When comparing Microsoft Edge (Chromium) vs Brave, the Slant community recommends Brave for most people. In the question“What are the best desktop web browsers?” Brave is ranked 9th while Microsoft Edge (Chromium) is ranked 24th. The most important reason people chose Brave is:
Released to the community under the Mozilla Public License (MPL), this software respect the FSF's four freedoms, including the freedom to use, modify, and redistribute with or without modification freely.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Fast
Pro Supports Chrome extensions
As it is built on Chromium.
Pro Better web compatibility
Uses the same engine as Chromium so web pages render better.
Pro More private
During the launch of Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, the company claimed to have removed more than 50 services intended to collect user data. The improvement in this aspect does not come only from the hand of privacy, but also from optimization. The privacy settings are also a lot simpler to understand, more robust, and better than Chrome. There are three modes, basic, balanced and strict.
Pro Faster than Chrome and other browsers
It uses less RAM, has tracking prevention and accelerates the hardware when possible.
Pro Built on Chromium
Microsoft are contributing to Chromium.
Pro Great UI
It will soon get a new UI codenamed Phoenix. Very cool.
Pro Consumes much less battery than Chrome and other alternatives
Pro Preinstalled in most Windows 10 devices
Most Windows 10 devices have Microsoft Edge preinstalled.
Pro Has built-in ad blocking features
If you select the "strict" option in the Microsoft Edge settings, it practically becomes an ad blocker.
Pro Fast enough, fair privacy protection and compatible with chrome extensions
Pro Has its own built-in plugin web store
Microsoft edge support both, microsoft edge add-ons and chrome web store
Pro Replaces the old pre-installed Edge
Since the old Edge isn't removable on most PCs.
Pro You can earn money with this Browser
with microsoft rewards and Edge you can earn money
Pro Free integrated VPN
Pro Good features for teams to work together, like workspaces
free Office integrated
Pro Lots of features
Pro Sidebar with AI features and new Edge Drop
Edge drop is a good way to integrate your phone into windows
Pro Useful features like the reader mode
Pro Free/libre software
Released to the community under the Mozilla Public License (MPL), this software respect the FSF's four freedoms, including the freedom to use, modify, and redistribute with or without modification freely.
Pro Option to disable additional privacy concerns
Like fingerprint tracking.
Pro Takes care of privacy and security
Takes privacy seriously by blocking ads and trackers and not tracking people's searches. Things like HTTPS everywhere and no tracking are standard with Brave. In most other browsers, things like these are optional at best.
Pro Built-in adblocking
Other apps make it difficult to block ads without rooting your phone or going through unoptimized add-on stores, but Link Bubble blocks them out of the box, making browsing much less crowded. Contains an optional "Allow Brave Acceptable Ads" So you can support the site you truly enjoy.
Pro Optional feature for you to get reimbursed for viewing ads
Basic Attention Token; you can decide to opt into a new blockchain-based digital advertising system, giving publishers a better deal and users a share of the ad revenue for their attention.
Pro Now supports Chrome Webstore
It's now a faster, less intrusive Chrome.
Pro Tor is available right in the browser
Private Window with Tor hides your IP address from the sites you visit.
Pro Faster than Google Chrome
Brave consistently beats Chrome in speed, might have to do with less tracking being run in the background.
Pro Very fast
The fastest browser out there.
Pro Sync is now available
Option to synchronize data between devices using peer-to-peer connections. No sign-in required, only a sync code.
Pro Option to pay supported sites based on view time percentage
Set up automatic micro-donations. Brave will automatically divide a monthly donation among the top sites you visit.
And/or, you can decide which sites get what percentage of your donation. It’s called pinning.
Pro Supports the latest technologies
Brave regularly adds new functionalities like decentralized domain support and a native crypto wallet long before Chrome considers them. These features to be disabled in settings.
Pro Developed by creator of Mozilla and Javascript
Pro Cross-platform Web Browser
Brave is available on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS
Cons
Con Microsoft sends all your browsing history to Microsoft and tracks you by default
Microsoft Edge collects less information than Chrome, but still is collecting data about you and your interests.
Con Synchronization between PC and phone is weak
Although synchronization between computers is similar to Chrome, synchronization between PCs - phone is weak.
Con Unlike the legacy version, it doesn't have the option to set aside tabs which was a very useful feature
It does give you the option to give feedback for people who want setting tabs aside back, but it's not likely they're going to add it.
Con (Integration with) Windows designed by Microsoft so that deinstall/ install of browser of user choice is extremely elaborate
Let's just wait to see history repeat itself, and Micorsoft being fined for it. (Again!)
Con Design similar to Google Chrome
Con Brave is an Ad company
Brave Software is a for-profit company (though users must opt into Brave ads and Brave doesn't track users.)
Con Download package is very large considering it as a browser
Brave takes on a lot of roles besides just browsing so it is understandably a larger file.
Con Useless built-in 'ad blocker'
Its adblocker is useless to be honest. Since the extension uBlock Origin is a great blocker by itself, the Brave ad blocker does not block every ad!
Con Quite intrusive advertisements, especially on Windows
Advertisements keep popping up in the Windows notification center. Must opt in to ad system, but no option to disable sound for ad notifications only.
Con Still dependent on Google
Since it's based on Chrome.
Con Uses much RAM
1 tab, 400+ RAM, also it depends on what website you're on.
Con Same security-holes as Chrome
On the desktop: Brave uses the same browser engine as Chrome, meaning it has the same security-holes as Chrome. Chrome is a big target for hackers (being the most popular browser in the world), and a webpage that will hack Chrome may also hack Brave.
However, Brave has security features that Chrome doesn't (such as a built-in adblocker). Those features will stop many hacking attempts.
Con Doesn't remove search engine ads
Con No reader view
Can be accessed with an extension though.
Con Dumbed down in the latest versions
In previous versions, Brave felt more like Firefox. Now it's been dumbed down, it feels more like Chrome/Chromium. For example: There's no menu-bar.
Con The iPhone version has some odd behavior
On reopening Brave, it often returns you to the "search results" page, rather than the webpage you had previously browsed to from the search results page. Might just be a specific configuration.
Con Cache dump
Doesn't clear cache well, shows same page even after emptying it until you ctrl+F5 to get fresh page every time you visit the page(s).
Con A browser for NFT-ers(?)
There would be less of a problem with using Web3 solutions if they weren't sometimes looking like an art for art's sake, a jerkcircle shoving down it's own topic down the users' throat. Replacing the Web 2.0 with another commercial solution is bound to end up as a reinvention of the wheel, where even more commercialization and direct monetization will push digital exclusion. Non-profit open source community has achieved great things while so far NFTs and cryptos are, not without a reason, ridiculed.
Con Sync issues
Unable to sync extensions, no cloud sync (only device sync).
Con Appearance
No options to customize apperance, and make the bookmarks appear on the home page, for instance.
Con Creator support limited
Most creators don't use it and so will not profit from the crypto system.
Con Poor Customer Support
Only customer support available in Brave community. Mods usually does not help.
Con Promotes search engines that track users such as Bing and Google
Google Search is the first search engine on the list.
Con Bookmark management
Bookmark management is not as seamless as other browsers.
Con No cloud sync like Firefox
Con Power hungry, uses much more battery power than other browsers
Per default Brave enables hardware acceleration which results in a much higher energy (battery) consumption than the most other web browsers.
Con Hypocritical/deceptive stance on privacy and advertisement
Brave is advertised as a browser that respects your privacy and blocks ads while still supporting content creators. However, at the same time the company is making deals with Facebook, Twitter and others to whitelist their trackers and ads