Internet is an amazing place and each individual uses it differently than the others, so why can’t the browser they use be different. If you’ve been using Internet for a long time, you’d already be well aware of the best browsers available. But are you aware of how they compare against other web browsers, and what features they offer? If that’s something that you don’t know and you use one on your PC just because everyone uses it, then you should read this article.
In this article, we have listed down some of the best web browsers that are currently available which offers tons of features, are easy to use and give a lot of importance to the users’ privacy and security. So, let’s get started!
Best Browser for Mac In 2018 Apple Safari| Best Browser for Mac. Apple Safari is the default browser for Mac users and it was developed by them only. The pre installed browser in the Mac. It is the fastest and favourite browser of all Mac users. The best ever browser for Mac and recommended for Mac. Overall this is the best browser for Mac users. Both Windows and macOS are the two popular operating systems struggling to get ahead in the race of best OS but that’s a different story. There is always a debate going on the top browsers for these two operating systems, here are the top 5 Internet browsers for Windows and macOS of 2018. Google Chrome, then, is by far the most used browser, accounting for well over half of web traffic, followed by Safari in a distant second place.
The Best Browsers To Use
Fastest Web Browser For Mac
1. Google Chrome
No one would be surprised by this as Google Chrome has been the most popular and the best web browser for a long time in terms of usage and will stay the same way for years to come.
The browser offers extremely fast performance, is incredibly stable with cross-platform support and offers a tons of features like a wide range of extensions, parental controls, and tweaks to make the browser even more efficient. Although, it is one of the most popular choice, it has its downsides as well because Chrome is the heaviest browsers in terms of resources usage, so if your system doesn’t have proper resources, like low RAM, then Chrome isn’t what you should be using.
2. Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox, was once the most used browsers, but now it comes at the second spot. The browser is fast, offers a variety of add-ons to make your work easier and releases updates frequently to provide you with the latest features.
Recently, Mozilla released Firefox Quantum, the biggest update to the browser and it’s lightweight and extremely fast. It’s built on a completely new core engine, is 2x faster, uses 30% less memory than Chrome does and provides powerful privacy protection. The design of the browser has also changed and the minimalist approach truly looks amazing. The best part about the Firefox Quantum browser is that you can open a lot of tabs at the same time and it won’t matter. Built with privacy in mind, the browser stops online trackers automatically and provides access to the history to only you and no one else. So, if you are looking to make the switch from your current browser, this is what you need to download.
3. Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer wasn’t able to keep up with the times and the other browsers and even inspired memes in the past few years. As a result, Microsoft decided to pull the plug on the browser and started working on a new one, Microsoft Edge.
Now, if you’ve been using Windows 10, then you’d already be using or have used Microsoft Edge on your computers. According to the official website, the browser is built for Windows 10 and is faster and a safer browser to use. What I really like about Microsoft Edge is that it helps you manage tabs much more efficiently than any other browsers. You can easily group the web page tabs together and quickly find and manage them without leaving the page you are currently on. So, if you are using Windows 10 and would like to use a good browser, Edge is worth a try!
4. Opera
Most of the web browsers say that they offer fast loading speed, but it all depends on how fast your Internet connection is. If your connection isn’t fast, the loading speed will essentially be slow as well. If you face slow connection issues a lot, then Opera will be the best choice for you.
Opera Browser only makes up 1% of the browsers market, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth using. It’s severely underrated because it comes packed with amazing features to provide you with the best service. The browser has a clean interface with easy to use UI, launches really fast and is perfect for slow connections. Moreover, it features a Turbo mode that is a lifesaver during slow connection and comes with integrated ad-blocker to block the ads (however, this option can be switched off), a battery saver and a built-in free VPN.
5. Tor Browser
If you are looking for a browser that’s extremely secure, and comes with a whole suite of online security features, then Tor browser is one of the best browsers you can use!
If you haven’t heard about this web browser, then don’t worry too much because only people who use Internet daily and tech-minded people would know about it. The browser offers the most secured browsing experience where nothing is tracked and nothing is stored, not even bookmarks and cookies. It routes the traffic through random nodes around the world making it hard to track exactly where the traffic is coming from. You can even access blocked websites using the Tor browser without using any VPN software!
6. Vivaldi
Vivaldi is another great web browser that offers several amazing features like fast navigation, smarter browsing, tab management and more.
When you use this browser, you can control most of the things using simple text commands. You can also use the Speed Dial feature where you can save links to your favorite sites at a convenient place for easy access. With the web browser’s tab management feature, you can save a set of tabs and open them whenever you want. The user interface is clean and beautiful and there are several gestures and shortcuts to make your work a lot more easier. So, if you want to try something new, then download Vivaldi browser and surf the Internet securely!
7. Torch Browser
Torch Browser is a quite a well-known browser and many people consider it as one of the best web browsers to use. With several features packed, it is an all-in-one solution as you won’t need any other software or extension to perform basic tasks.
The browser comes with features like the Media Grabber that allows you to download videos and music files in a single click without any software or extensions, a built-in torrent manager that makes downloading torrents easy, Torch Player to play the videos even before they have finished downloading, Torch Music that allows you to listen to the music you like, and Torch Games. Apart from all these features, it also supports drag-and-drop and sharing links and offers a download accelerator as well.
8. Maxthon Browser
Maxthon browser is one of the best browsers right now and it’s been used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. It is fast, secure and ad-free and is available for not only Windows and Mac, but also for Android and iOS smartphones.
The browser offers super-fast loading speed, thanks to the dual rendering engines, displaying pages in no time. It even allows you to download videos for free from Facebook, YouTube and many other sites without the use of any extensions or software. The interface is clean and it features an ad-blocker as well to block out the ads from websites. Other features of the browser include cloud sync, incognito mode, auto-fill forms, night mode, shortcuts and more.
9. Yandex Browser
You might be familiar with the Yandex search engine, which is the Russian equivalent to Google, and it offers a lot of Internet services and tools, Yandex browser being one of them.
The browser features a clean and minimalist design and offers content recommendations based on your interest and the pages you visit. This feature makes it easier to find new content without looking for it. It even features a Turbo Mode that’s activated when the speed of the Internet connection drops. Coming to the security issues, the browser offers you a secure way to browse the Internet by scanning files and websites for viruses, blocking fraudulent web pages, protecting your password and personal details and more.
10. Safari
Safari browser is the default browser for Mac and if you own one, then you’d already be using it to access the Internet. It is quite fast and more efficient than other browser and features several tools and options to make your work easier.
The browser is built especially for Mac, so compared to the other web browsers, this is the best one for computers running Mac OS. It comes with built-in privacy features to prevent online tracking, sandboxing websites to prevent any malicious code to enter your system, blocks fraudulent sites and allows you to browse the Internet privately. Since it is an Apple product, you can seamlessly sync it across various devices allowing you to access your data from other iOS devices as well.
These were some of the best browsers for Windows and Mac that you can download for free and access the Internet securely. If you are using or have used any of these web browsers, then do share your experience with us. Let us know if you think we missed out on any good web browsers and we’ll update the list!
Following on from the excellent work carried out by my colleague, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, where he benchmarked browsers running on Windows 7 and Windows 10, I've taken a look at how well browsers run on OS X 10.11 'El Capitan.'
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So, which is the best browser for your Mac?
The system
- Mac mini (Late 2012)
- 2.3GHz Intel Core i7 CPU
- 16GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM
- Intel HD Graphics 4000
- 1TB SATA hard drive
- OS X 10.11.2
The browsers
- Safari 9.0.2
- Chrome 47
- Firefox 43
- Opera 34
The tests
- JetStream 1.1: A JavaScript benchmark that includes benchmarks from the SunSpider 1.0.2 and Octane 2 JavaScript benchmark suites. Larger scores are better.
- Kraken-1.1: An updated version of the SunSpider benchmark. Lower scores are better.
- Octane 2.0: A JavaScript test that includes tests that focus on interactive scripting. Higher scores are better.
- RoboHornet: This benchmark claims it 'encompasses all aspects of browser performance and everything that matters to web developers, like performance of layout and localStorage.' Higher scores are better.
- HTML5 Test: A web standards compliance test. The maximum score is 550, and a higher score is better.
These tests were run multiple times to ensure consistency.
The results
I've added a checkmark next to the benchmarks won by each browser:
See also: 7 steps to speed up Google Chrome
Best Web Browser 2018
Safari
- JetStream 1.1: 152.10 ✔
- Kraken-1.1: 2,583.82
- Octane 2.0: 22,158
- RoboHornet: 148.22 ✔
- HTML 5 test: 400
Chrome
- JetStream 1.1: 142.50
- Kraken-1.1: 2,442.44 ✔
- Octane 2.0: 23,928
- RoboHornet: 126.12
- HTML 5 test: 521 ✔
Firefox
- JetStream 1.1: 135.66
- Kraken-1.1: 2,882.82
- Octane 2.0: 23,402
- RoboHornet: 118.23
- HTML 5 test: 468
Opera
- JetStream 1.1: 147,68
- Kraken-1.1: 2,931.11
- Octane 2.0: 24,662 ✔
- RoboHornet: 125.75
- HTML 5 test: 520
The bottom line
If you want the fastest browser then the browser you should be using on your Mac is Safari. It won two of the benchmark speed tests, while Chrome only won the one. Pretty clear win for Safari.
If you want the browser displaying the best standards compliance, then go with Chrome since it was the winner in the HTML5 test.
Moving from the artificial world of benchmarks into the real world, I have to be honest and say I can't feel much of a speed difference no matter which browser I use. Even running something like Internet Explorer or Edge through on a virtual machine on the Mac doesn't feel all that bad to be honest.
No matter which browser you use, they're all pretty darn fast. But if you want to be running the fastest browser on your Mac, run Safari.
See also: