What are the best web browsers for Windows?

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score 18 · Accepted Answer

Mozilla Firefox

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Top Pro

Free, open source and community driven

Firefox is available as a free download. All Mozilla software is licensed under the Mozilla Public License. Instructions on how to obtain the source code can be found here. See More

Top Con

Heavy and consumes a lot of memory

Mozilla developers should think on this as the new Microsoft Edge browser steals less memory and it just pops up the moment you open it. In the case of Mozilla, you have to wait for after clicking it for opening it. See More

Raghu Ranganathan's Experience

Firefox is a browser which has been shaped by experience(over 13 years!) it uses an open source engine, works smoothly, and doesn't exert heavy loads on my system. It is the most reliable browser I have used till date, and probably the most customizable one. Transparent development and an enormous cooperative community make this and excellent browser. See More

Specs

Price:Free

JavaScript Engine:SpiderMonkey

CSS Engine:Quantum Stylo (Based on the Servo Project) (Formerly Gecko)

Supported ECMAScript Version:6 (Firefox 60)

Top Pro

Awesome customizability

Top Con

Installing some extensions still requires restarting the browser

While some of the developers already allow users to install their extensions without the need to restart the browser, not all of the extensions have been updated to support non-restart installation yet, as some developers have yet to add special code to do so. See More

Top Pro

Strong developer tool

The built-in developer tools have been merged with the popular FireBug extension since FF57. See More

Top Con

Many Addons are not updated/adapted for the new Quantum version (version >=57)

Top Pro

Syncs between devices

Firefox Sync is an optional feature in Firefox that allows syncing bookmarks, passwords, and add-ons between devices. See More

Top Con

It's a memory hog even though Mozilla they claim it is not

Mozilla claims it's using 30% less RAM than chrome but in real life tests it uses much more. See More

Top Pro

Good font rasterizing

Font rasterizing on Windows is much better than in competitors. Even smaller text is clear and contrast. See More

Top Con

Installs Addons with updates

Mozilla is installing/integrating addons with every update like the Mr.Robot promotion - it also has integrated Pocket that spams you evertime you open the browser or a new tab with partners of Pocket. See More

Top Pro

Lower memory fingerprint than competitors

Firefox used to be a trailer in memory usage, but as of 2017 it's less hungry for memory than competitors like Edge, Chrome, Safari and Opera. See More

Top Con

Unstable add-ons

E10s has already caused many extensions to not work properly. Also, in November, only add-ons with WebExtension API can be installed. See More

Top Pro

High performance

The Firefox Quantum update (FF57) greatly increases the render speed and general performance of the browser, by taking better advantage of the user's hardware. See More

Top Con

Updates not in sync with updates of (key) extensions

A key extension can suddenly becomes useless because extension updates tend to fall behind the updates of Firefox. See More

Top Pro

Text-to-speech (with adjustable speed) without add-ons

Firefox Reader Mode includes Narrate, a feature that adds text-to-speech functionality to the browser. See More

Top Con

Very very slow

Not only is it slow to load, but individual tabs take MUCH longer to load than any other browser out there. See More

Top Pro

Easy screenshots without extensions

Within the browser itself, you can easily take screenshots and save them to your computer. See More

Top Con

No support for ALSA since version 52

You must use PulseAudio if you need sound in Firefox. See More

Top Pro

Use Less Resource

Firefox 57 (Quantum) and newer uses less resources than ever. It is proven with benchmark done by AppleInsider. See More

Top Con

Doesn't care for its original guidelines/goals

Mozilla originally aimed to be the "good guys" with user choice and privacy in mind. Their current leadership cannot be trusted to hold those goals in high regard: 1) Added Pocket - a privacy data sensitive plugin, made it mandatory. 2) Tried to sneak in advertisement as "drive-by hack", backpedaled unconvincingly once users complained: https://www.cnet.com/news/mozilla-backpedals-after-mr-robot-firefox-misstep/ 3) Tried to randomly inject a small percentage of Firefox downloads in Germany with a data collecting plugin (Cliqz) that tech-savy Germans consider adware (no opt-out question asked) : https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1406647 See More

Top Pro

Tagging bookmarks

Firefox is one of the few browsers that you can tag your bookmarks. You can view a list of tags and can search your bookmarks in the address bar with tags. See More

Top Con

Switches from HTTP version of a page to its HTTPS version wtihout notification

Even though the HTTPS page might have different content (yes bad website design, but if your browser does something automatically you don't expect, it should tell you). See More

Top Pro

Fast bookmark management

In order to add an open page to the bookmark bar, the tab can be dragged down and is added immediately. See More

Top Con

Slow performance in OS X

Uses a lot of resources and feels slower than the Linux and Windows versions. See More

Top Pro

Reader View

Reader View in Firefox allows users to read an article without any distractions by removing ads, unrelated elements and other distractive objects (similar to Microsoft Edge's Reading Mode and Safari's reader mode). See More

Top Con

Poor enterprise support

Does not use standard management tools such as GPO or Profile management. No MSI. See More

Top Pro

Automatically updated

Firefox is automatically updated on the platforms where it makes sense. See More

Top Con

Uses GTK on Linux/BSD

Makes the integration on non-GTK Desktop Environments very hard. See More

Top Pro

Ethical and pragmatic company mission

The Mozilla Manifesto outlines the company's mission and principles. Paraphrasing, they want the Internet to be a free and open resource, and to enable individuals to get the best use of that resource. They do this by creating open source software to which anyone may contribute, so long as such contributions fit with their principles (both ethical and technical). See More

Top Pro

Strong HTML5 feature support

Firefox scores strongly on HTML5 feature support. See More

Top Pro

Integration with Pocket

Firefox comes with build-in Pocket integration that can allow users to quickly save the article for a read it later function to easily find any articles saved in Pocket from various sources and devices. See More

Top Pro

Multi-account containers

See All

The Best 1 of 7 OptionsWhy?

My Recommendation for Mozilla Firefox

My Recommendation for Mozilla Firefox

Free, open source and community driven

Heavy and consumes a lot of memory

Awesome customizability

Installing some extensions still requires restarting the browser

Strong developer tool

Many Addons are not updated/adapted for the new Quantum version (version >=57)

Syncs between devices

It's a memory hog even though Mozilla they claim it is not

Good font rasterizing

Installs Addons with updates

Lower memory fingerprint than competitors

Unstable add-ons

High performance

Updates not in sync with updates of (key) extensions

Text-to-speech (with adjustable speed) without add-ons

Very very slow

Easy screenshots without extensions

No support for ALSA since version 52

Use Less Resource

Doesn't care for its original guidelines/goals

Tagging bookmarks

Switches from HTTP version of a page to its HTTPS version wtihout notification

Fast bookmark management

Slow performance in OS X

Reader View

Poor enterprise support

Automatically updated

Uses GTK on Linux/BSD

Ethical and pragmatic company mission

Strong HTML5 feature support

Integration with Pocket

Multi-account containers

6 Other Options Considered

My Recommendation for Vivaldi

My Recommendation for Vivaldi

Custom search engines

No automatic page translation

Compatible with most Chrome extensions

Can't protect pinned tabs from changing to another URL

Tabs can be stacked

No option to force links to open in new tabs

Built for power users

Not available on your Phone/Tablet

Notes

No VPN

Reader mode

Customizable UI

Tab behaviour can be customised

Ability to search through settings, history, open tabs, bookmarks in one place

Tab bar position can be changed

Full of customizable keyboard shortcuts (can be completely keyboard-driven)

WebRTC IP leaking can be disabled

Faster than Firefox or Chrome

Mouse gestures

Cross-browser extensions with Opera and Chrome, Firefox web-ext's too

Built-in page capture

VPN is available by extension- also routing through Tor network

Allows navigating to the next page without searching for the link

Non-closable fixed tabs

Cross-platform

Faster than Firefox and Safari

Synchronisation

Manages bookmarks very well

Updates via dialog box

Web Panels

My Recommendation for Google Chrome

My Recommendation for Google Chrome

Syncs between devices

Huge memory hog

Excellent HTML 5 feature support

Online tracking by default

Simple user interface

Bad for battery life

Plenty of extensions

Increasingly slow

Backed and supported by Google

Proprietary