Best Mac browser: pick the best Safari alternative for you. We test the best alternative web browsers for Mac. And relative newcomers such as Chrome and the more venerable. When we look for the best and fastest web browsers for Windows, there are many names we can consider. These names include Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Vivaldi, Opera, UC Browser, etc.
Combined, Chrome and Firefox are the browsers of choice for most online users. Chrome accounts for of web users, while Firefox is the browser of choice for more than 5 percent of web users. Although Chrome and Firefox are very popular, it doesn't mean you have to use them. Depending on your needs, there may very well be another browser that’s a better fit.
Here are six alternative browsers worth considering. Vivaldi The browser is a dream for anyone who values customization. Vivaldi enables you to change tab positions, color choices, start page images and more. Users of the Opera browser will be familiar with Vivaldi's interface to some extent, since Opera's former CEO helms Vivaldi. Other remarkable features include a built-in note-taking app, a secondary web page side panel and compatibility with extensions in the Chrome Web Store. Additionally, the browser has features that make navigation easy, such as saved tab sessions, tab stacks and mouse gestures.
However, Vivaldi can use a substantial amount of memory compared to Chrome or Firefox, with syncing passwords and settings also proving more difficult. Torch Media lovers may embrace the, which places multimedia at the top of its priorities. Torch touts a 'Media Grabber' feature, enabling you to download media from the web with a single click.
Additionally, the browser touts a built-in torrent manager, Torch Torrent. Plus, impatient media viewers can watch videos before they finish downloading, courtesy of Torch Player. Torch offers ample options for media lovers, though those who use the web for lighter experiences, like reading and sending emails, may find the browser's abundance of features overbearing. Some users also report stability issues when installing. As Torch is based off of Chromium, it will look familiar to Chrome users and is compatible with extensions from the 3.
Epic Privacy Browser If privacy and security are your top priorities when browsing the web, the may be the browser for you. Touting itself as the world's only private and secure browser, the Epic Privacy Browser features a free built-in VPN, protecting your browsing history from data collectors and your ISP, even when you're on public Wi-Fi.
Other browsers have incognito modes, but Epic promises an even more secure experience, with the ability to block WebRTC calls and special fingerprinting techniques websites use to extract data. As Epic is also based off of Chromium, it is compatible with extensions from the 4. Ghost Browser presents an interesting approach for those seeking to separate their online browsing experiences. For example, you can have separate tabs for your work account and personal account, helping reduce distractions. Tabbed projects are also available, which is very useful when you're working on a project and want to bring up all relevant bookmarks in a single click.
Plus, Ghost Browser is a Chromium browser, so it's compatible with the Chrome Web Store. Although Ghost Browser has a free version, its options limit users to three sessions at a time and do not include an incognito mode, so the $10- to $20-per-month cost for the upgrade may deter some users. Midori If you're seeking a lightweight browsing solution, is worth strong consideration. The browser touts high speed, while still having the ability to handle web technologies like CSS 3 and HTML 5. Plus, Midori is compatible across a variety of Linux distributions. Although Midori may lack the media options and customization of other browsers, it remains one of the fastest-responding and lightest-weight browsers available.
Opera Neon strives to provide a peek at future browsing, with a futuristic and sharp interface complementing features like responsive tabs and improved visual functions, like a split-screen mode, video pop-out, a built-in snap-to-gallery tool and a newly built Omnibox. The browser is still in its early stages, and is therefore more unstable, though its features offer an exciting look at the potential of future web browsers. A multitude of browsers exist beyond Chrome and Firefox, all offering different emphases that may be a great fit for your browsing preferences. Try these six as a starting point, or branch out and see what else you can find on your own.
FYI: For anyone who turned on Strict Site Isolation in Vivaldi based on Google's recommendation to turn it on if you wanted extra protection to prevent exploitation of CPU side channel vulnerabilities, then note that Vivaldi 1.15 (the latest stable version they released on the 24th) has a bug that prevents interaction with certain things (Google reCAPTCHA v2, embedded YouTube videos, LastPass extension popups, some abnormal form fields, etc) if you have Strict Site Isolation turned on. It's unfortunate, however the Vivaldi team seems to have completely ignored the bug (at least from a public perspective), and the only response at all has been one of their forum moderators repeatedly blaming the bug on Google. The Vivaldi forum moderator claims that the bug is due to Strict Site Isolation being broken in Chromium 65, which Vivaldi 1.15 is based on.
He also claims that the bug doesn't exist in Google Chrome because Google has proprietary/internal fixes that they don't share with others, however for some reason he continued claiming this after being told that Strict Site Isolation works fine in third-party builds of the Chromium 65 source code.
Google Chrome dominates the browser market worldwide with a massive share, leaving the rest to other web browsers. To be honest, Chrome provides a really good web browsing experience with a seamless functioning across multiple devices. However, we all know that such a smooth experience comes at a cost — our personal data. We know that Google tracks us relentlessly and the onslaught of personalized ads gets really annoying at some point.
Even if we keep it aside, there are serious problems like heavy RAM usage that makes your device sluggish. So whatever may be your reason to leave Chrome and seek other options, here is a list of best Google Chrome alternatives for you. Before we do that, do check out some of our other lists of alternatives for other popular applications and services:. Top 10 Google Chrome Alternatives For Browsing Privately 1. Firefox Mozilla’s Firefox is the best alternative to Chrome in terms of speed and privacy. It allows far more control over privacy and lets you control the data you share on the web.
There is a dedicated “Tracking Protection” feature which prevents websites from tracking you. Recently, Mozilla released the “” feature which alerts you immediately in case your email ID or password is involved in a data breach. The best part is that Firefox comes with several Chrome-like features. So if you switch browsers, you won’t be missing Google anytime soon. Firefox can handle a large number of open tabs without getting lousy because it doesn’t hog your RAM like Chrome. It also offers a large collection of add-ons and extensions that you could use.
Available for: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS Why use Firefox?. Fast, secure, and easily customizable. Features like Tracking Protection, Firefox Monitor, etc. Pleasing UI 2. Tor Browser Tor is quite a popular choice among those who regularly use privacy-focused browsers. In fact, Tor has become a synonym for the anti-surveillance movement as it is built on a network of ‘hidden’ relay servers.
This browser can obscure your public IP address by bouncing your connection through a number of distributed nodes. Available for: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android Why use Tor?.
Best privacy focused browser. Guarantees anonymity 3. Opera Opera browser has been around for a very long time now and stands as one of the best Chrome alternatives to surf web. It introduced cool features like speed dial and tabbed browsing to us. This Chromium-based browser feels similar to Chrome in terms of usage, and it packs some great features like the built-in ad-blocker that lets you surf the internet minus the ads.
Another useful feature is the Opera Turbo Mode that compresses data to open web pages more quickly. But my personal favorite is the built-in unlimited VPN tool which comes in really handy while unlocking region locked content and protecting your privacy. Besides these, there is a bunch of other useful features like battery saver mode, and you should try Opera yourself to find how good this Chrome alternative is. Available for: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS Why use Opera?.
Bunch of useful built-in features like VPN tool, Ad-Blocker, Turbo Mode, Battery Saver, etc. Good UI that comes in a dark theme as well 4. Vivaldi If you need a browser with customizable UI, Vivaldi is a perfect option for you.
This Chrome alternative lets you play with its unique themes that include different shades and of course, a dark one too. The best part is these themes can be changed throughout the day if you create a schedule. Vivaldi also offers an editable sidebar that can be placed anywhere as you deem fit. You can add your favorite chat apps, social feeds, or news sites, or any other website to this bar for quick access. What I really like is about Vivaldi is its adaptive interface. The browser picks up the primary color of the website you are viewing to use it as an accent color. Another useful feature is the ability to stack tabs and save them as sessions that can be viewed later.
As far as security is concerned, Vivaldi does not collect user data and encrypts your personal information while syncing across devices. Available for: Windows, macOS, Linux Why use Vivaldi?. Customizable UI which includes changing themes, effects, and sidebar. Mouse gestures, Tab Hibernation (saves memory when the tab is not in active use) 5. Brave Brave is another open-source web browser by the co-founders of Mozilla project. It blocks ads and trackers that slow you down and invade your privacy.
But here is the best part — the browser has a feature called Brave Payments that allows you to reward the sites that you visit frequently. You regularly get tokens from the browser that you can donate to the publisher to compensate for the ads that get blocked while browsing. Why use Brave?. Loads pages faster. Blocks ads and user tracking. Password management 6. Torch Browser Torch is another alternative to Google that comes loaded with multimedia-based features.
This browser has a built-in Media Grabber that lets you save audio or video files from the internet. You can play videos in the Torch Player even before they have finished downloading. For easy and quick downloading, it has a built-in torrent client, so you can manage torrents straight from the browser. The browser comes music extension “Torch Music” that lets you play music for free. For further entertainment, it has a gaming extension named “Torch Games” where you can play tons of free games right on the browser. Overall, I’d say Torch is the best Google Chrome alternative if you are someone who likes to download lots of media from the internet.
Available for: Windows Why use Torch Browser?. Multimedia-focused features like built-in media downloader, torrent, audio/video player. Great for entertainment. Extensions for Gaming, Music, Social Media 7. Safari If you are an iOS or macOS user, you already have Safari installed on your device. It is undoubtedly one of the best alternatives to Chrome as it is not only fast but also secure. Apple has worked hard on user privacy features of Safari.
It automatically blocks ad trackers from following your footprints on the internet. This browser also prevents videos from auto-playing on websites and for those who would like to read content on the web without any distractions; it provides a clean user interface in its ‘reading mode.’ Just like Chrome, you can save articles for offline reading, and it comes handy especially on the iPhone. As far as speed is concerned, Safari performs well, and it syncs really well across all the Apple devices you use. Available for: iOS, macOS Why use Safari?. One of the best Chrome alternatives for Apple users. Offers speed and privacy 8. Microsoft Edge Now let’s talk about Windows users who still haven’t tried Microsoft Edge.
If you are still stuck with the image of Internet Explorer in your mind, I will urge you to think twice. Microsoft’s Edge looks nothing like its predecessor and offers a faster browsing experience than IE. In fact, this browser comes with its unique features that aren’t present on Chrome. Among them, my favorite is the reading list feature where I can create a list of articles I’d like to catch up later. You can even choose to draw, write, and highlight on parts of a web page without installing any extensions or plugins. It also lets you read both PDF files and eBooks natively and comes with a built-in Cortana integration.
Available for: Windows, Android, iOS Why use Microsoft Edge?. Reading list for articles. Voice assist with Cortana. Annotations for web pages and PDFs 9. Epic The next alternative to Chrome also focuses on user privacy. Even though Epic browser does not use a specialized onion network like Tor, it can protect your privacy from the common tracking methods. It has built-in protection against tracking, crypto-mining, ultrasound signaling, fingerprinting and malware.
Another significant feature is its one-click encryption tool that can hide your IP address on activation and encrypt your traffic. It hides your footprints on the web and avoids surveillance.
Epic browser doesn’t save your history, and there is no DNS pre-fetching, third-party cookies or autofill feature. On closing a browsing session, the browser automatically deletes any database, preference, cookies associated with your account. Why use Epic?. Always-On Private Browsing mode.
Prevents surveillance and tracking. Blocks ads, cryptocurrency mining scripts, and malware.
One-click encryption tool Available for: Windows, Mac 10. Yandex This Chrome alternative comes from the Russian web search corporation Yandex that uses the Blink web browser engine. Yandex is a Chromium-based browser that gives a tough competition to Google in almost all spheres. Yandex has gained popularity owing to its security features such DNSCrypt technology which encrypts DNS traffic between computer and servers. It can automatically encrypt the communication whenever you connect to an open WiFi network. This browser also checks webpage security with the Yandex security system and downloaded files with Kaspersky anti-virus. To load the web pages faster, it uses Opera’s Turbo technology on slow connections.
Besides this, Yandex browser lets you install extensions from Chrome Web Store and use Opera Add-ons too. Available for: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android Why use Yandex?. Personalized articles, news, and videos on the homepage. Turbo mode for faster loading.
DNS Spoofing protection. Customizable UI Browse safely and anonymously with these Chrome alternatives This brings us to the end of this list. All the browsers mentioned here are best alternatives to Chrome in terms of speed, privacy, security and ease of use. I’d recommend users to pick any of the above based on their requirements. So feel free to try these options and in case there is some other good browser like Google that deserves a place in this list of best Google Chrome alternatives, feel free to drop suggestions in the comment box below!