Which Browser is Best? Chrome vs. Firefox Showdown
Browsers are an important part of the internet experience. But of all the internet browsers, the top two are Chrome and Firefox. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. So, here’s a comparison between the two.
Speed
Chrome edges out Firefox on speed. This is because Chrome is a bit more streamlined in its startup system. But Firefox is catching up in this area. However, the difference between the two from InternetProviders.com is barely noticeable and upgrades in Firefox could put them on equal footing quite soon.
Security
Of the two browsers, Firefox has the better security features that stop tracking cookies. Chrome has some major security loopholes and is working to fix the issue by asking its users to inform them of the worst offenses. While Chrome is working through these issues, Firefox is so far keeping up with new threats.
Program Tools Support
There are a couple of programs like JavaScript and reading pdf files that the browsers need at least some capability with. This category goes to Chrome in working with these types of files. While you can download separate readers for both JavaScript and pdf files, it is still a nice to read these sites without the downloads. Firefox is fixing its pdf reader issues and for the most part has solved them. They are working on getting a faster upload for JavaScript.
HTML5 Test
The HTML5 test is of the browsers to see if they are ready for the future upgrade coming to the internet. This little test determines whether a browser can handle this new revision of communications. A perfect score is 500. Bonus points are also awarded. Chrome scores higher in this particular category at the moment. But expect new upgrades in Firefox to start closing the gap.
Tab Organization
This is a preference category. So, there is no clear winner on this one. Both have adequate tab organization and can group different tabs. This is handy if you have lots of places to visit. But only Chrome allows you to shortcut the tabs. Whereas, Firefox requires that single extra click. If you like using only one or two tabs, then this feature won’t interest you much.
Customization
Firefox is the clear winner on customization. The reason is pretty obvious. Firefox is adapting its features to what the users want in convenience. Chrome offers some customization but not to the same extent. It is these extra features that give Firefox a pretty big edge. Chrome is slow to catch up on this front.
Most Popular
Statcounter puts Chrome on top for last year as the most popular browser. However, the gap really isn’t that large. So, the race is still close. Firefox does have some catching up to do on speed and compatibility while Chrome needs to work on Security and customization features.
The best browser is Chrome by a very narrow margin. It does have a slight edge in the number of categories. But Firefox is right on its tail and the competition for next year is very tight.
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About The Author
I used Firefox since it was called Phoenix. Still have a soft spot for it. Though now I wish everyone would just switch to Chrome so that our site would be faster and we could save crazy bytes with WebP and other Google technology Mozilla is slow to adopt.
How about a follow-up with a Chrome vs Firefox mobile bit?
Firefox has its share of users, but according to Akamai at least, Chrome’s base is 43% larger, which I’d call significant.
Which browser is better in a corporate environment, in terms of managing various security and deployment settings on a large scale? What are some of these vulnerabilities you report Chrome having? If they are Google-related, are they not present in Chromium?
Regarding customization, which is growing faster, the pile of plugins or add-ons or whatever for Firefox or for Chrome? I don’t know the answer, not a rhetorical question. Note that they both let you add the same Greasemonkey scripts, though with Chrome you don’t have to install a Greasemonkey plugin.
What about memory management? Javascript performance? Who’s quicker to detect malicious/hacked websites and send out a signal to all users of its browser to show a warning before going to such sites?
How about the general simplicity as a trade-off of what you see as less customization, would you say Google’s not doing a good job hitting the balance?
Why no Firefox for iOS?
What about the omnibar, do you like that? I like it..
Good article Valentine.
Simmons: No Firefox on iOS because Mozilla
is a bunch of smug non-profit bitchesrefuses to release Firefox using webkit instead of Gecko (Apple insists on webkit, I assume because it’s better), saying basically that by using webkit on iOS they would be selling away the soul of Firefox and wrapping up the web for iOS users in a Firefox patina.So they pout in their misguided power trip, actually perhaps akin to their unwillingness to adopt WebP, no matter how energetically you try to make your audience think that it’s about to happen. It’s not about to happen. They’re too busy feeling superior to improve.
I’m aware this piece isn’t about Safari, but just to throw this out there, Safari if you include mobile has a greater share than both Chrome and Firefox if I’m not mistaken.
I believe the other reason that FF doesn’t have a browser experience on iOS is because of Apple’s stance of restricting third-party browsers to UIWebView, which slows down the 3rd parties.
firefox BLOWS!!!!! its super slow. great write up