Web browsers review and compare

 

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comparison table

 

 

 

Table Allowing the user to select a number of products dependant on their filter options.

Items to compare	First Previous Last Next Showing columns 1 - 9 of 29
Select up to 5 items below. Then click the compare button CompareClear	Price ($)	Overall score	Performance (%)	Ease of use (%)	Memory usage (MB)	Memory usage - 10 tabs open (MB) (B)	Download manager	Password manager	Spelling check	Privacy mode	Auto-updater	Tabbed browsing	Pop-up blocking	Ad filtering	Anti-phishing tools	Full-text history search	Supports third-party add-ons	Windows XP	Windows Vista	Windows 7	Linux	Mac OS X	iPhone OS	Windows Mobile	Windows CE	Symbian	Website	Good Points	Bad Points	Brand
Google Chrome 3.0.195.33	Free	90	88	92	36	350	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	www.google.com/chrome	• Highest score overall. • Equal highest performance score. • Supports themes/skins. • Private browsing mode.	• Doesn’t support ad filtering by default. • No mobile version. • No print preview.	Google Chrome
Opera 10.01	Free	86	77	100	27	228	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y		Y	www.opera.com	• Highest score for ease of use. • Integrates email, chat, BitTorrent downloads and widgets. • Supports themes/skins. • Mobile versions available.	• No private browsing mode. • • • 81% • Mozilla	Opera
Mozilla Firefox 3.5.5	Free	81	73	92	35	170	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	www.mozilla.com/firefox	• Excellent Ease of Use score. • Small footprint for memory usage. • Largest range of thirdNparty addNons. • Supports themes/skins. • Private browsing mode.	• Doesn’t support ad filtering by default. • No mobile version. • • 80%	Mozilla Firefox
Apple Safari 4.03	Free	80	87	70	55	416	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	N	N	www.apple.com/safari	• Equal highest performance score. • Mobile version available. • Private browsing mode.	• Large footprint for memory usage. • Doesn’t support ad filtering by default. • No support for themes/skins.	Apple Safari
Microsoft Internet Explorer 8	Free	42	25	67	25	317	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y	Y	N	www.microsoft.com/windows/InternetNexplorer	• Mobile version available. • Private browsing mode.	• Worst overall score. • Worst performance. • No download manager. • No support for themes/skins. • Windows only.	Microsoft Internet Explorer
CompareClear	First Previous Last Next Showing columns 1 - 9 of 29

How we test

The overall score comprises 60% for performance and 40% for ease of use.

Ease of use includes installing and configuring the software; navigating web pages, searching and changing browser settings, as well as the ease of clearing private information such as cache, cookies, histories of browsing, download, data from forms and searches, passwords and so on; plus changing the look and feel of the browser (via themes or skins).

Performance is calculated from two benchmarking packages that test each browser for speed and compliance with web standards. Our tester also evaluates how efficiently each browser uses memory.

• Speed is based on the Peacekeeper (service.futuremark.com/peacekeeper) benchmark that measures browser performance by testing a range of browser rendering features, including JavaScript. A higher Peacekeeper score means faster and smoother web browsing.
• Compliance is important to ensure web pages display correctly. The Acid3 (www.webstandards.org/acid3) test is used to see how a browser complies with current web standards.
• Memory is a test of each browser’s memory usage by first launching the browser and recording the amount of RAM used by default, then loading 10 different pre-selected websites each in a seperate tab to simulate a heavier load. Heavier memory usage can impact low-memory systems, such as netbooks and some laptops. This result doesn’t contribute to the overall score.