It’s been years since I dropped Google Chrome in favor of Microsoft Edge. All because I wanted a feature-rich, but more resource-efficient browser. The last point may be getting a bit stale, but it still holds. In my lightest web browsers test, Chrome hogged the most resources, after Opera, while Firefox and Edge used 19% less memory for the same set of tasks.
While Chrome is a closed-source proprietary app, many privacy-focused, feature-rich alternatives exist in the open-source market. Some are built on Chromium (Google’s open-source browser engine), while others use completely different foundations. So, I tried many of these alternatives and found only four have what it takes to replace Chrome as your daily driver.
Firefox
Feature-rich, open-source, privacy-focused
Firefox is one of the few genuinely independent browsers left. This open-source project borrows nothing from Chrome and runs on Mozilla’s own Gecko engine. Firefox prides itself on user privacy-focused features that block trackers and offer enhanced tracking protection—which is exactly what draws many users to it.
If we were to compare the performance, Chrome still has an overall edge, but Firefox holds its own. It can keep pace with Chrome on most sites, and sometimes even loads faster thanks to its aggressive tracker blocking. The extension library isn’t quite as extensive as Chrome Store, but it has almost everything useful, like uBlock Origin, Bitwarden, Tampermonkey, Keepa, Riandrop.io, and other tools that I use.
When switching from Chrome, you can easily import your bookmarks, browsing history, and form autofill data. While Firefox occasionally has compatibility issues with some Google services (sluggish YouTube performance and compatibility issues with Gmail), it’s a rare occurrence and not a dealbreaker in my opinion.
Zen browser
Firefox, but with a makeover
While many Firefox spin-offs exist, Zen takes Firefox’s solid foundation and gives it a completely different interface. Built on Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release), it keeps all the privacy benefits while adding a slick, Arc-inspired vertical tab sidebar that auto-hides when you don’t need it. For someone coming from Chrome, it feels both familiar and refreshingly different.
Zen has all the bells and whistles of a modern browser, well, almost. It has profiles, so you can create completely separate work and personal browsing with different extensions, bookmarks, and saved passwords for each profile. The browser stays out of your way, with customizable keyboard shortcuts for everything and a minimalist design that maximizes screen space for actual web content.
Performance matches Firefox since it’s built on the same engine, but Zen adds its own optimizations for smoother animations and transitions. Extension support is identical to Firefox. If it works there, it works here.
The main downside is that Zen doesn’t support DRM on most platforms, which means streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ won’t work. While this is attributed to a licensing issue, you may need to rely on web apps from Chrome to access DRM content. Additionally, since Zen is mostly a one-man project, updates come slower than Firefox, and you’re trusting a less-established project with your browsing.
Brave
A feature-rich, privacy-focused browser
Some may argue that Brave is the best web browser, butI wouldn’t go that far. However, it’s still a solid browser that takes Chromium and turns it into something Google wouldn’t recognize. It strips out every bit of tracking scripts, ads, and surveillance tech, and replaces them with privacy protections. The result is a browser that loads pages noticeably faster than Chrome because it doesn’t waste time loading ads and trackers.
Switching from Brave to Chrome couldn’t be easier. Your bookmarks import perfectly, Chrome extensions install without issues, and websites work exactly as expected. The built-in ad blocker is more aggressive than anything you’d get from an extension, blocking YouTube ads without any setup. Brave Search, their private search engine, delivers solid results without building a profile on you, though you can switch back to Google if needed.
It also includes some extras, which make it feel heavier than it needs to be. For example, it comes with Brave Talk, which provides encrypted video calls without accounts or downloads. The Leo AI assistant can summarize articles and answer questions about the current page, all processed locally without sending data to external servers. For $15 per month, you get unlimited AI features, though the free tier handles basic tasks well.
The only real annoyance is Brave Rewards, their cryptocurrency system for viewing ads, but you can disable it entirely during setup.
Vivaldi
Partially open-source, fully feature-packed
Vivaldi doesn’t believe in restraint. Where other browsers give you settings, Vivaldi gives you control panels for everything imaginable. Built on Chromium, it’s what happens when developers decide every power user feature request deserves implementation.
Unique to Vivaldi is its Tab management feature. You can stack tabs, tile them to view multiple sites simultaneously, or save entire sessions for later. The browser even includes mouse gestures, letting you navigate without touching the keyboard.
However, Vivaldi’s kitchen-sink approach comes at the cost of performance. Vivaldi uses more RAM than Chrome on my system, and startup takes noticeably longer. The interface can feel sluggish, especially with multiple tab stacks open. While you can turn off a lot of those features, most people simply want a browser that works right out of the box.
However, if it’s customization you are after, Vivaldi offers all the bells and whistles you can ask for from a browser—and some more.
Finding your Chrome alternative
Alternatives to Google Chrome are a dime a dozen. However, only four of them offer the ease of use that Chrome does. You can opt for Brave or Vivaldi for Chrome compatibility without privacy compromises. Firefox and Zen, on the other hand, provide a genuine break if you need complete independence from Google’s ecosystem.
Personally, if being open-source is non-negotiable, I’d go with Brave. It offers the privacy-focused features of Firefox while staying compatible with Chrome extensions—something that’s often a dealbreaker for me when choosing a browser.