Web Browser Grand Prix: The Top Five, Tested And Ranked

[mcshasta]

I've been using Opera for years. Not planning on making a browser switch anytimes soon.
Will have to agree with randomizer that it is an "acquired" taste.

 

[adamovera]

[citation][nom]hebe[/nom]I tried NonTroppo's tests using Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and IE. I was unable to replicate the results for Opera, which loaded considerably faster than the results here would suggest. My machine, a laptop with 35+ tabs open in Opera, should not have been able to average better than yours by such a wide margin in every NonTroppo test listed. Firefox also did significantly better, and I tested both Firefox 3.5 and 3.6... Surely your results should be easily replicated, and certainly not exceeded on an inferior machine. I'd invite others to run these tests as well and see if their scores for Firefox and Opera exceed those in the article.[/citation]
Are you running them from the website, or did you save them locally? Sorry, I may have forgotten to mention that the NonTroppo tests were (and should) be run locally. And yes, lower machines seem to favor FF and Opera more than on a desktop (dunno what your specs are, but I've seen what you describe happen on a netbook)

 

[DarkMantle]

I have use Opera for a long time now, it is the only browser I know of that has memory usage tweaks, it really doesn’t matter to me if it uses to much memory when you have an advanced option to free all memory it’s using when minimized, when ever I’m using another program that need my ram I just minimize Opera and it uses 1.5 mb of ram with 20 tabs open.

 

[Otus]

I haven't used Chrome/Chromium for a few months, but last time I used it, the Linux build sucked. Once it stabilizes and gets a couple of important extensions, I'll probably ditch Firefox for Chromium. Unless they can get 3.7/4.0 out soon...

 

[mowston]

While this is an interesting article, it seems that security would be a very important aspect... any plans for a part 2?

Also, although IE may not follow the web standards, I still occasionally run across pages (like Bellsouth) that won't let me use Opera, so I have to switch to IE. Is this a simple browser check, or are they really using a feature that only IE has?

 

[adamovera]

[citation][nom]Otus[/nom]I haven't used Chrome/Chromium for a few months, but last time I used it, the Linux build sucked. Once it stabilizes and gets a couple of important extensions, I'll probably ditch Firefox for Chromium. Unless they can get 3.7/4.0 out soon...[/citation]
It's definitely not perfect yet (some crashes), but it is usable and FAST. You should probably look at their extensions gallery before diving in if that's what's important to you. I use Chromium on Kubuntu 9.10 64-bit with a bunch of extensions all day, every day.

 

[zak_mckraken]

Great, interesting review. I use Chrome at home. I like it because it's fast, but I never realized it was actually that good. I was mainly supporting Google!

Also, an interesting, already known fact came out publicly with this review : Your page is slow Tom's. Take the hint.

 

[adamovera]

@mitch074: I totally agree with what you said about Opera's UI. I've always felt that the thought process behind their UI design was "how can we make it as different from the other browsers as possible" instead of "how can we make a usable UI". But I gotta change my mind with 10.50. The new UI actually makes sense and takes advantage of screen real estate. Check out 10.50, it's worth the price But I would have to agree with you for every other version of that browser.

 

[Silmarunya]

Interesting review! I'm viewing this article in Opera and it feels nice to see the underdog perform so well. Chrome is faster, put personally I find the added features like mouse gestures and turbo on slow connections, as well as the excellent UI to make it a better browser.

But really, this article tells nothing new at all. Once again it becomes clear that it doesn't really matter what you use as long as it's not IE. And I don't need a big article for that tbh...

 

[adamovera]

[citation][nom]mowston[/nom]While this is an interesting article, it seems that security would be a very important aspect... any plans for a part 2? Also, although IE may not follow the web standards, I still occasionally run across pages (like Bellsouth) that won't let me use Opera, so I have to switch to IE. Is this a simple browser check, or are they really using a feature that only IE has?[/citation]
I am vetting security tests, but so far I'm not sure there are enough to make a full article on security
BellSouth must have made their site compliant with IE during that period of trying to rewrite (or defy?) web standards (version 6 or 7, can't remember). Really not familiar with the site or IE-only techniques, but that would be my guess.

 

[adamovera]

[citation][nom]lwi[/nom]Am I the only one noticing that the startup speed test gives really weird results? Both Safari and Firefox start up faster when they have to load more tabs, compare the result for 5 and 8 tabs! Or do I understand the test methodology wrong?[/citation]
I'll have to look into Firefox again just to be sure, but I was aware of the Safari results, so I triple-checked the Safari outcome. Safari kicks it into high gear with 8 tabs and seems to take it's time on 5. I know, it's really strange but time and time again, it loads 8 before 5. Not sure if that's good or bad, I guess it depends on your personal usage habits.

 

[monkeysweat]

I prefer firefox, but I have to keep IE around because my company's web interface ONLY works with IE -> IE tab in firefox does not even circumvent this,,, not only that, my computer won't allow me to upgrade from IE 6

 

[Tomtompiper]

[citation][nom]lwi[/nom]Am I the only one noticing that the startup speed test gives really weird results? Both Safari and Firefox start up faster when they have to load more tabs, compare the result for 5 and 8 tabs! Or do I understand the test methodology wrong?[/citation]


Have you got Adblock switched off? I tried a few tests and wondered why my scores where better than the articles ones. Then I disabled Adblock and the loading time doubled.

 

[twocandles]

It took me some time moving from Firefox to Chrome. Firefox has a myriad of extensions and some of them were a must (like TabMixPlus for tab management and mouse gestures). I ended up moving to Chrome despite of the lack of extensions because of its speed and simplicity. And recently I found ChromePlus. It's based on Chrome but it adds gestures, some tab management, IE tab...I'm really enjoying it.

 

[Guest]

Your table shows Safari taking 21+ seconds to open 5 tabs, but 10+ to open 8 tabs. There are other illogical cases as well. Do you have some labels switched?

 

[zelannii]

I use Opera primarily for general surfing and my favorite sites (and at work, since I can't find a portable version of Safari that runs for a USB). I use Safari on everything i can use it on, especially when doing research as it's page history search feature is massively powerful. I've not lost a link since I started using it.

Chrome may be fast, but a formula 1 car is simply not comfortable to drive... (the GUI is ugly and it lacks many features i heavily use). Its not so much faster than Opera or Safari that it's truly noticeable (including on a Mac where Safari feels even faster).

Firefox takes WAY too long to load, and has issues displaying some popular pages as well. It also feels dog slow.

IE, beyond being slow, also lacks many common features, has significant security risks, no good blocker add-ons, and can't display a lot of pages right at all unless they were written for it. The ONLY time I use IE is when I'm forced to.

 

[adamovera]

One thing I want to add about this article is that I started it in the last week of January, before Firefox 3.6 or Chrome 4 were released. In the first set of tests, Safari had the lead. The order was Safari, Chrome, Opera, Firefox, IE.
When Firefox 3.6 came out, it became a contender, but not enough to push out Safari (or Chrome 3.x). The new pecking order was Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, IE.
A few days later when Chrome 4.0 was released, it became the leader, making the new lineup: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, IE.
At this point the article was ready to be published. In fact, it was put in queue Monday night. Tuesday morning Opera 10.50 was released - doh! So if you see any typos, I apologize, I've been pulling all-nighters to get the new Opera results in by today's deadline so as to not give you guys out-dated info. Now the order is: Chrome, Opera, Safari, Firefox, IE. This WILL change, it's only a matter of time, and not much of it.
Browsers are definitely one product that is NOT stagnating. The placing of these browsers changed four times in one month! Meaning that one month ago, Safari would have been our pick. Obviously, I have a lot of data that didn't make it into the article due to the release schedules. I can definitely tell you that Firefox 3.6 is a BIG improvement over 3.5.x - so I don't doubt their claim of a 20% speed boost at all. Also, Opera moved from a sad 4th place to damn near 1st when they brought out 10.50. Good job guys! That's a big improvement.
I have a feeling that the frenetic pace of innovation isn't going to slow down any time soon, especially with Europe getting a ballot screen. Exciting (if not exhausting) times for Web browsers

 

[adamovera]

[citation][nom]tomtompiper[/nom]Have you got Adblock switched off? I tried a few tests and wondered why my scores where better than the articles ones. Then I disabled Adblock and the loading time doubled.[/citation]
Yeah, as much as I'd like to use it sometimes, being a web writer puts AdBlock in my 'do not use' pile. I mean, hey, that's my bread and butter Honestly, I don't even see the ads anymore unless they pop out at you and block content (that's just mean). Now if I could remove them from video sites like Hulu (2 ads for The Larry Sanders Show, really?) then I might give it a try.

 

[cadder]

I switched from IE to FF not because of speed but because of security. My machine would get loaded with spyware after using IE, but I have none of those problems with FF. I think an important part of your tests should be security. Do a clean Windows install, load a browser, surf a group of questionable sites, then scan for spyware. Do this for all browsers and then compare the results.

Another important consideration is compatibility or reliability. Which browser works on the highest percentage of sites. IE will open sites that FF will not, which is occasionally a nuisance. Are the alternative browsers better in this respect?

 

[Guest]

One thing ... Silverlight is with a lower case L. I think it shows your ignorance if you can't get the name of the product correct.

 

[adamovera]

[citation][nom]programx[/nom]One thing ... Silverlight is with a lower case L. I think it shows your ignorance if you can't get the name of the product correct.[/citation]
Doh! I was writing a lot of 'JavaScript' and it caught on like a disease, I had to correct a bunch of FireFox too. LOL

 

[Guest]

First, congratulations for your hard work. You have done a heck of a job. However, I have some issues with your findings.
First, the Acid3 test, click on the A in acid after the test has run thrice (or at least twice)and click on the A in Acid. That will tell you the time taken to complete the test, and is the test for smoothness (each test needs to complete in less than 33 ms on the top end Mac, it does not matter if the testing on your computer took slightly longer for any browser, it would not prove that the browser failed) . Just testing once, as you seem to have done, is a faulty test, as the test is supposed to run from cache. All three browsers, Chrome, Safari and Opera pass the test, and should be joint winners, since this is not a performance test, with Firefox fourth.
If you have to treat it like a performance test, give the numbers after following the above procedure. This is especially important for your report, because if done correctly, it would put Opera in the First place.
I also have quibbles about the memory tests. Memory is there to be used! That is the premise on any software developer works. If you have to measure memory efficiency, limit the memory of the OS and then see the performance hit taken. Any other way is just invalid. The important thing is whether there are any memory leaks. Testing for memory leaks is done by opening a huge number of tabs (say 100 or so) and then keeping it for a few hours, and certainly not in the way you describe.
Anyway good article, cheers.

 

[terr281]

I was a die-hard user of IE 6.0 for years... before my mate switched me to Firefox in the 2.x era. However, with the release of Firefox 3.x, I quickly noticed the browser's slowdown when compared to my trusty IE 6.0... so I switched back.

Then, Google released Chrome... and slaughtered IE 6.0's speed. At present, I use Chrome 99% of the time and IE 6.0 for that 1% of the time that I find pages that are still written for that "non-standard."

And, to answer the question of why X% of users still use IE 6/7/8... it is businesses. Our company requires all users to use IE (7.0 atm, the developers are testing company apps for 8.0 now.) Why? Because, at one time, IE 3.0 took over Netscape's domination and flew. Therefore, applications that were written from that era forward were written for IE. And, as new versions have been released, the applications get slightly modified for them.

Several of us in the IT department (with admin rights to our machines) install other browsers and use them regularly... "for testing purposes." (IE: We can't stand IE.) But, according to company policy, IE is the ONLY browser.

 

[Honis]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ @ 2.0 GHz (dual core)

Sorry but I stopped reading here.

First of all, very few people run on that processor. Secondly, even todays $400 desktops are more powerful.

 

[anachronite]

who cares about speed, as none of these are really slow enough to keep one from using any of them. What I want to know is which is the most non-intrusive and taxing on your system as well as keeping personal privacy in mind. I would never use Chrome as google keeps ALL of your information in a data base. Thats just creepy.