, Vivaldi is also easily the most technical and customizable. After all, it was designed to be a power user’s browser and to appeal to users of Opera who missed features of the old Opera browser that it lost after switching from the Presto engine to Blink. Vivaldi’s extensive settings menu and options make both Google Chrome and Firefox look stuffy and stiff in comparison. And because Vivaldi runs using Blink — the same engine that Google Chrome uses — it will even run Google Chrome extensions.

Vivaldi’s customization options will be a boon to fussy users. Most browsers will let you hide or show the status bar, but Vivaldi goes one step further and lets you display it as an overlay instead of a bar affixed to the bottom of the window. In the same vein, the address bar can be positioned either at the top or bottom of the window, and can even be chosen to show a page load progress bar — perfect for users who need to know everything about how his or her system is running.

But Vivaldi’s most attractive feature, to power users at least, has got to be its extensive tab management options. If you are the type of user that leaves dozens upon dozens of tabs opened, Vivaldi might just be made for you. For a start, the tab bar, like so many of Vivaldi’s other components, can be positioned across the window at the top, bottom, or even to the top left or top right corners. Next, you can even choose where you want new tabs to be opened — after related tabs, as the last tab, or even as a tab stack.

Tab Stack is arguably Vivaldi’s signature feature. With Tab Stack, you can group tabs together on the tab bar. This lets you merge related tabs together or it can be used simply to free up space on the tab bar for even more tabs. There’s even a tile view for stacked tabs so that you can quickly see all the pages in the stack.

Performance was a bit of a mixed bag. While it scored well on JetStream 2 and the HTML 5 test, it also recorded the highest CPU utilization rates and memory usage when we opened 20 tabs simultaneously. In real-world use, Vivaldi felt noticeably sluggish when multiple tabs were opened, especially if you are using advanced tab management features like Tab Stack and Tile View. Even a beastly Core i9 MacBook Pro with 32GB of memory suffered the same slowdowns.

Vivaldi’s target audience of power users meant that it was always going to be the outsider. Though it's refreshing and fun to use, its performance issues make it hard to recommend unless you have a powerful machine or have a specific need for its unique feature set. In the end, rivals like Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari offer speedier and more fuss-free browsing experience.

CPU utilization

The CPU utilization results are interesting. Unsurprisingly, Vivaldi was the most demanding browser. Even scrolling through pages you could tell it wasn’t as smooth and as fluid. In this test, it worked the hardest and for the longest. Opera and Chrome both worked hard when the tabs were launched but settled down more quickly than Vivaldi. As for Firefox, although its CPU utilization rate wasn’t as high as its Chromium-based rivals, it took more time to settle down. Safari was the most efficient browser by a long shot. It maintained low CPU utilization rates and settled down almost as quickly as the rest.

Memory usage

Memory usage is one of the most important considerations because web browsers typically consume a lot of memory — especially when you have a lot of opened tabs and if you visit media-rich sites. With 20 of the most popular websites opened in tabs, we can see that Firefox's and Vivaldi's memory use were the highest. Chrome, despite its reputation of a resource hog, was actually the most frugal, taking up 2.82GB, which is nearly half a GB less than Firefox. Opera and Safari fared well too and weren't too far off from Chrome.

Synthetic benchmarks

On JetStream 2, Safari and the rest of the Chromium-based browsers recorded quite comparable scores. Firefox, however, trailed significantly with just 62.32 points, which is over 30% less than its rivals.

As for HTML 5 compatibility, the Chromium-based trio (Chrome, Opera, and Vivaldi) managed nearly identical scores. Firefox was lagging a tad but Safari managed just 476 points out of a possible of 555. It's lack of support for VP9 played a role in that score.

Conclusion

It’s hard to argue against Google Chrome. Insofar as performance and features are concerned, it’s not difficult to see why Chrome enjoys the popularity that it does. It’s fast (even on a not-so-powerful MacBook Air), adheres to the HTML 5 standard, and is highly customizable. Whether you are just a casual web browser or a power user, Chrome has something to make it work for you. In short, it’s a solid browser that will meet most people’s needs and requirements, even if Google's attitude toward privacy and data collection is questionable.

Opera is a decent alternative too and I really like some of its features like the quick access to instant messengers and built-in converter. Its overall aesthetic is also pleasant and attractive. But if you are really concerned about being tracked and monitored, it’s worth mentioning that Opera is owned by a Chinese consortium and some of its features, like the built-in VPN, have dubious functions and motives.

If you are adamant about avoiding Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari are your next best options.

Vivaldi has tons of features — especially in the realm of tab management — but it is extremely resource-intensive and it ran poorly on the MacBook Air. Even on more powerful machines, slowdowns are a frequent annoyance on Vivaldi. I would recommend only using Vivaldi only if you find its features indispensable.

In the end, if you are concerned about privacy and security, Firefox is arguably the next best thing. Performance may not be its strongest suit, but in the real world, it works well enough. For Mac users and those heavily invested in Apple’s ecosystem of hardware and services, Safari is a no-brainer. It offers class-leading performance and good security features. The only thing it lacks is the customizability of its rivals.

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