Which web browser is best?

[Albert Wiersch]

This is an interesting article/comparison on which web browser is "best":
Web Browser Grand Prix 3: IE9 Enters The Race

They did not test the upcoming Firefox 4 though.

[Albert Wiersch]

They have now added Firefox 4, but IE9 is still on top.

Web Browser Grand Prix 4: Firefox 4 Goes Final

[almedajohnson]

Yeah it was quite an interesting article. I will go for Firefox. I think firefox is the best browser

[BillJ777]

Absolutely...Firefox is my choice, after all the problems I've had with IE I had to do some research to try and find out why. During that research I found out just how bad IE is and why - mostly because of security issues. I used to have 3 or 4 different instances of IE pop up every time I tried to use the browser, I could see them running in my task manager but when I tried to close down just one they all shut down. I finally just gave up on IE and I'm glad I did, Firefox is great.

[cionem]

I've been using Firefox for years now. But I have chrome as backup. You can learn how to get a girlfriend and what attracts women to men if you're like most guys who want to have a girlfriend.

[jonesalex284]

Hello People, Google Chrome is the best web browser.

Explanations:

1. The newest version of Google Chrome is much faster than any other browser on the planet for desktop use.
2. Google chrome is owned by Google Itself and is much safer to use Google Chrome with Google Products.
3. The ability to read web pages and translate them in any language makes Google Chrome Unbeatable in web browsers.

Internet Explorer is best when used for authentication related queries. It's refreshing ability is super strong however it is quite slow in terms of accessibility.

Opera is best for Mobile "Opera Mini" Is unbeatable browser for mobiles and android usage.

Firefox is Good for it's add on features but soon Google Chrome is taking that place.

[MikeGale]

In response to jonesalex284.

Hello People, Google Chrome is the best web browser.

There's no one answer to this. Some people pay little attention to factors that others think are critical.

Some points that matter to some:

Information gathering. Browsers can gather information about you. When I last monitored what Chrome is sending down the wire I see more traffic than other browsers. (Google search also seems to be collecting more data than it did before.) If that's important to you...

I've found that on some OS's Firefox prevents a favourite keyboard shortcut from working, when it's default. (It hijacks the name of html files in a way that sabotages the shortcut to create a new directory (Alt F W F). The developers have known about this for several years and, I think, originally decided to fix it, but seem to have changed the decision. Every time a new version comes out registry editing is needed to fix the mess.) I stopped using Firefox as default on that OS.

Special needs. If you use Google sites a great deal there's performance benefits from Chrome. If you use Sharepoint a lot I imagine that IE is needed. Opera does some unique things, which may influence your choice. If you like some of your browsing to be private I imagine that Firefox-Tor may be your choice.

Some sites are not fully developed for all browsers. For example I recently tried out an online University (MOOC). It has a lot of video lectures. I find normal talking pace is way too slow, so I need to speed it up. The code to run videos is definitely a work in progress! I found a browser that actually worked to speed up the lectures, on that site, so I used that.

Everybody has their own needs. Web developers should also test their product on all popular browsers, so can't have a favourite. (Though an increasing number of sites, see above, seem to be made by developers who may not be trying very hard.)

From my perspective no browser does some important things that I want. I have to find my own ways to make it work. I imagine others, similarly, have things that they want to do that no free browser can do!

On top of that it changes all the time. Like if you use Windows 8 what is the situation? (As an illustrtaion there's a new version of the above review, with different conclusions. Note: that rating doesn't consider some things that are important to me!)

[vcharlotte35854]

Each major browser has pros and cons. I use Firefox, which I think has the most robust features, but Chrome is a close second.

[Albert Wiersch]

On top of that it changes all the time. Like if you use Windows 8 what is the situation? (As an illustrtaion there's a new version of the above review, with different conclusions. Note: that rating doesn't consider some things that are important to me!)

Yep... things are again changing very quickly now.

Here's the latest update:

Which Web Browser Is Best Under Windows 8?

So there you have it: Chrome is still king under Windows, and Windows 8 trumps Windows 7. Internet Explorer 10 yields massive improvements in nearly every measure, but it's just not the clean sweep that IE9 was when it debuted.

Currently, I'm still using Firefox as my main browser.

[Lou]

Here's the latest update:

Which Web Browser Is Best Under Windows 8?

Yes changing fast. Tom's review above uses FireFox 16. Just last week I downloaded v 17. I too use FF as my primary browser. For development I do keep 5 browsers current having decided not to worry about older versions.

One of the bills I pay online ONLY works with IE. It is hard to believe that a major utility company lets their IT people get away with that but they do. So instead of spending $0.50 a month to pay my bill I load IE.

[Albert Wiersch]

One of the bills I pay online ONLY works with IE. It is hard to believe that a major utility company lets their IT people get away with that but they do. So instead of spending $0.50 a month to pay my bill I load IE.

Yes, that is hard to believe.

Microsoft still seems to require IE for some of their sites to work properly. I don't like that either, but I suppose it makes more sense than a major utility company requiring IE.

[Lou]

Microsoft still seems to require IE for some of their sites to work properly.

Yes I accept it when updating sitemaps, etc. with Bing/Yahoo. As you say it is understandable, but I grumble every time.

[MikeGale]

I was having a look at the individual tests, then the aggregated result. They weren't right for me.

I then found this statement

With composite scoring for each major test category, the Web Browser Grand Prix no longer needs the scoring system and weighting brackets it once had. The final score is now simply a geometric mean of the various benchmark results. This eliminates the arbitrary point system and creates accurate placing (sic) tied directly to the actual benchmark results.

That explains a lot for me. The rating entirely avoids giving the factors importance! Ouch.

I think they used to give tables of actual results. That allows you to form your own opinion, with a little work. (I couldn't find that anymore. If anyone else can find it, I'd appreciate the link.) In the absence of base data I found that looking through the individual tests and adding in my own factors, I can get some value from these!

(I had a more detailed look at the site. There are a lot of web requests triggered when a single page is requested. Typically more than 70 requests, when asking for one page. (clients4.google.com, partner.googleadservices.com, api.bizographics.com, ad.doubleclick.net, b.scorecardresearch.com, odb.outbrain.com, gscounters.us1.gigya.com...) Seems that Tom's is currently part of a global company, I think based on advertising revenues.)

[crazyeglishone]

I think firefox is great, especially the newer versions. By newer versions I mean version after 15. Chrome might be fast, but it eats too much memory. IE is good too, but not so user-friendly.

So I vote for FF.

[handyman2]

Obviously it is Firefox. As what my avatar used.