Best Web Browser Battle: Which Browser Is Best For Me?
The Best Web Browsers Battle: Which Popular Web Browser Reigns Supreme?
Once upon a time we relied upon Google Chrome for everything. The more email addresses we acquired and the more junk we accumulated — the worst our browser speed and performance got. Today, we look to the best web browsers available to offset these issues.
In this post, we’re breaking down the features and functionalities of these popular web browsers to discover which is truly the best web browser for your specific needs.
What are the Most Popular Web Browsers?
The most popular web browsers are Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Opera browser. While ultimately similar in the sense that they provide the same service (browsing and utilizing the web), they are very different in terms of usefulness.
Best Web Browser for Productivity + Collaboration
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is best for those who use a Google product for almost every aspect of their work, business, or personal life. For example, if your top go-to websites are Gmail, Google Drive, Google Hangouts, YouTube, or well, just about anything Google — Chrome is for you.
Though our CEO is the self-dubbed Google pro on the st-tech team, you’ll be interested to hear she is not a fan of Google Chrome. Though of course she loves Chrome extensions and the collaborative features of Google’s web browser (think: switching Chrome users, using Google Drive across the web, etc.) — she doesn’t love running out of memory or restoring tabs every single time the browser crashes because she overworked it…
Her personal bias aside, Google Chrome’s true value lies in its cloud connectivity. Simply logging into the Chrome browser allows you to access all of your Google data associated with your Gmail account. That way, switching computers is a breeze since logging in to Chrome means you automatically have access to all of your bookmarks, apps, auto-fill data, extensions, plugins, etc.
Its connectivity and minimal features create a winning web browser for just about any and everyone who browses the web.
Best Web Browser for Speed + Personalization
Opera Browser
If you’re a browsing ninja who needs to completely control and customize your web browser — Opera is yours. It’s built-in adblocker makes web pages load a whole lot faster (and more secure!) Opera Turbo is also a great option for optimizing your browser for high performance. It’s data-compressing and battery-saving features are just a couple of other ways Opera optimizes the technical stuff on the back-end so you can have a positive experience browsing the web.
The most unique element of Opera is its user interface. The sleek, modern design is very easy to navigate and customizable to you.
- Speed Dial makes it easy to create folders for websites you visit often and group them by theme and type. It also provides you with quick access to Google search and even suggests websites for you to add to it.
- The Personal News feature is great for RSS addicts, bloggers, and tech news junkies alike. You can essentially curate your own content from your favorite websites like st-tech.blog, Ars Technica, and Geekwire and pack them into your feed.
- How many times have you heard a frustrated coworker exclaim “UGH!” followed by “Noooooo — I exited out of the tab on accident!”? We love Opera because it prevents this from happening with a dedicated Tab Menu that houses your recently closed tabs, tabs open on other devices, and quick access to Speed Dial and Personal News.
The useful tools that come with downloading the Opera browser are nearly as cool as the fun app integrations like Facebook Messenger that are pinnable to the side of your dock.
Best Web Browser for Power Users + Developers
Mozilla Firefox
The only non-profit on the list of best web browsers — Firefox has been the longstanding champion in terms of open accessibility to the public. You may have forgotten about the folks over at Mozilla but trust us — developers haven’t.
From the Mozilla Developer Network to its grade-A inspector, Firefox beats the competition outright when it comes to coding, processing tons of data, and putting your computer’s processing power to the test overall.
Perhaps our favorite part of Firefox is Reader View. This option strips an article, blog post, etc. to its simplest form — text and raw images. This is helpful when you really want to hone your focus and consume the information — not the website features.
Though not one of the most popular web browsers out there, Firefox has its use cases. If you’re in corporate, you may use more outdated programs and software systems that are nearly impossible to run on modern web browsers. That’s where Firefox can also come in handy!
Best Web Browser for … Windows 10
Microsoft Edge
Ah, Microsoft. The tech giant has been battling with getting the web browsing experience down for years. Take Internet Explorer for example. IE used to not only be the most used web browser — it was the only browser you could use — *flashes back to Broadband Internet dial-up*.
Today, however, the company pushes its web browser onto PC users hard — seeing as it’s been revamped and rebranded as Microsoft Edge. This web browser works in harmony with Windows 10 since it is the only browser built with the PC system in mind.
Microsoft Edge has some cool features like OneNote Page Annotation, quick and easy Sharing, as well as its own Reader View that make the browsing experience on PC all the better.
Recently, Microsoft rolled out the Creators Update to Windows 10 users — which added some new and improved features to the Microsoft Edge browser.
Our CEO had a few things to say about this new rollout:
Microsoft is looking to enhance its cloud capabilities in order to keep up with with Google Drive’s regular updates and new feature additions.
Microsoft Edge now integrates seamlessly across all Microsoft programs — a true denominator in the Microsoft Edge vs. Chrome battle as Google Drive does the same with its Chrome extension.
