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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.
Using Opera on Mac means adding all of Safari’s best features plus a whole host of features you never knew you needed. It’s a win-win for any Mac user. Most Mac users have never heard of the Vivaldi browser and that’s fine. It’s relatively new on the browser scene but. The Best Free Browsers app downloads for Mac: Google Chrome Adobe Flash Player Mozilla Firefox Translate Safari Extension Opera Opera Opera Opera Oper. Browsers Other Browser. Tor Browser for Mac has been designed to help you preserve your privacy online. Tor Browser is a tool-set that can help you anonymize web browsing and publishing, instant messaging, and other. Opera Software (Free) Download. Opera and other Chromium-based browsers hew closely to Chrome, while Firefox gets 491, and Safari 471. Just a few years ago, a score in the 300s was considered excellent, and Internet Explorer.
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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
Other Browsers For Macbook Pro
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
Other Web Browser For Mac
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
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:
- Copy a link from Vimeo or YouTube or anywhere else
- Open Downie and hit ⌘ + V to paste the link
- 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:
- Drag and drop a video onto Permute
- Choose to work with Audio or Video
- Use the dropdown to choose the file format to convert to
- 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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Are you a Mac user and stuck with using Safari as a default browser?
Then you must pay attention to what I’m going to say next.
There are many Safari alternatives for the Mac users out there to browse the Internet.
Yes, you heard me right.
Apple has this philosophy of making tools that are one-off, but they also want their customers to be loyal to their products.
For that, Apple products like iPhone or Mac are loaded with the default apps.
For instance, the web browser given is Safari, and the e-mail browser is Mail.
But, there are times when we don’t want to use these default apps.
Like in the case of Safari, sometimes we’re not happy with the extension compatibility and want to switch to some other browser.
For that, there are hundreds of Web browsers those can be relied on. Some of them are for all the platforms while some are just tailor-made for the Macs.
Best 10 Internet browsers For Mac
We’ve picked some of the Browsers for Mac from the lot that you can check on and ditch Safari for a while if you want.
1. Google Chrome:
The top-notch browser for any platform is without any doubt Google Chrome.
Yes, I agree that Chrome was launched for Macs a bit late, but that wait was worth.
The best part of this browser is its minimalistic design and Speed.
It comes with a lot of features. And when I say this, I mean A LOT. It is by far the biggest competitor of Safari in the market.
2. Opera:
Best Browser For Apple Computers
I think Opera has been there since ages. But don’t let its age fool you.
As it is said that wisdom comes with age, Opera also has become wise regarding features.
Its ‘Mouse Gestures’ and ‘Speed dial’ and ‘Opera Turbo’ features make it different from the other browsers.
3. Mozilla Firefox:
Just like Opera, Firefox is also a veteran. It lets you visit the sites even if you don’t remember their URLs by only typing a keyword of the same.
It has a broad variety of add-ons, which are useful to increase productivity.
You can also bookmark the pages and titles live. Also, it can be said as a Privacy-inclined browser as it let you choose the information you want to share.
4. Camino:
The Mac-only browser Camino is also a great one with a much better user interface for Mac users than Chrome or Firefox.
It has many new features in its latest update like Annoyance Blocking, Malware protection, and Pop-up Blocking. It is much like Firefox, just with the more Apple-friendly edge.
The company no longer develops this browser further, but you can still download the last updated version.
5. Omni Web:
Better known as the Feature-rich browser, Omni Web comes with numerous features like Visual Tabs, adding websites to shortcuts, automatic rendering of web pages, etc.
You can also change the font of any website if it is not up to your liking.
The browser also handles the entire RSS feed which is a great feature.
6. Maxthon:
Apt for seamless browsing, Maxthon is a Multi- platform web browser for Mac users. With many cloud-assimilated features like syncing, sharing and managing files, Maxthon has been a very powerful browser.
If you are the one who wants the Chrome extensions but doesn’t want to use Chrome, then you should go for this one.
7. Torch:
With a unique design, Torch is one of the best browsers for Mac OS X. Based on the Chromium project; it supports every extension of Google Chrome web store.
There are many themes available for the browser and is an important feature for experiment-loving peeps.
It also has features like Torch music, Video Download, Torrent support, etc.
8. Vivaldi:
A new challenger in the game, Vivaldi is out winning many hearts.
Though it uses the same HTML Rendering engine as that of Chrome, still it has covered all the features that are not in the list of other browsers’ characteristics.
It has a unique tab system, which is referred as “Stack.” It also creates notes about every site that you browse. These notes appear when you visit that site.
9. Stainless:
If you’re looking for the Multi- processing Designing of Chrome in some other browser, then you’ll like this browser named Stainless. Started out as a technology demo, now it is a full-fledged browser.
It features a dual-purpose search address bar, which makes searching and navigating very smooth.
10. SeaMonkey:
The newer version of the old-timer browser Netscape, SeaMonkey is an open- source project. It is an all-in-one Internet collection. It supports almost all the add-ons and extensions, which are compatible with Mozilla Firefox.
The con of the mentioned browser is that it doesn’t go with Voice interface, Mouse gestures or Retina Display. It is easy to install and access.
There you go. These are some of the best Internet browsers for the Mac users, which can be used as a substitute to Safari. Explore them and leave us comments sharing your experiences.