In Depth: Best browser 2012: which should you be using?

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Tweet Page 1: Best browser 2012: which should you choose?

As you'd expect, IE9 integrates well with Windows 7. The interface divides opinion but we really like it

Competition among browsers is more fierce than ever.

Google's knocking out new versions of Chrome at an alarming rate, Mozilla's been pulling nightshifts to improve Firefox, and Microsoft's rejuvenated IE team is doing great things with its browser.

There are great browsers from Opera and Apple too, not to mention mobile browsers for smartphones and tablets.

So which browser should you be using?

Let's find out which ones offer the best blend of power, expandability and all-round awesomeness.

The best browser for speed

We tested the latest official releases of the big browsers: IE9, Safari 5.1, Firefox 9, Chrome 16 and Opera 11.6 to see how they performed on the desktop. All of the big browsers deliver speedy browsing, but there are still differences when it comes to things such as JavaScript performance, which affects the speed at which web apps and complex websites work.

In the Sunspider JavaScript benchmarks Firefox left its rivals in the dust, storming through the tests in a hugely impressive 189.4ms. Safari was next with 219.6ms, followed by IE9 (247.9ms), Opera (254.3ms) and Chrome (291.0ms). We saw similar results in Windows Vista, with Firefox narrowly pipping its rivals to take first place.

These figures are based on brand new installations without any plugins, extensions or similar: once you start loading your browser up with goodies, performance is likely to take a nose-dive.

WOW: Firefox is the speed king on Windows and on OS X, but there isn't much in it: all the browsers are swift

The best browser for add-ons

You can get add-ons for all the main browsers, but Firefox has the edge here: its huge number of add-ons and Greasemonkey scripts mean that its reputation as the Swiss Army Knife of web browsers is well deserved. It's far and away the most expandable web browser, and it's got the best browser sync features too. Bear in mind, though, that all of the main browsers are expandable, and while some - such as Safari - don't have enormous libraries of add-ons, you can still get the essential ones such as ad blockers, Twitter utilities and Gmail notifiers.

Opera deserves a special mention here because it's more than just a browser. It has integrated email, newsgroups and IRC chat, the Opera Unite file server, Opera Turbo to improve performance on crappy mobile connections, and Sidebar-style widgets for games, web applications and utilities.

The best browser for Windows 7

Safari's the first to fall here: it just looks odd on Windows, and doesn't offer anything over its rivals. IE9 and Opera are both very nice to use on Windows 7 and make good use of taskbar pinning and jump lists, but Firefox has the edge in both speed and expandability and it's our pick here.

UNEXPECTED?: Opera's a joy to use and worth considering if you like the idea of widgets, integrated email and file sharing

The best browser for Windows Vista

IE9 flies on Vista - it hammered through Sunspider in 193.7ms - but Firefox is faster still, scoring 192.2ms in the same benchmarks. Safari ran through the benchmarks in 224.4ms, Chrome 246.6ms, and Opera in 251.2ms. Firefox isn't just the speediest browser on Vista, but the most expandable too.

The best browser for Windows XP

Internet Explorer takes an early bath here, because Microsoft doesn't make IE9 for its ageing OS. That leaves Safari 5.1, Firefox 9, Chrome 16 and Opera 11.6; of the four, Chrome demands the least RAM and hard disk space, making it the best bet for older XP systems. That means Chrome's the best browser for netbooks too: its more modest hardware requirements are a boon on relatively low-spec machines.

The best browser for OS X

Firefox was massively in the lead on OS X Lion, rocketing through Sunspider in 153.8ms compared to Safari's 209.2ms, Opera's 214.7ms and Chrome's 225.3. However, it's worth noting that while Safari's figures look good on paper, they don't reflect the way it chugged through the benchmarks as if it were wading through treacle.

Firefox's speed is countered by what we think is a faintly horrible interface. If that isn't your top priority then Firefox is the best browser for Mac users; if it annoys you, then Opera or Chrome is a better bet. While Safari is a perfectly decent browser, its rivals performed better in our tests.

The best browser for privacy

All of the browsers we tested had excellent privacy protection including private browsing and warnings of suspicious web pages, but IE9 is marginally ahead of the pack here: its tracking protection enables you to subscribe to lists that tell specific kinds of websites not to track you, which is potentially more useful than a global "do not track" option.

The best browser for HTML5

All of the main browsers support the important bits of HTML5, but when it comes to full standards support Chrome and Firefox are in the lead by a significant margin. According to the excellent Caniuse.com, Firefox and Chrome score 89% for HTML5 standards support, with Safari at 78%, Opera 74% and IE9 52%. If you add CSS support into the equation the scores are 87% for Firefox and Chrome, 83% for Safari, 75% for Opera and 59% for IE.

LAGGING BEHIND: All the browsers support key HTML5 features, but IE9 lags behind when it comes to full standards support

The best browser for Android

The stock Android browser is pretty good, but we think Opera Mobile has the edge for smartphones: it's got a lovely interface, goes like the clappers - we've previously described it as "comically fast" on decent kit - and synchronises well with its desktop cousin. On tablets, the standard browser is still our preferred option: while Dolphin for Pad and Firefox are looking pretty nifty, they're both still in beta.

CACHE KING: Opera Mobile for Android is particularly good on mobile phones. It's "comically fast" on decent kit

The best browser for iPad

The lack of tabs in Apple's Safari drove us daft on the original iPad, but now it's got tabbed browsing and iCloud syncing we think it's the best browser on the platform, especially on the iPad 2: in our experience it's faster and more reliable than iCab Mobile, considerably nicer to look at than Atomic Browser, and less likely to dump you back to the home screen for no good reason than non-Apple browsers.

NATIVE THE BEST: Tabbed browsing and iCloud synchronisation make Apple's own Safari the best bet for iPad owners

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Tags: browsers, IE9, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Chrome, softwareTweetreddit!Stumbleupon  Your comments (8) Click to add a new commentjaydeetee

October 5th 2011

8. I use Chrome most of the time, but it crashes a lot. I'd use firefox or opera if they weren't so flaming ugly. They've either got the stupid button for all the options or the totally transparent (and therefore useless unless you've got 20/20 vision) menu bar that sits on the top like an afterthought pushing down the viewing screen size and isn't able to be moved so it can be put next to another one on the same line or something like that. Proper ugly and impractical. It's Chrome or IE9 for me until firefox and opera change that.

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mayer

May 30th 2011

7. i think a best browser should be like avant browser .there is no memory leak ,fast and easy to use & customzie the inferface .actully ,the best browser is the one that suitable for you .For me,it's Avant browser

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wrongd0g

April 12th 2011

6. If ever I read a "review" with a preconceived outcome, it has to be this one.

The fact the authout couldn't even be bothered to know that Opera is available for Mac is a serious worry.

Just as laughable is the +1 for Firefox for supporting greasemonkey, despite Opera supporting Greasemonkey for 8+ years.... And clearly he doesn't realise that both Mozilla and Microsoft are cheating the sunspider tests. (Firefox does not display anything during the test, IE9 has hardcoded optimizations for Sunspider that only work on that site).

Truly shocking "reporting" from a "tech" site.

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urael

March 12th 2011

5. C'mon, Gary - Opera has been available for Macs for quite some time now, or did you think it's recent inclusion in the App store was just a marketing gimmick?

http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/opera-jovial-over-browsers-17+-mac-app-store-rating-933089

Astounding ignorance of this standard really casts a pall over the rest of your reporting.

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flunka

March 3rd 2011

4. I'm surprised to see you finding IE9 the fastest. Surely you ought to conduct more benchmarks and tests to confirm this before saying it's the fastest? It's also been suggested that IE9 was specifically optimised to ace Sunspider, but this performance isn't necessarily seen outside of the benchmark situation. (Google 'Did Internet Explorer 9 Cheat In The SunSpider Benchmark?').

Whilst IE9 is impressive in some ways, one of the main sticking points for me is that I just can't bear using a browser without spell-check. It's become a necessity of a modern browser, and I really can't see why they won't add it. There's a spell-check addon, but it uses the traditional method of clicking a button and going through each incorrect word, not an instantly-appearing underline with access to suggestions via right-click. I also find the lack of addons and customisability to be an issue.

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dom0410

March 2nd 2011

3. @bradavon: I have IE9 RC installed on my laptop and it is a lot faster and smoother than IE8. The UI has been completely reworked as well although I don't like it; the topmost bar does nothing at all apart from hold the minimise/maximise/close buttons, which is a waste of space. Why the designers did not put the address bar or the tabs here is beyond me.

I find it hard to recommend Firefox to anyone at the moment. As it comes it has too few features and I'm really not a fan of add-ons as they slow the browser down and you have the hassle of finding, installing and managing them. Firefox 4 should change things performance wise but it will still be reliant on add-ons for many features.

My favourite browser is Opera 11.01 for a number of reasons. It's fast, really fast, and a relatively small download for the amount of features that it packs. Whenever I have to use a computer which does not have Opera installed I find it extremely awkward to browse the internet without mouse gestures. I think mouse gestures are the one feature that for me makes Opera my browser of choice. Speed dial is another solid feature, as is the download manager which lets you pause/resume downloads and handles bit torrents. That said Opera is not without its flaws, the layout of the default UI is not to my taste; I find the Wand button unnecessary and I prefer to have the refresh and home buttons to the right of the address bar, not to the left. I also find the status bar on all browsers to be unnecessary and in Opera it is turned on by default (I think FF4 will come with it turned off by default). Finally I find Opera sometimes hangs for a few seconds, although this issue is much less severe since 11 was updated to 11.01.

I haven't tried Safari on Windows, I don't really see the point. I looked into it and it was a huge download and if it is as bloated and slow as iTunes on Windows it really isn't worth touching. And as for Chrome, I wasn't won over by the UI and feature-set. Mind you that was a long while ago so I ought to try it again some time.

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bradavon

March 2nd 2011

2. As to best browser, it comes to down personal preference: Firefox, Opera and Chrome are all excellent.

IE and Safari have always been rubbish. I've not yet used IE9 but I doubt much has changed.

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bradavon

March 2nd 2011

1. Opera 11 exists for Mac.

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