Internet browsers have become basic programs that are part of our computers and mobile devices. Therefore, their developers try to gain the trust of millions of users with their projects. They have to choose from a wide variety of solutions among which we find Chrome , Firefox, Chromium, Edge, Opera, etc.
One of the doubts that many users face in this regard is choosing the program of this type that best suits their needs. A multitude of factors come into play here, such as performance, security, functionality, appearance, extensions, etc. If we include all of them in a group and we want to separate them into two categories, we could do it with those based on Google’s Chromium , and those that are not. A clear example of both categories is the Chrome browser on the one hand belonging to the first, and Firefox in the second.
With everything and with it in these same lines we are going to focus on the main differences between three of these programs that belong to the first category. We refer to the popular Edge , Chromium and Chrome. Based on the search giant’s Chromium engine, these three proposals are considered the most popular and used worldwide. It is clear that basic functionality is common, so we have to delve a little deeper into its development to find some important differences. This is precisely what we will talk about in these same lines.
Differences in the type of browser license
At first, many users may confuse Chromium and Chrome, both of the same firm. However, the difference here is quite important, since it can be said that the first browser is the open source version of the second. In addition, if Microsoft‘s proposal, Edge, comes into play, in this sense it is located next to Chrome since it is not open source software either .
The most used browser in the world was launched in 2008 by Google, while a few months later it released its code creating the first of them. All this in order to receive help from the community to continue growing in both projects. Next, many other browsers, including the second version of Edge that we talk about here, joined this project. The main advantage of all this is to benefit from the many functionalities that the Chromium project currently offers us.
Then, with the passage of time, each one of the developers, as in the case of Microsoft here, contributes their bit to differentiate their programs from the rest. All this despite the fact that the base is the same.
Security and privacy in Chrome, Chromium, and Edge
These two aspects could be considered as key elements when choosing one browser or the other. It must be taken into account that these programs are the ones that serve us as a way to connect with the immense universe of the internet and its contents . At the same time, to a large extent, they must protect us against multiple network attacks. All this without losing functionality and offering the best possible user experience. However, this is something that is not common in all programs of this type.
There is no doubt that Chrome receives many complaints from its hundreds of millions of users due to the little privacy it offers. Hence, many of the regular users of the world’s most used browser, to gain privacy, end up switching to their open source project . In this way, they get rid of aspects such as the user metrics that are generated or the crash reports that are sent to the company. Of course, here we find some shortcomings, such as the support to determine the audio and video standards .
On the other hand, when it comes to Microsoft’s Edge, despite not being the open source project, it offers us more privacy features than Chrome. In addition, access to them is easier for users, which allows them to configure the program in this regard to maintain a little more privacy.
It is worth mentioning that the three projects that we are talking about here take great care of the safety of their clients. All this largely thanks to the growing number of functions that are coming to us.
The user interface
If we focus on the aspect of the interface that we find as soon as we install and run these programs, there is a very important feature in Google browsers. And it is that the search giant in this case has wanted to bet from the beginning on simplicity. This is something that, for example, we also saw almost from its birth in the aspect of the most used internet search engine in the world.
In this way, the developers of both browsers try to avoid distractions and elements that are initially necessary and located in the main interface . This is something that many users value positively, while others would prefer more shortcuts, icons and functions at their fingertips.
On the other hand, if we focus on the Microsoft project, the differences in terms of its main interface will be minimal. However, in this case we do have some more possibility of customization, although that is not the main differentiating point. Something that is attracting a good number of users is the ability to use vertical tabs natively.
Performance. Who of the three is faster?
In terms of overall performance when working with these three programs on a daily basis, we are reaching a point where the differences are minimal. Keep in mind that this is one of the main sections that its developers focus on. In this way, what is tried is to minimize the loading time of the web pages that we visit to the maximum.
Based on the latest studies and tests, such as the Kraken and Jetstream benchmarks, Google’s projects are a bit above. However, it is something that today we are hardly going to notice. But something that is possibly going to interfere in the operation of the rest of the team in a more obvious way, is the lower consumption of resources that Microsoft’s proposal makes.
Specifically, we mean that Edge does not need so much RAM from the PC to function correctly. In fact, this is one of the most criticized sections of its two direct competitors.
Synchronization with the cloud
As many of you already know, these programs are used today both on desktop computers and mobile devices. Hence the importance of being able to synchronize the data stored between the different platforms .
On the one hand, we find the most used proposal in the world that we tell you is Google Chrome. In this way and thanks to this browser we have the possibility of adding our Google account to it in order to synchronize all kinds of data between devices. For example, if we install Chrome on our PC and mobile , we both have to log in with the same search giant account. Once this is done from here we have the possibility to synchronize elements such as applications, bookmarks, history, passwords, extensions, themes, tabs, payment modes , and more.
At the same time, if we focus on the Edge browser, this has been a section, that of synchronization, which has been improving over time. As in the case previously exposed, here we have to register with our Microsoft account on all the devices that we want to synchronize. Once this is done, we will be able to share a multitude of data stored in the program itself. Among these we find some such as favorites, application settings, our saved personal information, history, tabs , extensions, collections , etc.
However, the thing here changes substantially when we talk about the Chromium browser. The first thing we should know here In this sense is that we cannot register with our Google account, so the data to be synchronized in this case is much more limited. We can create our own and exclusive user for this browser. In addition, we can automatically synchronize some services of the firm such as searches. We will also have the ability to import bookmarks and settings from other browsers such as Internet Explorer or Edge.
Using extensions
One of the strengths of Chromium-based browsers is the support for extensions they have. For example, it is much larger than that of Firefox and browsers based on it. Therefore, we opted for the option that we choose from these three that we mentioned, we will not have any problem in this regard.
Perhaps a differentiating point here we will find in that Edge allows the use of its own add-ons , in addition to being able to install Chrome’s manually.
