With the development of web technologies, the content displayed using the browser is becoming more "heavy". Video bitrate increases, caching and data storage require more and more space, scripts run on user machines consume a lot of CPU time. Browser developers keep up with trends and try to invest in their products to support all new trends. This leads to the fact that the latest versions of popular browsers put forward increased requirements for the system on which they are running. In this article we will talk about which browser to choose for a computer that is not powerful enough to use browsers from the Big Three and the like.
As part of the article, we will conduct a kind of testing of four browsers - Maxthon Nitro, Pale Moon, Otter Browser, K-Meleon - and compare their behavior with, as the most gluttonous browser at the time of this writing. In the process, we will look at the startup and operation speed, RAM and processor load, and also find out if there are enough resources left to perform other tasks. Since Chrome includes extensions, we will test both with and without them.
It is worth noting that some of the results may differ from what you will get with this type of testing. This applies to those parameters that depend on the speed of the Internet, in particular, page loading.
Test configuration
We took a really weak computer for the test. The initial parameters are as follows:
About browsers
Let's briefly talk about the browsers participating in today's testing - about engines, features, and more.
Maxthon nitro
This browser was created by the Chinese company Maxthon International Limited based on the Blink engine, a redesigned WebKit for. Supports all operating systems, including mobile ones.
Pale moon
This participant is a brother with some modifications, and one of them is optimization for Windows systems and only for them. This, according to the developers, makes it possible to significantly increase the speed of work.
Otter Browser
"Otter" was created using the Qt5 engine used by the developers. The data on the official website is rather scarce, so there is nothing more to say about the browser.
K-Meleon
This is another Firefox-based browser, but with the most stripped down functionality. This move of the creators allowed us to minimize resource consumption and increase speed.
Launch speed
Let's start from the beginning - we will measure the time it takes for the browser to start completely, that is, you can already open pages, make settings, and so on. The goal is to determine which of the patients is faster on alert. We will use google.com as our start page. The measurements will be made until it is possible to enter text into the search line.
- Maxthon Nitro - 10 to 6 seconds;
- Pale Moon - 6 to 3 seconds;
- Otter Browser - from 9 to 6 seconds;
- K-Meleon - 4 to 2 seconds;
- Google Chrome (extensions disabled) - 5 to 3 seconds. With extensions (, Browsec, ePN CashBack) - 11 seconds.
As we can see, all browsers quickly open their window on the desktop and show ready to work.
Memory consumption
Since we are very limited in the amount of RAM, this indicator is one of the most important. Let's take a look at "Task Manager" and calculate the total consumption of each test subject, having previously opened three identical pages - Yandex (home page), YouTube and the site. Measurements will be made after some waiting.
Let's play a video on YouTube at 480p and see how much the situation changes.
Now let's complicate the task by simulating a real work situation. To do this, open 10 tabs in each browser and look at the overall responsiveness of the system, that is, check whether it is comfortable to work with the browser and other programs in this mode. As mentioned above, we are running Word, Notepad, calculator, and we will also try to open Paint. We will also measure the page loading speed. The results will be recorded based on subjective feelings.
- Maxthon Nitro has slight delays in switching between browser tabs and when opening programs that are already running. The same thing happens while browsing the contents of folders. In general, it is quite working behavior of the OS with small lags. The page loading speed is not annoying.
- Pale Moon beats Nitro in the speed of switching tabs and loading pages, but the rest of the system is somewhat slower, with large delays when launching programs and opening folders.
- When using the Otter Browser, the page rendering speed is quite slow, especially after opening several tabs. Overall browser responsiveness also leaves a lot to be desired. After launching Paint, Otter stopped responding to our actions for some time, and running applications opened very "tightly".
- Another thing is K-Meleon - page loading and the speed of switching between tabs is very high. "Drawing" starts instantly, other programs also respond quickly enough. The system as a whole responds well.
- Even in spite of the fact that Google Chrome tries to unload the contents of unused tabs from memory (when they are activated, they are reloaded), the active use of the paging file makes the work completely uncomfortable. This translates into constant page reloading, and in some cases, displaying an empty field instead of content. Other programs also “don't like” the neighborhood with Chromium, as there are high delays and refusals to respond to user actions.
Recent measurements have shown the real state of affairs. If, under gentle conditions, all products give similar results, then with an increase in the load on the system, some were overboard.
Since the processor load can differ in different situations, we will look at the behavior of browsers in idle mode. The same tabs shown above will open.
All patients show good results, that is, they do not load the "stone" during the absence of actions within the program.
Watching video
In this step, we will enable the graphics card by installing the NVIDIA driver. We will measure the number of frames per second using the program in full-screen mode and 720p resolution with 50 FPS. The video will be included on YouTube.
As you can see, not all browsers are capable of fully playing videos in HD quality. When using them, you will have to lower the resolution to 480p or even 360p.
Conclusion
During testing, we identified some important features of our test subjects today. Based on the results obtained, the following conclusions can be drawn: the fastest in operation is K-Meleon. It also saves a maximum of resources for other tasks, but is not entirely suitable for watching videos in high quality. Nitro, Pale Moon and Otter are roughly equal in memory consumption, but the latter lags far behind in overall responsiveness under increased load. As for Google Chrome, its use on computers similar in configuration to our test one is completely unacceptable. This is expressed in brakes and freezes due to the high load on the paging file, and therefore on the hard disk.
There are now many web browsers on the browser market for viewing pages, however, each developer claims that their product deserves attention, as it was created based on the best experience in this area. There are also many browsers now in the mobile version for smartphones, especially since alcatel smartphones can be purchased here: http://gsm-forsage.net/alcatel both in terms of quality and price are ready to pleasantly surprise you. Having such a smartphone, you simply get an excellent opportunity to use all the capabilities of browsers and the Internet - I highly recommend it.
Therefore, I have created this list of the most popular browsers used around the world. It is worth considering that the top was compiled not on the basis of statistical popularity, but rather from data that combine: statistics around the world, statistics among Russian speakers, the future potential of companies and some other “immeasurable force” that influenced my decision.
Top 9. Avant Browser (Trident, Blink, Gecko engine)
The browser is built on the basis of as many as three engines, which depend on the version of the program. It is something similar in functionality to Opera, and also allows you to use plugins from Internet Explorer, which underlies it.
The program is being developed by Avant Force, which released the initial version of the browser in January 2004. Funnily enough, the original name of the products was "IEopera".
Works exclusively with Windows versions.
Top 8. Microsoft Edge (EdgeHTML engine)
The list is continued by a web browser from the multinational company Microsoft, founded by Bill Gates.
This browser is available only to Windows 10 users, in the box with which it comes. The product debuted in March 2015. According to technical journalists, Microsoft Edge should completely replace Internet Explorer, both on computers and on mobile platforms.
The browser is something innovative, because it has many useful features that make the web more comfortable. However, due to the fact that not everyone has installed Windows 10, the browser still has many bugs, but does not have a base of extensions and a lot of competition from other browsers, it occupies only 2-3% of the market.
Top 7. Yandex Browser (Blink engine)
This browser was created, you guessed it, by Yandex. The first version of the program was released in October 2012. At the moment, the browser has been installed on about 35-40 million computers, which is about 9.4% of the browsers among Russian-speaking users.
The browser is implemented for support on Windows, Android, iOS, OS X and Linux, supports extensions from the Chrome store, and also develops compatibility with Opera Addons.
Top 6. Android Browser (AOSP engine)
Today, every fourth person has a smartphone or tablet in their hands. Each of these devices has a stock browser - AOSP Browser, which got into our top.
If I'm not mistaken, then this browser is open source and each manufacturer can make their own changes to this browser.
Top 5. Opera (Presto engine, Blink)
An application for the Internet was released by Opera Software in April 1995.
According to world statistics, the browser is used by 2.1% of users, and among Russian-speaking users, this figure is 4.3%.
The browser works with many operating systems Windows, OS X, iOS, Linux, Symbian OS, MeeGo, Java, Android, Windows Mobile and others.
Probably the abundance of supported devices allows the product to occupy the fifth position among similar software solutions.
Top 4. Safari (WebKit engine, Nitro)
This browser is an Apple product included with OS X and iOS. It is also possible to install in the Windows environment, but recently support for this system has been discontinued. The browser began its history in January 2003 and today it occupies a share of 9.3% in the world ranking, and only 4.1% among the Russian segment.
Based on the number of installations around the world, it can be seen that this is the fourth most popular browser.
Top 3. Internet Explorer (Trident engine)
Despite its slow work and hostility among more or less advanced PC users, the browser occupies about 25% of the market share, in 2002-2003 this figure was as much as 90%, and, for example, in Korea, 99%. But let's say thank you that there are other quality products that have moved this browser from first to third place.
The developer of the browser is Microsoft, which in 2015 decided to completely get rid of the "old man" Internet Explorer and replace it with a new solution - Microsoft Edge.
Top 2. Mozilla Firefox (Gecko engine)
The browser is developed by Mozilla Corporation, which in September 2002 presented the first version of the program.
For quite a long time it occupied the first places in the ratings, until Google Chrome overtook it. Now the observer loses its positions every year, and today it accounts for approximately 18% of the market share. However, at the same time, in many countries, this browser takes first place.
Works with operating systems such as Linux, Windows, OS X, iOS, Firefox OS, Ubuntu Phone and Android.
Top 1. Google Chrome (KHTML and WebKit engine)
The first version of the program was released in September 2008. The browser is developed and supported by Google.
The browser has a whopping 60% market share, making it the most popular browser of all, overtaking Mozilla Firefox, whose developers were hired to create Google Chrome.
The browser works on most Windows, OS X, iOS, Linux, Android and Chrome OS platforms.
Also, the browser boasts a huge selection of extensions in its online store.
As you can see, I started right away from ninth place, missing tenth. This is because surely many of you know other browsers that are not on the list, so I suggest you complete the list yourself and name another good web browser in the comments.
Nearly all major browser vendors today have improved the efficiency and performance of their products in line with the modern web standard. Internet users lead discussions, form the top "Fastest Browser" on forums and blogs, and manufacturers and people interested publish the results of benchmarks using specialized programs - benchmarks.
Fastest browser rated by benchmarks
Browser performance evaluation includes several criteria:
- JavaScript playback speed.
- Support for HTML 5 codes.
- Time to load the page.
KRAKEN
The faster the loaded JavaScript, the more information the browser can process. The fastest browser in the world, according to the KRAKEN benchmarker testing, is definitely Chrome, which processed the largest amount of information in a certain amount of time. Firefox and Opera are not far behind. Rounding out the speed race are Internet Explorer and Apple's Safari browser.
HTML5 test
The test for processing and high-quality display of programming languages \u200b\u200bhtml, CSS tables, ACID almost completely failed Internet Explorer. Chrome, Opera and Safari are aligned with 100% CSS processing. Firefox gives up a little.
Flash - test
Flash test determines the speed of processing and playing games, animation, audio and video files, as well as banner loading. According to the results of GUIMARK 2 FLASH, the medal goes to Internet Explorer, which is by a small margin ahead of such titans as Chrome, Opera and Firefox.
Internet Explorer coped with the task much faster than its competitors when testing the gaming capabilities of browsers. Safari goes to the bench.
The correctness of the browser
Even in the early days of Internet technology, each browser had its own home interface that read HTML and CSS tables. As a result, this approach has made it much more difficult for Internet users to read and process documents. The specialists of the international consortium have solved this problem by developing a single interface standard for all browsers.
According to the DROMAEO DOM and MAZE SOLVER benchmarkers, the Safari browser became the most correct and punctual one, having outrun Google Chrome and Mozila Firefox by 2.4 seconds. Opera is 9 seconds behind. Internet Explorer is out of work with a gap of 36 seconds.
At this point, the race ends. According to the results of testing modern browsers with benchmarks, the medal in the category "Best and Fastest Browser" is awarded to the youngest participant in the race - Google Chrome, which has proven itself positively in all tests.
Second place goes to Safari, which is proudly winning its spot from Opera with its latest browser test. Basically, it's not too bad being the second fastest browser when Firefox and Internet Explorer lag behind.
Such a phenomenon in human life as the Internet is always in motion. Manufacturers constantly work and compete with each other to develop new technologies. Therefore, we, users, will more than once be able to evaluate the novelties of modern technologies and discuss what is the fastest browser for Windows.
What is the fastest browser according to users?
When analyzing browser performance with benchmarkers, we often overlook the importance of user feedback. After all, evaluation and calculations using specialized programs are made in milliseconds. The human eye is simply unable to visually distinguish which browser will download the desired material faster in a few milliseconds, except for factors such as a lack of Internet traffic.
Let's take a look at the pros and cons of each browser. Since Google Chrome became the leader in the previous race, we give it the right to start first.
- Fastest browser according to benchmarks.
- Ergonomic in the use of system resources.
- It opens quickly when the computer starts up, and also does not slow down when there are multiple open tabs.
- Convenient browser interface. All panels are in their places, settings are neatly hidden in the menu.
No significant disadvantages were found.
Firefox
- Load pages quickly and efficiently.
- Provides the ability to download many browser extensions and add-ons.
As of February 2014, Firefox has between 12 and 22% of the world's use, making it the third most popular web browser across the board. Firefox has 1.5 billion users worldwide as of December 2014, according to Mozilla. This browser has had significant success in Indonesia, Iran, Germany and Poland, where it is the most popular browser with 55% of users.
The disadvantages include significant consumption of PC resources and interruptions in work with a large number of open tabs.
Safari
- Browser speed is not inferior to that of Opera.
- Competent interface: convenient bookmark bar, automatic filling of web forms.
- Ability to download plugins and extensions.
On Mac OS X, Safari is a Cocoa application. It uses Apple's WebKit to render web pages and run JavaScript. WebKit consists of a Konqueror-based WebCore KHTML engine and JavaScriptCore - originally KDE's JavaScript engine named KJS. Like KHTML and KJS, WebCore and JavaScriptCore are free software and are distributed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License.
Some of Apple's improvements to the KHTML code are merged back into the Konqueror project. Apple also releases additional open source code 2-n BSD-like licenses. Prior to Safari 6.0, it did not include a built-in feed aggregator that supported RSS and Atom standards. Current capabilities include private browsing (a mode in which there is no recording of information about the user's web activity is not held in the browser).
No significant disadvantages were found either, but in terms of speed it is in many ways inferior to Chrome. Apple electronics fans can be proud of it.
"Yandex browser"
Another contender for the title of "Fastest Browser for Windows". Like Google Chrome, it was once a newcomer among its kind, but in terms of performance since its release, it pushed its competitors. Developed on the WebKit engine, like Chrome.
Characteristic:
- Integration with Yandex search engine and its services.
- Improved virus protection system.
- Ability to open pages in turbo mode.
Like Google Chrome, "Yandex. Browser" accompanies the search query with hints, transliterates if you enter it in the wrong language.
Yandex is great for search engine lovers.
Weighing all the pros and cons, we can say that all of these browsers are able to compete for the title of "The fastest browser in the world." Each of them is worthy of attention and positive feedback from users.
However, when asked which browser is the fastest of all, the first place is clearly awarded to Google Chrome, which has won the second competition in a row.
Modern technologies are growing and developing. Every day, today's users acquire more and more options.
Opera
In terms of speed, the browser is not inferior to Firefox, but it consumes fewer PC resources.
Has many built-in useful extensions, which are partially present in other browsers, such as: panel of frequently visited sites; quick import and export of bookmarks; there are wizards for saving passwords. A turbo mode is provided, thanks to which you can increase the download speed and reduce Internet traffic.
The only negative, according to users, is the unreliability of the browser.
The best browser for XP
Choosing the fastest browser for XP, first of all, you should take into account the amount of PC resources consumed when processing information. The lower the indicator, the more efficient and faster the browser will work. According to test results and specifications, the fastest browser for XP is Chrome, followed by Opera.
Modern technologies are growing and developing. Every day, modern users acquire a choice. Someone remains faithful to their taste and uses this or that browser out of habit, while someone prefers to skim the cream off the best electronic products of our time.
What other observers could compete in the "Fastest Browser" category if they weren't inferior in popularity?
SeaMonkey is a multifunctional browser for advanced users and IT workers. It is a set of tools for various work with the built-in HTML editor, messenger. Very simple and easy to use.
Its processing speed is two times higher than that of Google Chrome and Firefox. And if SeaMonkey were tested on a par with Google Chrome, then it would be he who would receive the title of the fastest browser in the world.
Which browser is the fastest? When Google introduced Chrome, there was a strong emphasis on the performance of the new browser.
Google regularly performed performance tests that demonstrated the performance superiority of Google Chrome over other popular browsers such as Firefox or Internet Explorer.
Today, Chrome is the market leader. Microsoft is trying to make a difference with its new Microsoft Edge browser. Opera had to re-create its browser from scratch after switching to the Chrome engine, and Mozilla is constantly improving its Firefox project.
What About Google? It looks like the company is losing market share in the browser. This does not mean that the browser does not work in the best way for users, but only is a consequence of the company's conservative position in terms of project development.
Speed \u200b\u200bis not the only important factor for a browser. Support for modern web standards, built-in useful functions for performing everyday tasks, security and privacy features, subjective performance and support for various extensions are of great importance.
We will focus solely on the performance factor, but each user should choose their own browser selection priorities.
Browsers
Performance tests were run on two different Windows 10 operating systems - one is the latest stable build, and the other is the latest Windows Insider pretest build.
Computer 1 (Windows 10 stable version)
- Google Chrome Dev (version 53.0.2767)
- Microsoft Edge Stable (version 25.10586)
- Mozilla Firefox Nightly (version 50.0a1)
- Opera Developer (version 40.0.2267.0)
- Vivaldi (1.3.501.6)
Computer 2 (Windows 10 Insider Preview)
- Google Chrome Stable (version 51.0.2704.103)
- Mozilla Firefox (version 47.0)
- Microsoft Edge (version 38.14371)
- Opera (version 38)
- Vivaldi (version 1.2)
Benchmarks
The test used the following benchmarks to check the performance of all tested browsers:
Each benchmark was run twice with no background activity.
results
The results are amazing. Chrome performance on 1st machine was not very good in 2 out of 3 benchmarks, especially when compared to Opera and Vivaldi, which use the same engine. The issue may be caused by a specific Chrome build.
Microsoft Edge performed well in JetStream and Octane, but performed much worse in Speedometer. A bit surprising are the major differences between browsers that use the same engine.
Chrome showed lower performance than Opera and Vivaldi in JetStream and Octane, but outperformed those browsers in Speedometer.
On the other hand, Vivaldi was better than Opera at Speedometer.
A similar picture is observed on the 2nd computer. Microsoft Edge was the fastest in two benchmarks, but came in last in the Speedometer.
Chrome Stable performed roughly on par with Opera and Vivaldi in the first two benchmarks, but Opera's Speedometer score was significantly different from Chrome and Vivaldi's.
All people have their own preferences and interests. Everyone has their own requirements and wishes and it is very difficult to find the same ones. It is for this reason that the same thing that gets tested by different people, with rare exceptions, will receive the same or similar characteristics. The same is the case with software. One of the most popular programs is a browser and is designed for surfing the Internet.
Therefore, the faster and smoother the browser works, the easier and more comfortable surfing will be. After all, with the help of a browser you will not only browse websites, listen to music, watch movies and even play games.
Of course, making ratings is not a rewarding business, because everyone has their own opinion and preference, but still select the best browsers based on their functionality and the capabilities they give their users.
Browsers that work reliably in the operating systems Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 are taken as a basis. Their merits, as well as their disadvantages, will be brought to your judgment. Let's hope that thanks to our rating, you will choose the browser that will satisfy your needs, if not 100, so certainly 90%.
1st place - Google Chrome browser
What is this browser? First of all, it differs in that it is the most widespread and is even included in the package to many programs. Indeed, this is one of the fastest browsers running on the Windows operating system.
Google Chrome appeared in 2008, based on the Safari browser, which was very popular at that time, running on the WebKit engine. The prototype of this browser appeared after connecting the V8 javascript engine and was named Chromium. It was only then that the newly formed browser was processed and developed in such large companies as Google, Opera Software and Yandex. One of the first manufacturers to release their Chromium-based brainchild was Google. Quite quickly, it spread over the Internet, rapidly gaining popularity. Needless to say, almost all smartphones have the Google Chrome browser preinstalled from the outset.
The main advantages of Google Chrome:
- Google Chrome is desperate for high speed. According to this indicator, it significantly surpasses its competitors. For greater convenience, users have access to such a convenient function as preloading pages, thanks to which it was possible to significantly increase the loading speed.
- Google Chrome is one of the safest browsers. This is achieved thanks to the latest technologies, including the updated database of phishing and other malicious resources. In addition, additional user confirmation is required to download files that have the ".bat", ".exe" or ".dll" permission, which greatly reduces the threat of virus infection.
- Google Chrome allows its users to use the "Incognito" mode, which is very useful for those users who need to view a lot of sites without leaving any traces of the visit on their computer.
- Google Chrome uses a simple and well-thought-out interface that allows its users to have a smooth experience and the absence of less important elements. It was in this browser that the quick access panel was first used, thanks to which users were able to quickly find the sites they needed. For the convenience of users, the address bar began to serve not only for entering the addresses of sites and resources, but also as a search engine. It was from Google Chrome that this ability migrated to other browsers.
- Google Chrome is stable and reliable. And this is exactly the case, because unlike other browsers, Google Chrome does not throw a critical error and does not slow down. If this happens, then first of all it is worth looking for viruses in the system and only then start blaming your Chrome.
- Google Chrome has its own task manager, which is a menu "Additional tools", which allows you to track how many resources the system is occupied by an entire tab or a separate running plugin. With this, the braking element can be identified and rendered harmless in time.
- Google Chrome offers its users a fairly extensive list of all kinds of extensions, most of which will be free. In addition, there are own plugins and themes for design. The user gets the opportunity to adjust the browser to suit his needs and wishes, which makes it very convenient to use.
- Google Chrome has its own built-in translator, thanks to which you can translate entire pages from different languages.
- Google Chrome updates automatically and most often the user simply does not notice it.
- It is possible to create search queries using voice, using the service "OK Google".
The main disadvantages of Google Chrome:
- In Google Chrome, since version 42.0, NPAPI plugins are no longer supported, including the popular Flash Player among users.
- For Google Chrome to work without distortion and brakes, the computer must have at least 2 GB of RAM.
- There are very few Russian-language extensions and plugins in Google Chrome.
- Using the Google Chrome browser puts a significant strain on the hardware, which ultimately leads to a decrease in battery life on laptops and smartphones.
- Most of the data of Google Chrome users is stored on US servers. However, today, some of them are being transferred to Russian servers.
Conclusion:
During the work of Google Chrome, it has shown itself to be one of the most stable and fast enough browsers. It will be convenient and practical to have various services from Google integrated into the system. At the same time, one account allows you to quickly connect both a computer and a mobile device. In addition, it is possible to organize the synchronization of these two devices.
2nd place Yandex Browser
Yandex Browser has a very short history. It was born in 2012, developed on the Chromium engine. In a short time, he gained popularity almost throughout the territory of Russia and the CIS countries. It has full integration with all Yandex services, which makes it very convenient to use. Naturally, Yandex is used as the default search engine.
Yandex Browser has an original interface, it has its own quick launch panel made in a tiled style, which allows the user to use up to 20 tiles.
Yandex.Browser is equipped with the Smart Line function, which not only transfers the entered phrase to the search engine, but also automatically helps the user to select the site that he needs at his request, taking into account the coincidence of the name. It should be said that this function can only work with large resources. There is support for mouse manipulation to improve browsing sites.
The main advantages of Yandex Browser:
- Yandex Browser has a fairly high level of security. This is achieved due to the fact that the browser system has its own antivirus that will check files, links and sites for malicious viruses and Trojans. It has its own updated database of fraudulent and phishing sites.
- The presence of its own ad blocker in Yandex Browser allows you to automatically close all pop-up banners. It is possible to turn off all flash ads and videos, thanks to which it is possible to significantly increase the speed at which pages will open.
- There is a built-in system that allows you to view documents of various formats, including books.
- There is a built-in translator developed by Yandex.
- There is a version especially for smartphones, which already has built-in "quick links" services, as well as the ability to make calls.
- The presence of the "Turbo 2.0" mode allows you to significantly increase the speed at which the pages of sites will be loaded, while significantly saving traffic.
- In Yandex Browser, online video is compressed, which also saves traffic.
- There is its own mobile version of Yandex Browser.
The main disadvantages of Yandex Browser:
- Despite the original interface, not everyone will like it, as it takes time to get used to.
- The fact that Yandex Browser is tied to Yandex services, as a result of which, in their absence, the browser loses most of its advantages.
- Albeit rare, but problems arise during the transfer of settings and history.
3 Place Mozilla Firefox
Today, the Mozilla Firefox browser is one of the most popular foreign browsers. At the same time, according to polls in Russia, it occupies an honorable third place. It first appeared in 2004. After that, a lot has changed. The application uses Gecko as its engine, which is freely available, but continues to be modernized thanks to the efforts of the developers. At one time, it was the first browser to have a large base of extensions, and work stably long before the advent of Chrome. The Mozilla Firefox browser was among the first to use the maximum privacy mode, which was later used in the Google browser.
The main advantages of Mozilla Firefox:
- Mozilla Firefox has a simple and convenient interface, devoid of everything that interferes with normal work on the Internet.
- The browser has a convenient system of settings, using which you can customize it for yourself, making it more convenient.
- Mozilla Firefox has a large number of built-in plugins - over 100,000.
- The browser is famous for its cross-platform functionality. It can be used on any operating system.
- Mozilla Firefox is renowned for its reliability. It will work even when other browsers freeze.
- The browser guarantees the maximum degree of security, as well as the privacy of users' personal data.
- Mozilla Firefox has a comfortable bookmark bar.
- If necessary, you can give the task not to leave information about yourself on various sites. It is possible to use private browsing of site pages. There is such a useful function as "Master Passwords", thanks to which it is possible to protect all your records.
- There is a handy feature that allows you to refresh your browser in the background without requiring user intervention.
The main disadvantages of Mozilla Firefox:
- Mozilla Firefox, compared to Google Chrome, loses in terms of stability and speed.
- Despite constant updates, browser performance remains average.
- Mozilla Firefox lacks support for a number of scripts, as a result of which information may be displayed incorrectly on some sites.
- Mozilla Firefox requires a lot of RAM to work properly.
4th place Opera
The history of the Opera browser dates back to 1994. If until 2013 the Opera browser worked on its own engine, now it started using the Webkit + V8 engine, just like Google Chrome. Since 2010, the company has launched a mobile version of the program. In Russia, it ranks fourth in popularity, and in the world it is sixth.
The main advantages of Opera:
- Opera browser has a fairly high speed and displays pages well.
- There is a "turbo" mode, thanks to which you can significantly increase the speed of loading pages of sites using cloud technologies. This allows not only to save traffic when working in the mobile version of this application.
- There is a very convenient express panel that allows you to save bookmarks. This is a modified tool called Speed \u200b\u200bDial, preserved from previous versions of the Opera browser.
- Using the Opera Link technology, you can synchronize different devices.
- The Opera browser has many hotkeys that greatly simplify management.
- There is an Internet browser Opera Unite, with which you can turn your browser into an analogue of the server. For example, you can access various files that are on your computer. It is possible to exchange SMS notifications and even photos.
The main disadvantages of Opera:
- Opera is a memory-intensive application. Therefore, if several tabs are open, then braking begins. At the same time, the use of the new and reliable Google Chrome engine does not help him.
- Some scripts may not work correctly in the Opera browser. In addition, there are complaints about working with WML.
- The Opera browser is not the most stable, crashes and freezes are quite common.
- And although the Opera browser has its own bookmarking system called "Piggy Bank", it was very poorly implemented.
I only use opera as a secondary browser. The "Turbo" function is useful when working with a modem, because in this case a high speed of displaying pages and saving consumed traffic are combined.
5th K-Meleon
The K-Meleon browser is one of the relatives of the Mozilla Firefox browser. Both use the same engine. K-Meleon allows you to become a lightweight browser on your Windows system. It was supposed to provide an opportunity to demonstrate all the capabilities of the new engine. However, the result is a browser that allows you to save the consumption of your computer's resources.
This browser is ideal for weak computers. At the same time, when working on modern systems, this browser will work even better, since in a number of parameters it allows you to bypass competitors.
The main advantages of K-Meleon:
- The K-Meleon browser allows you to economically use computer resources and its RAM.
- The K-Meleon browser uses the native Windows interface, which saves time and resources that programs spend on their interface.
- Provides a fairly high speed of work.
- There are excellent possibilities for user personalization. It should be said that it is not necessary to use various extensions for this. The maximum effect is achieved with macros. Of course, for a beginner it will be somewhat difficult, but if you have a little free time, then you can get used to it.
- Several assembly options are available to users, allowing them to choose the one that works best.
- Supports multiple profiles for different users.
The main disadvantages of K-Meleon:
- Users note the clumsy execution of the interface. Unlike the leaders, this browser has a very simple design.
- The K-Meleon browser may have problems when working with Cyrillic. At the same time, the latest updates made it possible to partially correct the situation.
Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer is a free browser. It is found in all versions of Windows from 1995 to the present day. For quite a long time it was popular in Russia, at least before the advent of Google Chrome. Now he has lost his position. As a result, Microsoft ceased development and Windows 10 has already appeared a new free Spartan browser. Of course, this browser has never been considered the best. He always had many "holes" through which viruses penetrated. The situation was somewhat corrected by Internet Explorer 10, which was part of Windows 8. In this browser, we tried to fix all the "holes", but its time has already passed.
Internet Explorer 11 appeared in Windows 8.1. What can you say about him? Only that in terms of its speed of work, it is not inferior to other browsers. It has a privacy mode, supports caching and much more. Most often, Internet Explorer is used by developers of various software, but you should not use Internet Explorer to surf the Internet.
Safari
Safari ranks 4th in the world ranking. It was developed by Apple. Often integrates into IOS. It is the company's proprietary browser. It was later adapted for Windows as well. However, since 2012, Apple has stopped development and all download links have been erased from the official website. Safari performs pretty well in tests. The only negative is the lack of updates. For this reason alone, you should not use it.
SRWare Iron
This browser is a good alternative for Google Chrome lovers who want to try something similar. This browser has no built-in services from Google, except for the search engine. The Chromium database was taken as a basis, but the browser does not include a copy ID, which is responsible for sending data to the servers after installation and continues to track search queries. Since error statistics are not sent to the server, it will be difficult to fix them. But there is a completely reliable ad blocker. This browser does not have automatic updates and all updates will have to be installed manually. But this will be a minor minus, since system resources are saved.
SlimJet
SlimJet Browser is another version of Google Chrome. Indeed, it is based on the Chromium platform. However, it is not tied to Google services. The main features of this browser are, first of all, a practical password manager, and integration with FaceBook allows you to quickly use this social network. In addition, there is its own photo editor that allows you to compress photos. Security is guaranteed by its own antivirus software and phishing protection. The speed of work is also quite real, moreover, there are automatic updates. SlimJet is an excellent option for those who want to change Google Chrome without losing their usual speed.
Tor Browser
Tor Browser resembles the Mozilla Firefox browser in its properties. However, the main difference is that it has a system that ensures the anonymity of the Tor network. Thanks to this, you can visit even the most blocked Internet projects. Today the popularity of this browser is very high and continues to gain momentum. Blocking torrent sites will help him in this. Tor Browser easily gets proxy access to almost all resources around the world, allowing the user to bypass the block. Using the Tor Browser, the user surfs sites in complete anonymity, without saving the history of visits. However, it does not have flash, cookie or even cache. The main disadvantages of this browser are its slow performance. Plus, it only allows you to surf. In this case, you can neither watch movies or listen to music. You should only use Tor Browser when you want to remain anonymous or visit a closed site.
Amigo
This browser was developed by the Russian company Mail.ru Group. It is served up as one of the best browsers specially designed for social media. However, this is still the same standard Chromium, which has built-in services from the Mail.ru company. The only convenience of this browser lies in the built-in module that makes it convenient to communicate on social networks without visiting them. However, the Amigo browser received anti-advertising primarily due to an intrusive distribution method. You can get it as a supplement by downloading the program. And the main question that can most often be found on computer forums is how to erase (get rid of) the Amigo browser. At the same time, only one search engine is used here as a working one, which cannot be replaced. In general, in a number of parameters, Amigo is inferior to competitors.
Comet
The Comet browser is a freeware program with a commercial focus. It's worth saying. that the developer of this browser remained unknown. Most often it is used in conjunction with a browser and a search engine that is not very convenient. It is worth saying that the Comet is distributed in the same way as Amigo - intrusively and not always honestly. However, it is very difficult to remove it. This browser also has the ability to work with social networks. Along the way, they use an advertising module, which, after certain moments, displays simply huge advertising banners. This interferes with normal operation.
Today, there are a large number of various browsers, many of them are not included in this rating. Only the best browsers have been listed here, but as you know, every sandpiper praises its swamp. All browsers presented in the review can be installed on your computer for free and used without any restrictions. If you can suggest your TOP 5 browsers, then leave your rating in the comments.
