Brave Browser (Windows and macOS Free) 2. Yandex (Windows and macOS Free) 3. Slimjet (Windows and macOS Free) 4. Midori (Windows and macOS Free) Lightweight browsers ship with the basic tools you need to access web pages without draining PC resources or increasing CPU temperature. In this article, you’ll find some of the best. Tor Browser is available for Mac, Windows, Linux and Android devices. Is there a better alternative? No, browsers such as Chrome or Firefox don’t offer you the same level of protection as Tor does, nor can they access the deep web. With Tor, you'll be safe and have a random IP every time.
Maxthon web browser for Mac provides you with the World’s fastest & secure web browser. Maxthon Cloud Browser for Mac offers Mac users a high-performance experience for PC and mobile devices. Get Firefox, a free web browser backed by Mozilla, a non-profit dedicated to internet health and privacy. Available now on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS.
Best apps live in Setapp
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.
Use Setapp for better Internet browsing
Have the fastest and strongest browser with Setapp, a toolkit of Mac apps that speed up and improve your browsing experience.
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:
Best Free Web Browser For Mac
- 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:
- Click on the Apple menu ➙ System Preferences
- Navigate to the General tab
- Find a dropdown menu marked 'Default web browser' and click on it to choose from the browsers you've installed
Make your browser complete
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. These 3 apps do a great job enhancing any of the browsers:
Slidepad is an iPad-style multitasking app that serves as a slide over browser. It doesn’t replace your primary browser, but it gives you a shortcut to the web and the apps you use regularly. With Slidepad, you can stay focused on your work; whenever there’s a need to google something or quickly open an app, hover to the side of your screen and Slidepad pops up.
Firefox For Mac
OpenIn is a superb app for redirecting links to the right browser or app. For instance, if you click on a mailto link, OpenIn will open it in Gmail or other mail app of your choice.
You can also list websites that should always open in a specific browser. This would be a great way to create separate workspaces. Or, set default openers for specific file types. Customize once and save lots of time every day.
ClearVPN will help you with your VPN needs. It’s a secure solution for location switching, unblocking geo-restricted content, etc. And it works with any of your browsers, flawlessly. We love this VPN app for its shortcuts: you can choose to “watch Oscar 2021 movies,” “unlock regional Netflix,” etc.
Best of all, Slidepad, OpenIn, and ClearVPN are all available to try absolutely free for seven days when you sign up for Setapp, a productivity service with Mac and iOS apps for every possible use case. Now that’s a Mac browser transformed!
Program Name: Acoo Browser
URL: www.acoobrowser.com
Short Description: Acoo Browser is a powerful multi-tabbed Internet browser based on the Internet Explorer engine.
Operating System: Win98/ME/NT/2000/XP, Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Acoo Browser allows users to surf multiple Web sites within one browser window. It also includes many advanced features such as Mouse Gestures, built-in calculator, Web page analyzer, syntax highlighted HTML source viewer, RSS Reader, Popup Blocking, ActiveX Filter, Ads Filter, script error suppression, URL Alias, Cleaner and Integrated search engine support.
Program Name: AOL Explorer
URL: downloads.channel.aol.com/browser/
Short Description: A tabbed free web browser with detachable desktop widgets.
Operating System: Windows 2000 or higher (Recommended XP)
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
AOL Exlporer uses an embedded IE engine and delivers tabbed browsing and enhanced security features. It uses automatic whois lookups for anti-phishing protection. Quick spyware scanning to help make your surfing safer. Detachable Desktop Widgets which remain active even after the browser is closed, giving you outside-the-browser internet. Includes page zooming and RSS support.
Program Name: Avant Browser
URL: www.avantbrowser.com
Short Description: Browse multiple Web sites simultaneously, blocks unwanted pop-ups and Flash ads automatically.
Operating System: Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Avant Browser allows users to browse multiple Web sites simultaneously and to block all unwanted pop-up pages and Flash ads automatically. The integrated cleaner helps users clear all traces and maintain privacy. The built-in Yahoo and Google search engines enable users to search for Web pages, images, groups, directories, lyrics, software, and news on the Internet. Avant Browser provides options for blocking the download of Flash media, pictures, video, sounds, and ActiveX components, so users can efficiently use their bandwidth and speed up page loading. All opened pages can be stopped, refreshed, closed, or arranged with one click. It also comes with built-in RSS reader. Its similar Web sites bar displays Web sites, which are related to the opened Web pages (NOTE: monitors your website visits).
Program Name: Camino™
URL: www.mozilla.org/projects/camino
Short Description: Camino™ (formerly known as Chimera) is a web browser for Mac OS X.
Operating System: Mac OS X
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
It has a Cocoa user interface, and embeds the Gecko layout engine. It is intended to be a simple, small and fast browser for Mac OS X
Program Name: Cayman Browser
URL: www.caymanbrowser.com
Short Description: Fast web browser with an improved rendering engine based on Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Operating System: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME or Windows XP, and Internet Explorer 4.01 or higher version.
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Multi-Window browsing: Browse multiple web pages simultaneously, all opened pages can be easily stopped, refreshed, closed or arranged easily.
Flash animation filter: Block flash ads just by a click. More than 85% of all flash animation on web pages is advertising. These flash files are pretty large, and normally take up to 90% of the size of the page you're visiting. With Cayman Browser you can save this bandwidth by blocking the download of these flash files with just one easy click.
Mouse gestures: Command browser with small mouse movements easily, click here to check the detail gestures.
Built-in popup killer: Easily eliminate unwanted pop-up pages automatically with just one click.
Auto fill forms: Fill in forms with only once typing to enable you to automatically complete forms on the web.
Drag&Drop support: Drag links on pages or other files to address bar or any place of the window (except the Web Page region) for surfing simultaneously quickly.
Voice engines: Reads a page aloud in any of 10 languages, and lots of speaking characters.
Program Name: Crazy Browser
URL: www.crazybrowser.com
Short Description: A tabbed free web browser with smart pop up blocker.
Operating System: Windows 95/98/ME/2000/ XP/NT 4.0 or later
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Crazy Browser is a powerful web browser, with full support for Windows XP Theme and P3P privacy policy and JavaScript error suppression. It can handle multiple monitors and has tab status indicators. Annoying pop up ad windows can be removed automatically and multiple pages can be saved and reopened together. Crazy Browser comes with many preconfigured search engines, but it can extend to use your own.
Program Name: Deepnet Explorer
URL: www.deepnetexplorer.com
Short Description: A powerful Web, P2P and News browser.
Operating System: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/NT, Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher, Service Pack 4 and above.
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Deepnet Explorer allows users to share and download files on the Gnutella P2P network and view the latest RSS news and weblogs. Includes Phishing Alarm, Tabbed Browsing, Multi Start Pages, Adverts Killer, Content Filter, Cookie Manager, Auto Login, Form Filler, Direct Search, Keyword Navigation, Mouse Gestures and Drag & Drop.
Program Name: Dillo Web Browser
URL: www.dillo.org
Short Description: A small and speedy free browser alternative for those running Unix.
Operating System: Unix
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Dillo project is a Free-SW project composed of voluntary developers from several parts of the world. It was founded in late 1999 and until now has accomplished 31 code releases. The main working group (maintainer, core developers and steady developers) is mainly in Europe and South America. The Dillo Web Browser has extraordinary speed, both on rendering and networking. It is around 40 times smaller than a conventional big browser, resulting in very quick startup.
Does not support CSS, Javascript, Java, SSL and has limited frames support.
Program Name: Epiphany
URL: www.gnome.org/projects/epiphany
Short Description: Epiphany addresses simplicity with a small browser designed for the web.
Operating System: GNU/Linux or UNIX
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Does NOT have mail, newsgroups, file management, instant messenging or coffee making. Epiphany combines simplicity with modularity to make a light and powerful web browser. Gecko rendering engine.
Program Name: GOSURF
URL: www.gosurfbrowser.com
Short Description: Browse multiple websites at the same time.
Operating System: Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Features include tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, integrated search engines, page zooming, clean up internet history, script virus protection and safe recovery. Opens links in the background. Automatically backup Favorites every week.
Program Name: GreenBrowser
URL: www.morequick.com/indexen.htm
Short Description: GreenBrowser is a multiple windows browser based on IE.
Operating System: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Features include tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, integrated search engines, RSS Support, Mouse Gestures, page zooming, safe recovery, AD Filter, Mouse Drag, Auto Fill Form, Auto Scroll, Auto Refresh, Auto Save, Auto Hide, Search Bar, External Toolbar, Collector, Page Manager, Download Manager, Group, Plugin, Skin, Proxy, Start Mode, URL Alias, Quick Key, Link List, Status Bar Setting, Sort Save Page, Clean System, Page Download Control, Page Background Color.
Program Name: K-Meleon
URL: kmeleon.sourceforge.net
Short Description: K-Meleon is an extremely fast, customizable, lightweight web browser for the win32 (Windows).
Operating System: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Based on Gecko, the rendering engine of Mozilla. Features include tabbed browsing, mouse gestures, pop up blocker, themes/skins, integrated search engines, RSS support, page zooming, safe recovery, fast browsing and complete toolbar, menue and keyboard shortcut customization.
Program Name: Konqueror Browser
URL: www.konqueror.org/features/browser.php
Short Description: Konqueror is an Open Source web browser.
Operating System: KDE Linux and Unix
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Has HTML4.0 compliance, supporting Java applets, JavaScript, CSS1 and (partially) CSS2, as well as Netscape plugins (for example, Flash or RealVideo plugins). Uses a very capable rendering engine called KHTML.
Program Name: Microsoft Internet Explorer
URL: www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx
Short Description: Standard browser for Windows.
Operating System: Windows
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
MSIA new browser capabilities and features include Auto Image Resizing, Image Toolbar, Media Bar and Print Preview. Auto Complete, History, and the Search Companion help you to quickly find what you need online. The customizable browsing layout helps you to tailor MSIE to your own needs. Security Zones and Content Advisor help you to block access to objectionable content on the Net.
Program Name: Safari Browser
URL: www.apple.com/safari/
Short Description: Standard browser for MAC OS X.
Operating System: MAC OS X and Windows
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
Safari, the Mac OS X default web browser, offers you a superior web experience with outstanding performance. Even the most complex of pages load at breakneck speed. In fact, Safari loads pages more quickly than any other Mac web browser. Safari uses the advanced interface technologies underlying Mac OS X to offer you an all-new view of the web, one that’s much easier to use. Features include 'SnapBack', Google search and tabbed browsing.
Program Name: SeaMonkey
URL: www.seamonkey-project.org
Short Description: All-in-one internet application suite.
Operating System: MAC OS X, Linux GTK2 and Windows
List Price: $ 0
Offer Type: Freeware.
All-in-one internet application suite containing an Internet browser, email and newsgroup client, HTML editor, IRC chat and web development tools. The internet browser is Gecko based with tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, integrated search, download manager, image manager, password manager, advanced security settings, themes, multi-language and multi-platform support.
Web Browsers For Mac Os
Shareware Web Browsers →