What’s that one thing you use day in and out when you hop on to the internet? A web browser of course! Now, if you’re a Mac user, chances are you only use the Safari web browser by default. But, there are so many other web browsers for Mac out there that you don’t have to limit yourself to the default browser.
- Best web browser 2020: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Opera go head-to-head We take a look at the performance and features of the big four internet browsers to see which one will serve you best.
- What Makes the Best Internet Browser for Mac. For the most part, we’ll be judging the contestants on the same criteria as our browser reviews, but focusing entirely on their versions on Apple.
Best Browser For iPods: These include: Mercury browser; Atomic web; Diigo; Conclusion: Among top web browsers, it is quite difficult to judge which one is the best web browser for Mac, Android, and iPod. The battle between Safari vs. Internet Explorer is quite tight.
But with a plethora of choices out there, how would you know which is the best browser to use?
Well, when I choose a web browser, here are the things I’m looking for:
What Should You Look for in a Web Browser for Mac?
Samsung Internet Browser For Mac
When choosing a Mac browser, I look for three essential things:
Safeguarding Your Privacy: With websites using all kinds of cookies and trackers to obtain your data, a good web browser should be able to safeguard your privacy. More importantly, it should also be able to protect you from dangerous websites. Chrome for example, provides security by checking websites you visit against a list of dangerous website. If you happen to come across a website that is listed as dangerous, the browser alerts you to it.
User Experience: If you’ve ever owned a Windows OS, you know why the IE was such a classic failure and why Chrome today remains one of the most preferred web browsers. The ability to easily find setting options, to optimize the browser according to your preference, to use multiple accounts, to customize interface as you like is important.
Speed & Efficiency: If a browser is CPU intensive, it’s not efficient. You want a browser that fires up as soon as you click it. The browsing experience should not be clustered and there should be support for most extensions.
Now that you know what to look for, here are the top ten best web browsers for Mac!
Best Web Browsers for Mac Review: 10 Picks in 2020
1. Safari
Everyone knows Safari right? The default browser that ships on every Mac and iOS device, Safari is fast, lean and just gets the job done as a pretty barebones web browser could do. However, it lacks a lot of features that competing browsers like Firefox or Chrome has. Furthermore, Apple has not updated its design for ease of use, making it a bit clunky for users.
Features of Safari:
- Syncing data from Safari works different than from other browsers. Basically, all your data is synced to iCloud. Your bookmarks and browsing history are preserved only.
- There is support for emulating the mobile iOS platform, a pretty helpful feature for developers. This eliminates the need for having a separate Apple mobile device, helping you access certain websites or services that look great on iOS.
- It has strong privacy controls, helping you safeguard your digital identity better than most other alternative web browsers.
Cons
- Clunky and cumbersome user interface.
- You’re only limited to four search engines – Google, Yahoo, Bing and DuckDuckGo.
- Lacks support for feature-rich extensions.
- Bookmarks and history can’t be directly synced. Settings and currently open tabs are not saved.
- Lack of customization options.
2. Google Chrome
Google Chrome is one of the best web browsers out there, and for good reason. When you first start it, the fast response time and clutter-free interface immediately hooks you. It also features good security and is available on almost all platforms that you need. All the settings, tabs, history, passwords and extensions are synced with your Google ID, across all your devices.
Features of Google Chrome:
- Very simple yet powerful enough to use.
- It has a ton of extensions for everything. Customize your browser as you like.
- No need to fiddle around for a search box. The address bat lets you search as well.
- Ridiculously simple yet feature-rich syncing that just works. Passwords, favorites, tabs, histories are just transferred over.
Cons:
- Laptop and Macbook users beware. Chrome is very memory intensive. It hogs the RAM and sucks the battery.
- It doesn’t warn you of having too many tabs open if you close a browser window. You might want to turn on preserve tabs settings when you first run Chrome.
3. Opera
Smooth and fast, that’s how most Opera users could describe their web browser of choice as. Opera works great even with a low-speed connection, thanks to its server size compression technique.
Opera Web Browser comes with a ton of customization and feature-rich options. In fact, it just might have all the basics covered with its integration for RSS feeds, email clients, and phishing protection.
Features of Opera:
- Easy to customize and navigate. Get the browsing experience that suits your style and work ethic.
- It comes with integrated phishing protection, RSS feeds, and email clients.
- A built-in torrent downloader in the browser can help you keep your downloads organized. No need for another torrent software.
Cons:
- Finding extensions for Opera is not that easy. It also doesn’t have that many extensions as Firefox or Chrome.
- Some websites or pages will have issues with Opera. This is because Opera needs stricter coding when compared to other browsers.
4. Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla is an open-source web browser that is renowned for its privacy features. If security and limitless customization is important to you, Firefox for Mac is a great choice. It can shield you from viruses, phishing scams and more.
Features of Mozilla Firefox:
- Extremely secure web browser on the market today. Extensions like NoScript and FlashBlock make it safer.
- It comes with a user-friendly interface that can be customized as you like. With support for themes.
- Afraid of your opened tabs and pages getting lost in case of a freak power outage? Firefox’s embedded memory feature helps you restore them all.
Cons:
- Given its focus on customization and security, Firefox needs a lot of memory to run smoothly. It also has a slow startup time.
- Some websites and pages may not be compatible with Mozilla Firefox, same as with Opera.
5. Stainless
Stainless is super-light web browser for Mac. It is popular for having finger gestures that help you navigate with ease. One innovative feature that Stainless comes with is ‘parallel sessions’, a way to log in to a site as different users at the same time. This is possible with its use of a private cookie system as well as session aware bookmarks.
Features of Stainless
- Stainless takes some of the best features of Chrome, like its multi-purpose search address bar.
- If one website tab crashes on your browser, rest assured, Stainless’ independent tabbed browsing will keep your other tabs open and safe.
- Open multiple instances of a website or email clients with parallel browsing.
- Stainless is easy and snappy to use.
Cons
- The web browser ships with so many features built in that it’s a bit puzzling why it doesn’t have much in the way of configuration options.
- Despite its similarities to Chrome, Stainless does not have support for extensions.
6. Maxthon
Are you a fan of Microsoft Edge web browser? If yes, then Maxthon’s clean and sleek user interface will look familiar to you. Maxthon combines the ease of use of Edge with the standard features found in modern browsers like Chrome.
Features of Maxthon:
- Maxthon uses low system resources, making it ideal for laptops and Macbooks.
- It speeds up page loading. Thanks to its anti-freeze technology, it also doesn’t freeze if a page isn’t done loading, meaning you can open another tab and carry on.
- Your passwords, history and information are easily synced.
- It has a good feature which doesn’t let you fill the information on websites you visited in the past when you visit it for the next time as it saves the information for you.
Cons:
- Maxthon doesn’t have a lot of extensions.
- It is not the most secure browser out there. Some trojans and ransomware could be installed without you knowing about it.
7. Brave Browser
Brave is a Chromium-based web browser for Mac. Its free, fast and has a great ad-blocker included. A new and emerging browser for Mac, Brave is secure, private and fast. Brave is open source and focuses on your privacy.
Features of Brave:
- 8x Faster than other browsers.
- It provides great security against ads, trackers and malware.
- The paid “Private Tabs with Tor” feature provide an absolutely private browsing experience.
- It has an excellent Battery and Data Saver option. Helps if you are using it on a Macbook or mobile device.
Cons:
- The web browser is currently freemium. However, it is going to switch to pay-as-you-surf-model soon.
- The browser slows down if you haven many tabs open, especially on Macs.
- Features a learning curve for new users.
- Ad-blocking tool can hurt web publishers.
8. Yandex
Yandex is fast, responsive and very simple to use. If you miss the look of Microsoft’s Edge browser, Yandex can work as an alternative. Plus, it supports Opera/Chrome extensions too, boosting its feature set by leaps.
Features Of Yandex:
- A simple yet effectively focused user interface that gets the job done.
- The web browser comes with Turbo mode, which is pretty nifty if you’re getting slow internet speeds. Turbo mode kicks in automatically and speeds up page loading. It also helps you save on data charges by compressing the data needed for browsing media-rich sites.
- It protects your passwords and bank card details and keeps your online payments safe from theft.
- It has a voice assistant which can help you navigate and launch your favorite sites by speech.
- Low memory footprint.
Cons
- Yandex’s translating features, especially German and Russian, are a hit and a miss.
- It uses a lot of disk space (500mb in some instances).
- It was developed in Russia, so for the folks who want a secure web browser, there are other alternatives out there.
9. SeaMonkey
If you’re looking for more than just a fully featured web browser for the Mac, you’ve got to try out SeaMonkey. It’s a browser, advanced e-mail, newsgroup and feed client. And then there’s support for IRC chat. Plus it also has an adequate HTML editor built in for developers to use.
Features of SeaMonkey:
- SeaMonkey is a breeze to use, despite its plethora of features. It starts fast and responds quickly.
- The email and newsgroup client is based on Mozilla Thunderbird. The web browser is based on Firefox.
- You can customize toolbars the way you want it.
- Delete cookies easily after a surfing session.
- Did your browser crash? SeaMonkey’s saved surfing session feature ensures you don’t miss a beat.
Cons
- SeaMonkey does not feature support for voice assistants or mouse gestures yet.
- Given its feature-heavy emphasis, users may have to get used to its user interface. It was designed for power users in mind.
10. Vivaldi
From the same team that developed Opera, Vivaldi is a natural evolution of a great Chromium-based web browser on the Mac. This open source browser takes your privacy very seriously. It packs a ton of innovative features while being fast and lean.
Features of Vivaldi
- Love tabs? Vivaldi gives you a lot of options to arrange and manage then as you like. They come with previews, can be stacked and more.
- Like Chrome extensions? The good news is that you can use them with Vivaldi too!
- Good customization features.
- Faster page downloading at slow internet speeds.
Cons:
- Since it is based on Chrome, Vivaldi tends to hog up the RAM and system resources. It drains battery life faster when compared to other browsers.
- There is no easy way to sync passwords, settings, bookmarks online.
Hopefully, you will be able to choose the best browser for Mac from this list for your needs. Whether you love customization, or your privacy, there is everything for everyone here.
Happy browsing folks!
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Ever wondered which is the best web browser for Mac? Gone are the days when there were only a few web browsers. There are hundreds if not thousands of Mac web browsers. For qualifying as the best browser for Mac, the browser should be fast and have a sleek design. I took time pondering over that question and my research revealed the following 10 best Mac web browsers.
Best Browsers for Mac
1. Google Chrome
It is no secret that Google Chrome is the best internet browser not only for Mac but also Windows PC. Chrome is the most popular internet browser. One of the features that make this browser one of the best is the wide range of useful Chrome extensions. The browser is clutter free and can open multiple tabs smoothly. Its default search engine is the reputable Google.
2. Opera
Opera is more popular on mobile devices than computers. But this giant browser has slowly taken over the Mac OS. The browser is often updated to give the latest browser features and get rid of bugs. The user-friendly interface and fast web page loading are the key features of this browser and make it one of the best browser for Mac. Opera now also comes with free VPN.
3. Mozilla Firefox
What Are The Best Internet Browsers For Mac
You cannot think of the best web browser for Mac and fail to think of Mozilla Firefox. This software has been in the market for ages. It is reputable for its powerful built-in features that benefit web developers in performing tweaks and web customization. Firefox for Mac allows effective management of bookmarks, blocks malware and allows pop-ups blockage.
4. Apple Safari
Apple’s Safari is the default browser for Mac. The fact that it is the default browser means that it has a set of powerful features. The browser is subject to frequent updates. Each new version comes with an improved user interface. Apple Safari is the best browser for Apple devices that run iOS. The browser lacks some features on the Mac OS. Nevertheless, the lack of clutter and incredible visual balance are incomparable to any other Mac web browser.
Check Also: How to clear history on Safari
5. OmniWeb
OmniWeb is the best browser for mac with regard to design. Another amazing feature of this web browser is the advanced ad-blocking. Omniweb handles RSS news feeds with precision. The most unique of its features is the ‘Sidebar Tabs’. Sidebar tabs allow the user to have a small visual preview of the open tabs. This feature is helpful in finding hidden tabs when there are multiple tabs open.
6. Camino
Camino browser is exclusive to Mac users. It has a unique design and superb speed. The fact that it is specifically designed for Mac users means that its user interface and design are top notch. The browser has been in the market since 2005. The support for the browser was discontinued three years ago. However, you can still download the latest version of the browser on the official website.
7. RocketMelt
Another best browser for Mac is RocketMelt. RocketMelt is popular for its powerful Facebook integration. You have to sign in with Facebook to enjoy all the features of this browser. The browser allows you to enjoy Facebook without having to visit the site. You can pin your favorite friends, Facebook pages, social networks and blogs on the sidebar. You will receive updates on the pinned sites without having to open the pages.
8. Maxthon
Maxthon is the best internet browser for Mac when cloud browsing is the factor under consideration. Maxthon is a cross-platform browser. It allows syncing of browsing data across all your devices including smartphones, Windows, and Linux PC. Once you have installed Maxthon on all your devices you can access open tabs, bookmarks, and passwords across all your devices. What more could define the best browser?
9. Torch
Do you know what makes Chrome the best web browser for Mac? Like chrome, Torch is based on Chromium project. The browser comes with an array of features, add-ons, and extensions. The built-in features are quite impressive. They include; media grabber, Torch Player, Torch Games, Torch Torrent and Torch Music. Torch Browser is a Mac Browser that was designed with all browser needs in mind.
10. Flock Web Browser
Flock Web Browser is the perfect alternative for Mozilla Firefox. The browser uses the Firefox 3 technology. The browser was designed to ease your interaction with RSS feed, blogs, and social media sites. The spate toolbar in the browser allows quick sharing of pages and links with your social media followers and blog subscribers.
Best Browsers For Mac
Final thoughts
Free Internet Browsers For Mac
Speed, design, safety and security define the best browser for Mac. All the Mac web browsers highlighted above have these features. Whichever you choose to download has good features and will suit your browsing needs. Do you know any other Mac web browser that deserves to be on this list? Let us know in the comments section.