Selecting a Browser

I’ve been testing browsers since 2016. Now I combine all my findings to select my own browser. Updated in January 2025.

MAC BROWSERS

Introduction

January 20, 2025

I’ve been testing browsers on Mac since 2016. My testing spans two major areas:

• Industry-standard Benchmark tests

• Real-life testing during my work as a Developer

Here are my findings thus far:

Scores from Benchmark Tests
Most Recent	Brave	Chrome	DuckDuckGo	Edge	Firefox	Vivaldi	Safari
HTML5 test	581	581	548	n/a	546	581	555
JavaScript test	330	330	325	n/a	227	373	342
Speed test	25.3	28.9	26.4	n/a	32.8	28.9	26.8
Ranking	Second	WINNER	Second	Fail	Fail	WINNER	Second
Failures during Benchmark Tests
Since 2023	Brave	Chrome	DuckDuckGo	Edge	Firefox	Vivaldi	Safari
HTML5 test	Three	One	One	n/a	Zero	Zero	Zero
JavaScript test	Two	One	Two	n/a	One	Zero	Zero
Speed test	Two	One	One	n/a	Zero	Zero	Zero
Ranking	Fail	Third	Fail	Fail	Second	WINNER	WINNER
Subjective Factors
	Brave	Chrome	DuckDuckGo	Edge	Firefox	Vivaldi	Safari
Updates	Non-Consentual	Non-Consentual	Concerning	Non-Consentual	Concerning	Consentual	Consentual
Legibility	Legible	Legible	Illegible Slop	Illegible Slop	Illegible Slop	Legible	Legible
Patterns of Failure	Not Monitored	Not Monitored	Not Monitored	Privacy Fiasco	Privacy Fiasco	None Yet	Five Major
Privacy	Private	Not Private	Private	Not Private	Not Private	Private	Private
Ranking	Fail	Fail	Fail	Fail	Fail	WINNER	Fail

Winner

After all these years of testing, the Vivaldi browser is the clear winner for me.

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iOS BROWSERS

Introduction

January 20, 2025

I’ve been testing browsers on iOS since 2016. My testing spans two major areas:

• Industry-standard Benchmark tests

• Real-life testing during my work as a Developer

Data

Here are my findings thus far:

	Brave	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Safari
HTML5 test	504 points	463 points	463 points	462 points	506 points
JavaScript test	209 points	209 points	195 points	203 points	205 points
Speed test	199 points	251 points	208 points	227 points	249 points
Security test	Worst	Worst	Worst	Medium	Medium
Font Size test	Fail	Pass	Fail	Fail	Pass
Reliability	Five Failures	Never Failed	Eight Failures	Ten Failures	Never Failed
Updating	Consentual	Consentual	Consentual	Consentual	Consentual
Scoring	Reject	Reject	Reject	Reject	SELECT

Winner

On iPhone, the Safari browser is the winner. For me.

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RESOURCES

MAC

Are browsers on macOS getting better at HTML5?

Are browsers on macOS getting better at JavaScript?

Are browsers on macOS getting faster?

Subjective factors for browsers on macOS

Selecting a Browser

iOS

Are browsers in iOS getting better at HTML5?

Are browsers in iOS getting better at JavaScript?

Are browsers on iOS getting faster?

Selecting a Browser

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Originally published on March 19, 2023

Last updated on August 14, 2025

TOPICS: Apple, Browsers, Devices, iOS, Mac,