In today’s world, where the Internet has become an essential part of our daily lives, choosing the right browser is crucial. The ever-lasting battle between a few major browsers has seen its epilogue as several other browsers have joined the fight. If you’re not satisfied with your current browser on your laptop or PC, we have a list of great alternatives for you to try.
Chromium-based browsers have gained immense popularity due to their fast and secure browsing capabilities. Chromium is an open-source web browser project that serves as the foundation for some of the most popular browsers, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Brave.
In this list, we will highlight the best Chromium browsers in the bunch that focus on privacy, performance, and features.
Chrome Vs. Chromium: Which is Better?
Chrome and Chromium seem to be related based on their names. You guessed it right. They’re indeed quite related. Chromium is an open-source project by Google and is a free web browser with only the basic features. You could also call it a barebone for any Chromium-based browser. Google Chrome borrows the source code from Chromium and adds features like Google Services, customization, synchronization, and more.
Google Chrome has a reputation for being resource intensive and hogging up your computer’s memory. If you want to switch from Chrome, there are several other browsers that are said to offer better performance and more features than Chrome. Read on to learn about the best Chromium browsers to try if you want to switch your primary browser.
The Best Chromium Browsers to Download Right Now
Note:
The browsers mentioned in this list aren’t in any order of any preference.
| Browser | Developer | Operating System Support | Mobile Support | Features & Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vivaldi | Vivaldi Technologies | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Customizable interface, built-in note-taking and screenshot tools, tab stacking and grouping, privacy-focused, mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, extensive customization options |
| Microsoft Edge | Microsoft | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS | Yes | Integration with Microsoft services, built-in security features, Microsoft Edge Addons store, Reading Mode, syncing across devices, Collections for organizing information |
| Ungoogle Chromium | Slimjet | Windows, macOS, Linux | No | Chromium-based browser with privacy-focused features, ad-blocker, built-in VPN, automatic form-filling, password manager |
| CentBrowser | CentStudio | Windows | No | Customizable interface, mouse gestures, scrollable tab bar, built-in ad-blocker, video downloader, page translation |
| Opera | Opera Software | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Built-in ad-blocker, VPN, battery saver, customizable interface, page zooming, instant search, visual bookmarks, snapshot tool |
| Brave | Brave Software | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Built-in ad-blocker, privacy-focused, cryptocurrency rewards program, HTTPS Everywhere, Tor integration |
| Opera GX | Opera Software | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Built for gaming with customizable interface, resource limiter, Twitch integration, sound effects, GX corner for news and deals |
| Google Chrome | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS | Yes | Syncing across devices, built-in Google services integration, extensive plugin and extension support, fast browsing experience | |
| Torch Browser | Torch Media | Windows | No | Chromium-based browser with built-in media downloader, torrent client, media player, music streaming |
| Arc | Arc Browser Team | Windows | No | Chromium-based browser designed for speed and simplicity, intuitive interface, built-in ad-blocker, page translation, scrollable tab bar |
Vivaldi
Vivaldi is a relatively new browser that has been well-received by users right off the bat. The browser is a creation of the former CEO of Opera, Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner, who decided to develop a different and more innovative browser. It also offers some unique features, such as annotations and notes.
If you have already heard about Vivaldi, you might know that its clear and ergonomic interface is very popular among users. Moreover, it comes with various customization options, navigation gestures, and tab management features. All in all, it’s an easy choice among the best Chromium browsers.
Key Features of Vivaldi:
- Easy-to-use and customizable user interface
- Multiple customization options
- Built-in ad blocker
- Great performance with lower resource consumption than Chrome
Download: Vivaldi for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Microsoft Edge
Since Microsoft decided to switch Edge to Chromium, the browser has gained many new users. Edge is a viable replacement for Google Chrome, as it’s lightweight and offers high performance. Moreover, Microsoft has been adding new features to Edge for a while now (which not everyone may need) to increase its functionality.
Microsoft Edge competes directly with Chrome in terms of features and also offers some additional features. If you’re looking for a browser for everyday use that is among the best Chromium browsers, Edge is a good choice.
Key Features of Microsoft Edge:
- Great performance and reliability.
- Feature-rich with several options and sync.
- Built-in support for Bing AI.
- Multiple Windows integrations.
Download: Edge for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Ungoogled Chromium
Ungoogled Chromium is a browser tailored for advanced users with privacy concerns. It is a browser that keeps all the features of the free Chromium browser and gets rid of all Google web services to take another step towards privacy.
If you store sensitive data in your browser, Ungoogled Chromium is definitely the right choice for you. However, you will have to enable the privacy and control features manually. After all, this is a browser for advanced users that offers them complete control. If complete transparency and privacy are important to you, Ungoogled Chromium is a good choice among the best Chromium browsers.
Key Features of Ungoogled Chromium:
- High reliability.
- Several privacy and control features.
- No Google dependencies.
- No additional features or bloat.
Download: Ungoogled Chromium for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
CentBrowser
Next up in our list of best Chromium-based browsers is CentBrowser. If you’re a fan of fancy features in a browser that encourage multitasking, CentBrowser is the right choice for you. It has various navigation features such as mouse gestures, tab access, and memory optimization.
However, the browser isn’t updated regularly, which might be a problem for some users. If you can overlook this, it’s an excellent, feature-rich browser for users who have hundreds of tabs open at once.
Key Features of CentBrowser:
- Several navigation features.
- Great customization options.
- Less-frequent updates.
- High performance.
Download: CentBrowser for Windows.
Opera
Opera is an old hand in the browser business and has had its ups and downs. Still, many users prefer it because it is fast and offers many features. Opera switched to Chromium a decade ago and has slowly evolved since then. It also offers many features, such as an integrated VPN and an ad blocker, which are very interesting for users.
Opera also has a fancy sidebar that lets you quickly switch to your favorite social media platforms. If you need a browser for a safe and casual browsing experience, Opera is an excellent choice among the best Chromium browsers.
Key Features of Opera:
- Built-in VPN.
- Built-in convenient ad-blocker.
- Several customization options.
- Easy to use interface.
Download: Opera for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Brave
Brave is a relatively new browser that has become a user favorite in a very short time. It’s also a privacy-friendly browser, but it has some unique features and add-ons. The browser focuses on user privacy with its Brave Shields feature that blocks ads and trackers.
Brave also claims to be faster than Chrome and loads websites faster on slower or toll connections. To go one step further in privacy, Brave also offers built-in Tor support. If you’re a privacy-minded user and love your features, Brave is the best choice among the best Chromium browsers.
Key Features of Brave:
- Built-in Tor support.
- Offers Brave Rewards, for which you get your own crypto token – BAT.
- Intuitive user interface.
- Offers fast performance and reliability.
Download: Brave for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Opera GX
The gaming community is becoming bigger by the day, and companies are taking notice. The next browser on the list of the best Chromium browsers is Opera GX – a browser designed specifically for gamers. It belongs to a series of different Opera browsers and offers several features that could be useful for gamers. You also get a toolbar with links to your favorite websites.
Opera GX also has an idiosyncratic interface with a color scheme inspired by gaming environments. However, the resource management tool is unique: you can use the RAM limiter, CPU limiter, and network limiter to increase the performance of your PC. If you’re a gamer, you should give Opera GX a try.
Key Features of Opera GX:
- Offers high performance.
- Quirky user interface.
- Provides a resource management tool to optimize the performance of PC.
- Provides access to Discord and Twitch in the sidebar.
Download: Opera GX for Windows and macOS.
Google Chrome
Chrome is a browser that hardly needs any introduction. As mentioned, it’s Google’s own browser, based on the Chromium project (also from Google), and extends the basic Chromium browser with features like multiple users, synchronization, and more. It also lets you send tabs to and from your smartphone, which should also have Chrome installed.
Chrome offers quite a few features, but it’s quite resource intensive. Therefore, if you have a computer with older hardware, you may experience slowdowns.
Key Features of Google Chrome:
- Offers high performance.
- Takes up a lot of system resources.
- Offers continuous sync across multiple devices.
- Offers the ability to add multiple Google accounts as different users.
Download: Brave for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Torch Browser
Another browser that is a great option among the best Chromium browsers is Torch Browser. Although it might not be as well-known as the others, it offers quite a few features that might surprise you. You should note that this browser focuses on multimedia features over other aspects.
It has a built-in media grabber that lets you download music or videos from websites. Besides, it includes a torrent client that lets you manage torrent links directly from the browser.
Key Features of Torch Browser:
- Offers great performance.
- Intuitive user interface.
- Offers multimedia features.
Download: Torch Browser for Windows.
Arc Browser
Finally, Arc makes it to the list of the best Chromium browsers. Although the browser is still in development and only available for macOS for now, we thought it deserved a chance on this list based on initial user impressions. It offers great multitasking features like tab splitting, tab pinning, and a sidebar to manage all open tabs easily.
Likewise, if you want to switch to something newer and different, you should give the browser a try. Arc is only available via invites, but you can download it right now if you’re a student and have a college email address.
Key Features of Torch Browser:
- Offers high performance.
- Has a refreshing user interface.
- Offers multiple multitasking features.
Download: Arc for macOS, Arc for students.
Conclusion: Best Chromium Browsers
While there are dozens of Chromium-based browsers on the Internet, we have selected only those that meet most of the criteria. You can choose a browser that you prefer. Whether it’s privacy, features, or both, you’ll find a Chromium browser that meets your needs on this list. If you have trouble choosing one, we recommend trying Vivaldi, Brave, and Arc.
Do you like this list? Also, check out.which browser is the best for you.
FAQs On The Best Chromium-based Browsers
Chromium browsers are quite reliable and offer fast performance. Companies customize on top of Chromium and offer more features, better privacy and more security. Most modern browsers are based on Chromium. Therefore, you should try one to see if you like it.
The choice of which browser is better than Chrome depends on your individual needs and preferences. Here are a few options:
- Mozilla Firefox: It is a popular open-source browser that is known for its privacy features and customization options and is often considered to be a more privacy-conscious alternative to Chrome.
- Microsoft Edge: It is a Chromium-based browser that is known for its speed and efficiency.
- Brave: It is a privacy-focused browser that is built on Chromium.
- Vivaldi: It is a Chromium-based browser that is known for its customization options.
- Safari: It is the default browser on macOS and is known for its speed and efficiency.
Chromium is an open-source project, but Google is the primary contributor to the project. This means that Chromium-based browsers are heavily dependent on Google for updates, security patches, and other improvements. Some critics argue that the dominance of Chromium-based browsers has led to a lack of innovation in the browser market, with fewer new features and design changes being introduced.
Google Chrome is the fastest Chromium browser, as per several tests. Microsoft Edge is a close second. Some browsers are faster when dealing with certain kinds of web applications than others. For example, one that’s fast with standard web applications might be slower when rendering visuals, or vice versa.
Based on our tests, Microsoft Edge uses the least RAM. Although Edge uses the same Chromium engine as Chrome, it is much more efficient in its use of memory, making it the ideal browser in terms of RAM usage.
No, Firefox is not a Chromium-based browser. It is powered by a Quantum browser engine developed specifically for Firefox. Chromium is an open source project designed to create a faster, more secure and more stable browser, and developers create Chromium-based browsers to provide a better user experience. Firefox, on the other hand, is designed to respect your data and keep it private, so it runs on its own Quantum Engine browser.
While most modern web browsers are based on the Chromium open-source project, there are still several popular browsers that are not Chromium-based. Here are a few examples:
- Mozilla Firefox: It is built on the Gecko rendering engine, which is also open-source.
- Apple Safari: It is built on the WebKit rendering engine, which was originally developed by Apple.
- Microsoft Edge Legacy: While the current version of Microsoft Edge is based on Chromium, the previous version (known as Microsoft Edge Legacy) was built on Microsoft’s own EdgeHTML rendering engine.
- Opera: While Opera has released Chromium-based versions of its browser, it also has a version (known as Opera Presto) that is not based on Chromium. This version uses the Presto rendering engine.
- Tor Browser: The Tor Browser is a privacy-focused browser that is designed to help users browse the web anonymously. It is built on the Firefox browser, but has a number of modifications to enhance privacy and security.
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