When comparing Mozilla Firefox vs Vivaldi, the Slant community recommends Mozilla Firefox for most people. In the question“What are the best desktop web browsers?” Mozilla Firefox is ranked 3rd while Vivaldi is ranked 6th. The most important reason people chose Mozilla Firefox is:
Firefox [scores strongly on HTML5 feature support](http://html5test.com/results/desktop.html). Though not as strongly as Chromium/Chrome browsers do.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Strong HTML5 feature support
Firefox scores strongly on HTML5 feature support.
Though not as strongly as Chromium/Chrome browsers do.
Pro Syncs between devices
Firefox Sync is an optional feature in Firefox that allows syncing bookmarks, passwords, and add-ons between devices.
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.
Pro Respects your privacy
Mozilla is one of the first browsers that advocates privacy. They believe that internet should be in the user's control and not those who run the websites, and so they give tools inside the browser to make the user be more in control.
Pro Strong developer tool
The built-in developer tools have been merged with the popular FireBug extension since FF57.
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.
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).
Pro One of the few browsers not using Chrome's Blink engine
Firefox uses its own rendering engine (called Gecko), instead of Google-controlled Blink like the vast majority of other browsers.
Pro Fast
With new integrations focused on security and performance, Firefox is faster and less likely to have problems during use than ever before.
Pro Open Source
Open Source means that you can see the source code. So everybody even if they don't work for Mozilla is able to look what the browser does in the background. So you can be 100% sure that Firefox doesn't have hidden "spy features" unlike Google Chrome.
Pro Good font rasterizing
Font rasterizing on Windows is much better than in competitors. Even smaller text is clear and contrast.
Pro Automatically updated
Firefox is automatically updated on the platforms where it makes sense.
Pro Uses less resources
Firefox 57 (Quantum) and newer uses less resources than ever. It is proven with benchmark done by AppleInsider.
Pro Dark theme
Beyond the toolbar and tabs, it darkens UI elements such as the URL-bar, pop-downs, new-tab page and more.
Pro Awesome customizability
Great library of add-ons.
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.
Pro Really independent browser
It's not dependent on Google.
Pro Screenshot tool
Powerful screenshot tool built right into the browser.
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).
Pro A lot of add-ons
An enormous number of add-ons.
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.
Pro Built-in privacy protection
Blocks tracking cookies, finger print scanners and Cryptominers by default. Can be changed to the user's individual needs.
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.
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.
Pro Very secure
Pro Firefox experiments
FF experiments are Mozilla projects available from FF Test Pilot, such as Firefox Colour, witch lets you customise your browser theme to your liking!
Pro Firefox Lockwise password management
Helps store your usernames and passwords. Lockwise also lets you know if any of the sites you have login details for have had their (and potentially your) data leaked!
Pro HTML5 video preload
The only web browser that only preloads entire HTML5 video which is useful for slow internet.
Pro Mobile
Firefox has a solid mobile app.
Pro Integration with Pocket
Firefox comes with built-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.
Pro Installed by default on many Linux distributions
Many Linux distributions come preinstalled with Mozilla Firefox
Pro About:config
Master about:config and uBlock Origin, and all Firefox-based browsers will be yours.
Pro WebRender
The newer versions of it will soon use WebRender to render webpages, which'll make it much more efficient by utilizing GPU to paint webpages.
Pro UI
UI is better than any other chromium-based browser.
Pro Compatible with all Chrome extensions
Since Vivaldi is built on Chromium, the same base as Chrome (among other browsers) is built on, it was possible for Vivaldi developers to allow Chrome extensions to run in their browser.
Pro Tabs can be stacked
Tabs can be grouped under a single tab to easily keep track of all open webpages.
Pro Lots of features and customizability
Vivaldi has a lot of features and customizability. Far more then most (perhaps all) other browses, and many to list them all individuality as separate pros.
Pro Ability to search through settings, history, open tabs, bookmarks in one place
A feature called Quick Commands (accessed via Ctrl + Q) allows quickly getting to settings, history, open tabs, bookmarks with incremental search.
Pro Full of customizable keyboard shortcuts (can be completely keyboard-driven)
It's possible to change and add keyboard shortcuts for basically all commands. It also has single key shortcuts to execute actions with one click.
Pro PC Cross-platform
Vivaldi is available on Windows, GNU/Linux and macOS, so it covers the most used PC operating systems.
Pro Notes
A notes panel allows to save notes from webpages and can include screenshots for reference and have tags and organized in folders to help manage them. Thumbnails are too small and Notes do not have separate page in settings, but it should, there are a lot of things to improve.
Pro Web Panels
Web Panels allow for easy access to any site from the side panel. They are useful for reading two websites side by side or for chatting (i.e. Facebook) and surfing at the same time. Panels can be hidden when not in use.
Pro Custom search engines
You can add as many search engines as you like. For example you can set up one for YouTube, one for Wikipedia, or whatever you want: you need only the URL of the search and it can be used from the URL bar (by prefixing it's nickname, yt
for YouTube for example).
Pro Synchronisation
Everything can be synced with a Vivaldi account. Though there's still no mobile version, you can sync between computers and OSes.
Pro Tab behaviour can be customised
The order you toggle, open, close or clone tabs can be modified to match a workflow that best works for you. For example you can choose tabs to toggle in recent order so you can go back and forth between the last most useful tabs without needing to change their position on the tab bar.
Pro Tab bar position can be changed
You can change tab bar position to top, bottom left or right.
Pro Mouse gestures
Integrated mouse gestures. Fully configurable as of Vivaldi 1.2 (snapshot available now). Allows for navigating the web, switching tabs, closing windows, opening settings etc. with a flick of the mouse.
Pro Dark theme out of the box
There's even an option to automatically transition from light to dark based on the time of day.
Pro Manages bookmarks well
Vivaldi has an excellent bookmarks system. Bookmarks can be easily accessible via Speed Dial, side-bar, bookmarks bar, quick commands. No more messy bookmarks bar is needed and location bar suggestion is improved thus!
Pro Built-in page capture
Vivaldi can grab a picture of the whole webpage or part of it and saves it automatically inside a note or as a file in your disk, or in your elected directory. But I have problems with images of full windows shown on monitor (using X Window System in GNU/Linux). Here I use system XWindow screenshots.
Pro Analytical history
View graphically your most visited pages on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis.
Pro Non-closable fixed tabs
A setting lets you prevent closing fixed tabs so you don't close anything important by accident.
Pro Fast and safe
It is so faster and safer.
Pro Programmable user interface
For you programmers out there: Since Vivaldi uses JavaScript, React, Node.js, Browserify and multiple npm packages to build the browser, it can be customized with ease by anyone who knows HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Pro Saving sessions
It saves oversights many options and functions implemented in Vivaldi. E.g. see CON "No option to open saved tab stack as... tab stack!"
Pro Reader mode
Vivaldi has a built-in reader mode so you can remove all the clutter in news pages and read only the content, you can also customise the reader mode, like font size, style and colours.
Pro Usable fullscreen mode with address bar when needed
In comparison, on Chrome you will not see the address bar, only on ChromeOS when your mouse is on the top of the screen.
Pro Built-in ad and tracker blocker
Vivaldi has a built-in blocker that allows you to select between blocking just trackers or both trackers and ads. With customizable blocking list sources, good performance, and support for all the standard blocker list features you find in ad blocker extensions (with more to come), you might not need an ad blocker extension at all.
This also comes in handy on Android, where Chromium/Vivaldi doesn't support extensions.
Pro Allows navigating to the next page without searching for the link
A feature called "fast forward" puts a dedicated button before the address bar. It takes you to the next page of a multi-page article, forum thread, or search results, without having to hunt for the link.
Pro WebRTC IP leaking can be disabled
A built-in setting called "Broadcast IP" will stop the IP leaking with WebRTC when disabled.
Pro GDPR compliant
Respects Privacy.
Pro Updates via dialog box
Unlike most modern browsers (but like most browsers of yesteryear), Vivaldi gives you a dialog box when an new version comes out; it doesn't just update silently in the background. The dialog box tells you about the changes that have been made, and lets you chose when you want to update.
Pro Portable version can be added on default apps
Most portable version cannot be added as default apps but Vivaldi offers that option and it comes with updater too.
Pro Single-key keyboard shortcuts (if you wish)
The optional feature for controling various functions (e.g. opening, closing and switching of tabs) by pressing just a single key rather than two turns out to be an extremely convenient extra.
Pro Easy UI zoom, i.e. adjusting the size of all user interface text
Relieve your eyes or save space on the screen – your choice!
Pro Shortcuts/nicknames for URLs
Just bookmark a page and you can henceforth open it by a shortname of your choosing.
Pro Allows for TOR hidden services (.Onion)
Only with a VPN that offers TOR connectivity.
Pro Customizable UI Theme and colors
Vivaldi can change the colors across the browser and has the option to change the color automatically depending on the page. Also, page loading animations are available in the address bar.
Pro Side panel and status bar
Unlike most modern browsers (but like most browsers of yesteryear), Vivaldi has a status bar. But the status bar is optional, you can turn it off (in the settings) if you don't want it. Vivaldi also has a side-panel, which again, can be turned off.
Cons
Con Some built-in advertising
With their new "pocket" feature, they offer advertisements built-in.
Con Cannot directly translate page
Unlike Google Chrome, if you visit a website with a different language, you cannot translate it, which is a bad user experience for some.
Con Lack of keyboard shortcuts customization
Keyboard shortcuts can not be changed in a user-friendly way.
It is also difficult to manipulate addons with hotkeys.
Con When you search in a website (Ctrl + F) there are no marks appearing in the right scrollbar
All Chromium based browsers have this feature.
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 every time you open the browser or a new tab with partners of Pocket.
Con Uses Google as its default search engine
Which is pretty ironic for a browser that's focused on "privacy".
Con Sometimes very buggy and slow
On sites like twitch.tv chat scrolling is still not fixed. Compared to other browsers Firefox is still very slow and feels sluggish.
Con Uses GTK on Linux/BSD
This makes the integration on non-GTK Desktop Environments very hard.
Con Multi Profile is not user friendly
Multi profile requires commandline -no remote to use and open about:profiles to create manually (on Chrome, you can instantly create them on right top user button).
Con Antivirus has False positives
All Downloads in Firefox are scanned for viruses, but there are a lot of false positives.
Con Doesn’t support multiple languages for spell check
If you write in multiple languages, you need to manually switch the spell check language.
Con Terrible user interface
Con Crappy license
Cannot redistribute binary after source code modification.
Con Major updates may break any installed add-ons
Con Now forces install and use of snap
Only on Ubuntu
Con New icon looks ugly
Con GTK Themes styles the HTML forms
If you're in Linux and you use a dark GTK theme that uses white text and come to a webpage that forces black text on html-forms buttons you will get black buttons with unreadable black text.
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
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).
Con It's a memory hog even though Mozilla claims it is not
Mozilla claims it's using 30% less RAM than Chrome but in real life tests it uses much more.
Con Some non-optional telemetry
According to its privacy policy, Vivaldi sends an approximate location (country or major city), randomized ID, version, cpu architecture, screen resolution (to know what screen sizes to test on) and time since last message every 24 hours (to know amount of active users).
Con Enabling "Hardware Accelerated Scrolling" can make scrolling jittery
Con No Fingerprint Protection
Vivaldi doesn't include fingerprint randomization like Brave does by default or configured Firefox/ Librewolf.
Con Sponsored bookmarks
Vivaldi has a number of preinstalled bookmarks, like Amazon. On some occasions, new bookmarks have been added when the browser updates. All of these bookmarks can be deleted, same as any other bookmark.
Con Can't protect pinned tabs from changing to another URL
Clicking on a page link, then another, easy to wind up far from the original pinned tab site. There is no chrome addon or native vivaldi function to stop this.
Con Can't disable all telemetry
Vivaldi needs some amount of knowledge about the amount of active users, for business deals.
Con Same security vulnerabilities as Chrome
Vivaldi uses the same browser engine as Chrome, meaning it has the same security-vulnerabilities as Chrome. Chrome is a big target for hackers (being the most popular browser in the world), and a vulnerability for Chrome will likely also exist in Vivaldi.
Con No automatic silent background updates, except on macOS
Unlike most modern browsers, Vivaldi doesn't have the option to update silently in the background. It gives you a dialog box when an update comes out. The box doesn't warn you that not updating the browser could expose you to security risks, which could be pretty bad for your average joe, who doesn't know computers that well.
Con Slower than Chrome
Con Still uses some Google services (can be disabled)
Con Window size and resizing on Mac is broken
Con No touch bar support
Con No option to open saved tab stack as a tab stack
You may save stack, but you can open it as separate tabs. Interesting that when you save session with stacks, you'll be able to open the stacks with inner settings of page tiling (size and zoom) as well. Contradiction worth of shame.
Con Partially proprietary
While Vivaldi is currently available gratis (without monetary charge), it is currently not fully libre (meaning that it does not allow users to view the source code used to create, to modify that code, or to redistribute modifications).
It is therefore not considered free or open-source software.
The C++ source code, for the Chromium backedn, however is open-source under a BSD license and can be downloaded and browsed from here.
The UI code is not open-source, but consists of easily readable HTML, CSS & JS. Modifications can be shared on their forum's dedicated section.
Con Freezes often
Con Feature creep
Con Some users seem to believe the developers do not care for your privacy
Con No built-in proxy
Unlike Opera Proxy (which leaks your IP address), Vivaldi doesn't have a proxy service out of the box. You'll need an extension or an external program, to use Vivaldi with a proxy server.