The Fastest Browsers for Windows (and the Disadvantages of Each)
The humble browser remains the most used application on many computers, and every second it saves is priceless. The days of slow and sluggish browsers are long gone, and most web browsers offer satisfactory performance, but some are (obviously) much faster than others. We challenged ourselves to find out which browser is the fastest for your Windows PC, and the results were a bit surprising.
How we tested the fastest browsers
Before we share the results, here is a summary of how we tested these browsers for speed. We used the web benchmarking tools Speedometer , JetStream and MotionMark to determine which browsers are the fastest. Speedometer measures your browser’s responsiveness when running web applications, while JetStream is a JavaScript-centric test that gives higher scores to browsers that can launch and execute code quickly. MotionMark is a graphics benchmark that tests a browser’s ability to render complex web pages.
In the final results, we gave the speedometer a little more weight because it simulates real-life website interaction and includes tests such as the time it takes to add items to a to-do list. This will most likely affect your daily browsing experience.
We ran all tests in a new incognito browser window and disabled all extensions before doing so. All browsers were updated to the latest available versions before running the tests. We also ran the tests twice on each browser to make sure the results are consistent and don’t contain unusually high or low ratings. After running the tests twice, all browsers returned almost identical test results.
For these tests, we used a Zotac Magus EN 1070 PC with Windows 10 Pro. The PC has 8GB of RAM, an Intel Core i5 6400T processor, and a 120GB SSD.
Browser test results also vary by hardware, so if you run the same tests on your computer you will see different results, but the results should be similar to ours.
Google Chrome: The fastest browser for most people
Chrome has always been fast, and in our test it topped the Speedometer test with a score of 107.2. In the JetStream test, it came in second with a score of 99,778, which is also impressive. It placed third on the MotionMark test with a score of 449.23, meaning it lags behind other browsers when displaying complex web pages.
Chrome performs very well in most browser tests, and it also allows you to access an extensive ecosystem of browser extensions to add many useful features to Chrome. On the other hand, Chrome is owned by Google, whose business model is to track users and show them targeted ads. You should look into alternative browsers if you are concerned about your privacy and change a few Chrome settings immediately .
Brave: a fast browser with a built-in ad blocker
Brave came in second in our test of the fastest browsers for Windows. It scored 106 points, placing second in the Speedometer test, and even managed to outperform Chrome in the JetStream test with a score of 100.002 points and in the MotionMark test with a score of 453.29 points.
While Brave claims to be a privacy-friendly alternative to Chrome, it has its own controversies . It’s a fast browser with built-in ad blocking, and that alone makes it a good alternative to Chrome, but its inconsistencies make it hard to trust all of its privacy claims unconditionally.
Microsoft Edge: Best for heavy workloads
The transition of Edge to Chromium allowed it to become very fast. The browser came in third in our two tests, scoring 99.5 in Speedometer and 99.071 in JetStream. However, it topped the MotionMark test with an excellent score of 479.30.
Tests show that Edge is your best choice for graphics-intensive websites and higher web workloads. Although Edge continues to improve, it has an incredibly complex context menu (visible when you right-click inside the browser) that makes it difficult to quickly find the right option. It’s also not the browser you want if privacy is your top priority.
Opera: not the fastest, but has additional features
Opera came in fourth in all of our tests. It scored 90.1 on Speedometer, 95.914 on JetStream, and 415.26 on MotionMark. These are not bad results, but they are slightly behind the fastest browsers in the world.
Like all other browsers mentioned so far, Opera is also based on Chromium. It has additional useful features such as integration with Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and music streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. These features can make it a better value than alternatives, but be aware that Opera includes some sponsored content that you should disable and it’s not the most secure browser.
Firefox: slow but more private
Unfortunately, Firefox finished last in all of our tests. It scored just 77.48 in Speedometer, 62.475 in JetStream and 222.78 in MotionMark. Firefox is the only browser without Chromium in all of these tests, which may explain some of these results.
However, Firefox with a few tweaks can become a safe and private browser. That, plus a great add-on ecosystem, makes it stand out.
A few words about safari
Since Safari is a Mac-exclusive browser, it didn’t make sense to include it in this browser shootout. We had access to an M1 Mac Mini for a while and ran these tests in Safari on that machine. Since the Mac Mini with the Apple M1 processor is a much more powerful machine running a completely different OS, the results cannot be compared to our tests.
However, Safari performed very well in these tests. He scored 1658.44 on MotionMark, 256 on Speedometer and 193.778 on JetStream. If you have a Mac, Safari is your best bet between speed, features, and energy efficiency.