Comparing Web Browsers: Internet Explorer, Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox
There was a time when only one browser was vastly superior to another, but now due to the emergence of various web browsers, it has become tough for you to choose the best one amongst so many varieties. Fortunately, you cannot go wrong with any of popular web browsers anymore, but there are a few things here and there that give each of its own competitive edge of the others.
Here is the comparison among the most popular web browsers: Internet Explorer, Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
Internet Explorer | Safari | Google Chrome | Mozilla Firefox | |
Developer | Microsoft | Apple Inc. | Mozilla Foundation | |
Open Source | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
First Public Release Version | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.2.149.27 | 0.1 |
First Public Release Year | August 16, 1995 | January 7, 2003 | September 2, 2008 | September 23, 2002 |
Software License | Proprietary | Proprietary (browser), GNU LGPL (WebKit) | Google Chrome Terms of Service (Google Chrome’s closed-source features), BSD (Chromium executable) | MPL, MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-license |
Accessibility Features | Ad Filtering, Caret Navigation, Full-text History Search, Text-to-Speech, Voice Control | Caret Navigation, Full-text History Search, Mouse Gesture, Spatial Navigation, Text-to-Speech, Voice Control | Full-text History Search, Spatial Navigation, Text-to-Speech, Voice Control | Caret Navigation |
Platform and OS | Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris OS, HP-UX | Mac OS X | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X | Windows, Mac, Linux, Mac OS X, BSD, Other/Unix |
Current Layout Engine | Trident | WebKit | WebKit | Gecko |
Mobile Tech Support | None | WML | None | None |
Web Technology Support |
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Plugins and Syndicated Content Support |
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Protocol Support
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Image Formats Supported |
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Average Market Share | 18% | 5.92% | 25.7% | 25.2% |
CPU Usage | 18.1% | 4.4% | 3% | 7.6% |
Overall Performance Rankings | 5/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 |