With every Mac since 2003, users have gotten a copy of Safari. It's basically Apple's vision of the ideal web browser, targeted at general users. But there are many Safari alternatives for Mac users—some common, some more obscure.
It's worth checking them out, because although Safari isn't a bad browser, other Mac browsers can often offer something different.
So with that in mind, here are some of the best Mac web browsers you'll find right now.
1. Google Chrome
There isn't much to say about Chrome. In a relatively short time, it's grown far beyond every other browser. It's one of the most extensible browsers you can use. You can get everything from password safes to full-on text editors that all live right in your browser.
Even with all the additions, Chrome is a strong contender for the fastest browser.
But this power all comes at a cost. If you're on a laptop, Chrome can chew up a ton of battery life with only a few browser tabs. If you're looking to extend your battery life, this is not the best choice. It is great for web apps, though, especially Google's.
One of the most unsung aspects of Chrome is its built-in web developer tools. If you're messing around with JavaScript, you have a full-on console to experiment in.
2. Firefox
Firefox is the original alternative browser and one that many called "doomed" when Chrome came on the scene. Firefox is not dead, but it was touch and go for a few years as there was a persistent idea that it was slow.
Firefox has a renewed sense of relevance driven by quick updates. Performance can also be improved by clearing out old extensions that might hurt performance.
Firefox is not the same as Chrome. You won't find an array of apps that turn your browser into an OS. But you will find an excellent array of extensions that make your browser more powerful.
If you're wary of the resources Chrome consumes on your system, Firefox is worth a new look.
3. Opera
Opera is the vinyl record of web browsers. Its fans are deep and devoted, but a little outside of the mainstream. Opera was never the dominant browser on the web. Yet it was usually first to market with features that are now standards in other web browsers.
After a decade of putting Opera on everything with a CPU, the browser has a renewed focus on the desktop. It certainly has some interesting features.
The first is that there is an Opera-branded free VPN you can add as an extension. There's also support for embedding social chat apps into the sidebar. Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger are standard, but you can add others as extensions. There's a built-in RSS reader included as well.
There's even a battery-saving feature included for laptops, which works by tweaking options on the page as it loads.
Opera is a great, lightweight Mac browser if you like features. Beyond its built-in ecosystem, there's an extension that allows you to Chrome Extensions. It's a solid browser, fixing many of the issues that plague Chrome.
4. Vivaldi
Vivaldi is meant to be a reboot of Opera, stripping everything down to a bare-bones browser. That bare-bones approach to the browser is not to say that Vivaldi is generic.
Vivaldi has a good balance of features without getting in the way. You can move the tab bar to any side of the window. There are many color themes you can use, which can change based on the time of day. You can even adjust the browser theme based on your Hue light bulb settings.
5. Edge
Having been the dominant player in the browser market for so long, it's kind of weird to see Microsoft so far behind now. Sure, it's the second-most used web browser in the world, but its userbase is nowhere near Chrome's.
The good news is it's a great web browser for Mac users. Having replaced Internet Explorer, Edge is fast and easy to use. But like many modern browsers, it owes a huge debt to Google, because it's based on the open-source Chromium browser.
Edge offers plenty of extensibility through the Microsoft Edge add-ons store, but it also supports Chrome extensions. Plus it has features like PDF support, themes, and online tracker blocking.
All things considered, it's an impressive alternative to Safari.
