The best browser for Android or the best browser for Windows can not be the best browser for Mac. Even the fastest browser for iOS is not supposed to be the fastest browser for Mac OS. As each operating system has different features, functionality and requirements, so you need a powerful internet.

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1. 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.
2. Chrome is one of the fastest and among the best browsers for Mac. The uncluttered and simple interface supports thousands of extensions that increase the browser’s functionality. The browser gives users a fast browsing experience, powerful rendering, control options, and a.

Since most of your working (or even entertainment) time today is spent in your web browser window, it's likely the most important app on your computer. Without a doubt, there are lots of web browsers for Mac, but not all of them were created equal. So you might be wondering what is the best web browser for Mac.

After all, not everyone's needs are the same. You might be striving for speed or safety, or alternative ways of surfing online. And with Microsoft Edge set to appear on Mac shortly, the competition to become the top browser for Mac is getting fierce — but there's no need to try them all.

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The browser comparison below will outline all strengths and weaknesses of all the contenders on the market today to reveal the best browser for Mac you need.

What Makes The Best Web Browser

Depending on how exactly you use your Mac browser, you might require different features and specialties. Generally, there are four broad categories that make people sway one way or another.

Familiarity: Use something regularly for a while and you'll develop muscle memory, which makes it extremely hard to switch to anything else. This is the main reason most people keep using the first web browser they've tried. But it’s important to realize that experimenting with alternative browsers is not hard and might present you with much better options in no time.

Speed: Slow speed might quickly kill even the best web browser for Mac. If you think about it, no one has ever asked for their webpage to take more time to load.

Security: A lucky few might have never been the target of a hack or malware with a potential to disrupt or in some cases destroy a computer. But there's no such thing as being too careful. While some browsers are optimized for ease of use, there are safe browsers too that are secure from the ground up.

Bells and whistles: For some, it's the little things that matter most. Looking for Chromecast support? Configurable shortcuts? Extension libraries? All best internet browsers try to differentiate themselves in various ways to tailor to particular audiences.

The top browser for Mac out of the box: Safari

It could be that the best browser for Mac is the one that comes with every Mac already. Apple's proprietary web browser for Mac, Safari, is preinstalled on all Apple devices and is generally a good choice. No shame here for not bothering to explore alternative browsers at all.

Safari is good because Apple doesn't do things by half measures. Benchmarks suggest that when it comes to Safari vs Firefox, Safari loads HTML twice as fast, and four times as fast for Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Makes sense — no one knows Apple hardware better than Apple, so they have all the trump cards for near-perfect speed optimization. Safari might well be the fastest browser for Mac.

In terms of extras, Safari has a decent support for third-party plugins and integrates perfectly with your iOS and watchOS devices.

What’s great:

• Blazing-fast speed
• Already installed on your Mac

Not so great:

• Lacks Chromecast support and some other plugins

The most popular web browser: Chrome

Chrome is by far the top browser for Mac and other operating systems when it comes to popularity — some reports suggest that 70% of people on the web use it. But does that mean it’s the best web browser for Mac?

It could be. First of all, Chrome is generally one of the fastest web browsers. Second, it uses Google's proprietary Sandbox security technology, so you're completely safe running all kinds of websites on it. Third, Chrome's extension library is the largest on the market, allowing you to transform the browser into the tool for all your needs.

Even better, when you sign into your Google account on any Chrome browser anywhere, it'll load your bookmarks and logins right away. So if you're constantly using different computers, Chrome is a great choice (just remember to log out if you're using public ones).

When it comes to Safari vs Chrome, Safari wins as the best browser for Mac, whereas Chrome takes the crown if you find yourself jumping between operating systems.

What’s great:

• Fast and secure
• The best third-party support for browser extensions
• Travels well by signing into Chrome from anywhere
• Fully integrated with Chromecast

Not so great:

• Not as fast as Safari

The underdogfox web browser: Mozilla Firefox for Mac

Though it's not as commonly used as Safari or Chrome, Firefox is not without its share of devoted fans. It's been a mainstay in the browser wars for many years now and is maybe the most recognized one of the alternative browsers for people who would rather not support megalithic companies like Apple or Google. So do you want to download Firefox for Mac?

Unfortunately, sometimes the underdog is the underdog for a reason. Firefox is quite a bit slower when it comes to loading webpages. And while you can sign into your Firefox account for bookmarks just like in Google Chrome, the fact that it’s not a standard option on most computers in the way Chrome is makes this feature less useful.

Add to that a busy design that looks at odds with macOS, and when it comes to Safari vs Firefox as the best browser for Mac, Safari is the clear winner.

What’s great:

• Open-source development
• Long-established user base
• Firefox account to sync bookmarks across computers

Not so great:

• Slow by modern web standards
• Busy design

The 'could be a contender' browser: Opera for Mac

Opera has been around for years, but it's always been the 'also-ran' of the alternative browsers. But things could be different now: Opera today comes with a free VPN, ad-block, and built-in messenger client support right out of the box. The free VPN alone makes this browser worth downloading and checking out.

In the backend, Opera usings the same Blink Engine that powers Chrome, so you can be sure of its speed. Add to that integrated phishing and malware lists and you have a fast and secure browser. Some could argue that given recent Opera innovations it might have surpassed Firefox as the third-best web browser. It also might now be the best new browser for Mac, depending on what you’re looking for.

What’s great:

• Free VPN
• Just as fast as Chrome
• Great default ad and malware blocking

Not so great:

• Less third-party support compared to Chrome
• Low adoption

How to change default browser on Mac

So now that you have so many options to try — explore their websites and download the ones that you like. Just remind yourself that you're not yet fully committed to any single one.

But once you decide which one is your favorite, you need to know how to change default browser on Mac:

1. Click on the Apple menu ➙ System Preferences
2. Navigate to the General tab
3. Find a dropdown menu marked 'Default web browser' and click on it to choose from the browsers you've installed

The top browser for Mac is what you make of it

In the end, it doesn't matter too much which browser is the best — if you like it and feel like it does what you need it to do, then everybody's happy. What matters the most is whether or not you can customize the browser to your needs. That means downloading extensions that make the most of your internet experience.

If you've ever been watching a YouTube video and thought, 'I wish there was a safe and easy way to download this video,' then you absolutely need to check out Downie.

Capture video from any browser

Try a seamless video downloader that works with any browser. With Downie, you’ll be able to instantly save videos from 1000+ sites.

Downie is an app for your Mac that lets you drag and drop videos from any website onto your computer. It works like magic:

1. Copy a link from Vimeo or YouTube or anywhere else
2. Open Downie and hit ⌘ + V to paste the link
3. The download will start automatically

Even for times when you can't find a song anywhere but streaming video, use Downie to simply download the audio file. Brilliant!

Want to edit or format that file? Downie blends seamlessly with Permute, which lets you combine videos, edit them down, or convert the file type:

1. Drag and drop a video onto Permute
2. Choose to work with Audio or Video
3. Use the dropdown to choose the file format to convert to
4. Click Start

Yet another great app to completely unlock your browser is Inboard. Designed to easily capture screenshots from your screen so that you can create collages and moodboards, Inboard lets you cut and paste images from your Mac browser, and even make a Pinterest-style inspiration board from all your captured pictures.

Best of all, Downie, Permute, and Inboard are all available to try absolutely free for seven days when you sign up for Setapp, an app subscription services that gives you over 150 different apps for every possible use case. Now that’s a Mac browser transformed!

Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.

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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.

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?

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.

Other Web Browsers For Mac

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:

Which Browser Is The Fastest For Mac Os

• 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.

Best Browser For Macbook Pro

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.

Top Browser For Mac

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!