Chromium browsers take a larger cut of the market share in the internet space. Since there are so many of them, there is always a lot to choose from. In the following section, we highlight some of the best Chromium-based browsers to help you narrow the scope of your decision. Let’s get to it.
What’s A Chromium-based Web Browser?
A Chromium-based web browser is a browser based on the open-source Chromium project. The Chromium project is Google’s open-source project that provides the code for the web engine that powers its Chrome browser.
Asides from Chromium, there are only two other active web engines that power web browsers: WebKit (powers Apple’s Safari) and Gecko (powers Mozilla Firefox). These two web engines lack widespread usage compared to Chromium.
Check out more open source web browsers.
Best Chromium-Based Browsers
1. Vivaldi
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android
Best For: Everyone looking for a highly customized and private internet experience
Vivaldi is an out-of-the-box customizable web browser; it is the most customizable Chromium web browser. It ships with lots of features and aims to make you require no browser extensions to get your best internet experience.
Even though it is built with Chromium and supports all Chrome extensions, you will find that you do not need many of those extensions you would normally use in Chrome or other browsers.
Vivaldi’s interface is feature packed and very accessible. Most of its features are accessible from the browser home screen with just a click of a button. It has an excellent tab management scheme you can customize to suit your options.
In addition to the great user experience, Vivaldi is also dedicated to making sure your data is as private as possible.
Pros
- Extremely customizable
- Low memory use
- Full-featured browser window
Cons
- No iOS support
- High memory usage
2. Microsoft Edge
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Android, macOS, iOS
Best For: Professionals who want to increase productivity.
Edge is Microsoft’s replacement for their legacy browser, Internet Explorer. They switched their web engine from their in-house software to Chromium in 2020 to make it competitive in an internet world dominated by Chrome.
It supports all Chrome extensions as well as its custom-made extension in its Edge store.
Microsoft Edge ships by default with a Windows PC and is one of the best chromium browsers. It is featured-packed and has the best context menu among its peers.
Its browser window is also easy to navigate and allows little customizable features like dark mode and tab arrangement.
Pros
- Low memory use
- Immersive reader and PDF mark-up tools
- Device Sync
Cons
- Limited security features
- Fewer extensions than competitors
3. Opera
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux
Best For: Everyone looking for a customized experience on the internet.
Opera is a web browser with a history as the innovator of many features of modern web browsers.
It switched its web engine to Chromium in 2013 yet it still retains its status as a feature-rich and highly customizable browser.
Are you using Linux? Then you have to read what are the top Linux web browsers.
Opera’s user interface is clean and has a Quick Tile section to enable access to frequently visited sites like Google and Facebook.
The browser also has social media apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram integrated directly into its interface.
Pros
- Built-in VPN and proxy service
- Integrated social sharing apps
- Customizable interface
Cons
- The interface can be over-packed with unnecessary features
- May not work with some websites
4. Epic Privacy Browser
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Mac, Android
Best For: Everyone looking to surf the internet privately.
Epic is a user privacy-centric browser based on Chromium. It runs by default in what other browsers call Incognito Mode or Private Browsing.
This means it doesn’t keep your browsing history, caches, cookies, and every form of user data that might be collected during a browsing session.
These aggressive privacy-enforcing capabilities make Epic one of the best Chromium browsers. The developers claim it blocks more than 600 tracking attempts in a single browsing session.
The browser also has a built-in proxy service that hides your IP address every time you access the internet.
Pros
- Baked in VPN/Proxy service
- Isolated Tab Browsing Environment
- Comprehensive ad and tracker blocking
Cons
- Lacks support for many web extensions
- Slow Speeds
- Difficulty Browsing in multiple tabs at once.
5. Opera Neon
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
Best For: Anyone that desires a unique browsing experience
Opera Neon is an experimental browser developed by the makers of Opera. Though it was built on Chromium, its user interface is different from the other browsers including Opera.
Although its features are experimental and crash often, the browser is available for public use. Opera Neon also lacks some basic features of modern browsers like syncing across devices and compatibility with web extensions.
However, it packs in lots of different features that don’t exist in other browsers. Some of these features include a split-screen and dedicated media player. Its user interface looks more like a desktop screen than a typical browser screen.
Pros
- Sleek User interface
- Graphic animation effects.
Cons
- Unstable and it crashes often.
- No Mobile Support
- Lacks Security Updates
6. Opera GX
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
Best For: Gamers; professionals and enthusiasts
Opera GX is another specialized browser built by Opera. The web browser was developed for gamers to get the best of their internet gaming experiences.
It packs in dedicated features for gaming like its GX corners and interface display.
Opera GX allows you to personalize many aspects of its UI right from installation. It boasts a huge collection of wallpapers and also allows you to add your custom wallpaper to fit your gamer aesthetic.
Animations, sounds, and graphic effects are also parts of its interface’s delights.
Pros
- Adaptive usage of RAM and memory space
- Quick access to gaming-related information
- Built-in adblocker and VPN
Cons
- Certain features might be difficult to access
- Privacy issues
7. Brave Browser
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
Best For: Privacy-conscious internet users
Brave Browser is another privacy-centric browser and is one of the best Chromium browsers out there.
It has a minimalist interface similar to Chrome. However, it is heavily focused on browsing the internet privately. Brave does not allow ads but instead operates its internal ads system based on Web 3 technology.
Though it supports extensions from the Chrome Webstore, Brave Browsers come with a lot of features that make installing an extension unnecessary.
This allows the browser to use system resources effectively. It also strengthens the privacy wall of the browser and reduces access to third-party agents.
Pros
- Privacy-centric
- Built-in ad and tracking blocker
- Built-in crypto wallet
Cons
- Internal Ads can become spammy
- Reduces content creators’ revenue
8. SRWare Iron
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux
Best For: Anyone who wants to browse the internet privately
Iron Browser (or SRWare Iron) is another popular web browser based on Chromium.
The browser offers Chrome’s features but removes every form of connection to Google.
This means the suggestion feature in Chrome is not present in Iron Browser. It also eliminates usage tracking (URL and RLZ) by Google.
Pros
- No usage tracking (URL and RLZ tracking by Google is disabled)
- Free from bloatware
Cons
- Unstable and crashes often
- Slow security and performance update
9. Blisk
Price: Free trial or starting from $9.99/month.
OS: Windows, Mac, Linux
Best For: Web designers and developers, UI/UX professionals
Blisk is a specialized browser based on Chrome.
It was designed to help web developers simulate the browsing environment of their potential users. Some of its extensive features include Chrome-like DevTools, emulators for various devices, and more.
Blisk is free to download, however, it charges a license fee for individuals and teams who want to use the product.
Pros
- Enables Collaborative work
- Comprehensive testing and debugging tools for web development
- Allows Integration of design tools like Sketch
Cons
- Requires a license fee to access premium features
- Specialized and unfit for general use
- Lacks mobile support
10. Colibri
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Mac, Linux
Best For: Anyone who wants to increase their productivity
Colibri browser is a chromium-based browser and offers a radically different approach to doing its job.
It only allowed the creation of a single tab in one browser window. Colibri makes you create multiple windows if you have to use multiple tabs.
This is good for people inundated with switching between multiple tabs during a browsing session.
Colibri has a simplistic interface and lacks common browser features like bookmarks and shortcuts. In place of these features, it offers a new way of organizing your browsing with its Links and List features.
Pros
- Uses low memory space
- Clean and minimalistic interface
- Cloud sync
Cons
- There is no history feature in the browser
- There are no tabs
11. Ungoogled Chromium
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
Best For: Everyone looking to access the internet privately.
Ungoogled Chromium is just as the name says: a Chromium browser stripped of all forms of Google-related code.
It has the same set of features as the regular Chromium version. However, it doesn’t allow direct installation of the extensions from the Chrome web store.
Ungoogled Chromium doesn’t come with a preset search engine. It allows you to choose your desired search engine.
Pros
- Enhanced privacy
- Does not track or collect your data
Cons
- Lacks extension support from the Chrome web store
- Requires a bit of programming knowledge to use
12. Kiwi
Price: Free
OS: Android
Best For: Regular internet users
Kiwi is one of the best chromium browsers on Android devices. It looks and works similarly to Chrome.
However, it allows more customizations than Chrome allows. For example, it allows you to move the address/search bar to the bottom of the display.
Pros
- Built-in ad blocker
- Allows extension on mobile
- More customizable interface
Cons
- Lacks desktop version
- Pro version is expensive
13. Yandex
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
Best For: Anyone looking to browse the internet, especially in Russia.
Yandex browser is not popular globally but it is the second most popular browser in Russia.
The browser is based on Chromium and offers everything Chrome offers except that it is in the Russian language. The default search engine is Yandex instead of Google even though you can adjust that in its settings.
Yandex browser has a clean minimalist interface like Chrome and uses Opera’s turbo technology to boost connections when they are slow.
Pros
- Great user interface
- Access to Chrome Extensions
Cons
- Takes up lots of memory space
- Russian Language barrier
14. Comodo Dragon
Price: Free or $119.88
OS: Windows
Best For: Regular internet users
Comodo is an established name in antivirus software development. Comodo Dragon is another of its offerings. The web browser is chromium-based and offers better security and enhanced privacy features.
Comodo Dragon has the same features as Chrome. However, the makers disabled access to all default Google services.
Interestingly, the browser works well with extensions from the Chrome Web store and allows the use of Google accounts.
Pros
- Uses domain validation technology
- Uses web inspector to prevent a malware attack
Cons
- Infrequent performance updates
- It’s not as private as a browser like Opera
15. Avast Secure Browser
Price: Free
OS: Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS
Best For: those looking for security and privacy
Avast Secure Browser, like Comodo, was built by the creators of Avast antivirus to offer top-tier privacy and security.
This chromium-based browser protects user data and information by offering anti-fingerprinting, anti-tracking, and anti-phishing features. You can also get more functionalities with the Avast add-ons store.
Avast ships with an automatic ad-blocker which significantly reduces your payload and speeds up your browsing experience. The User interfaces are also similar to those found in other popular browsers.
Pros
- Performs well with anti-phishing
- Competitive browser speed
Cons
- Limited personalization choices
- Key security features are paid features
Why Are Browsers Based On Chromium?
Because Chromium has all the necessary parts of a web browser built and tailored to modern internet standards. This is because it is an open-source project, and is constantly updated to fulfill every internet access requirement.
Also, most web developers build third-party software (extensions) for Chrome and this extends to Chromium too.
As such, support for other kinds of web engine software is limited. They will also lack access to the extensive infrastructure built around the Chrome browser.
Building a web engine to power a web browser is a challenging and time-consuming process. Thus, adopting a Chromium-based web browser has become a popular alternative, rather than building one from scratch.
What Is The Difference Between Chrome And Chromium?
Chrome is a web browser developed by Google whereas Chromium is an open-source software project also initiated by Google. The Chrome web browser is built on Chromium, as are many other popular browsers. However, Google added more proprietary code to the chromium source code to create Chrome.
Disadvantages of Chromium
- It doesn’t have native support for Adobe Flash and codecs such as AAC and H.2604.
- It lacks automatic feature updates and crash reporting.
If you need support for Flash, check out what web browsers support flash.
Advantages of Chromium
- Chromium doesn’t track or keep user data.
- It is more suited to advanced, more technical, users.
- It serves as the web engine that powers most of the popular web browsers.
What’s the Best Chromium-Based Browsers for iOS?
Regarding Chromium-based browsers on iOS, things work a bit differently compared to Android. On Android, web browsers often come bundled with their own Chromium-based version. But on iOS, it’s a whole different game.
All iOS web browsers have to play by the rules that Apple imposes. Any web browser distributed through the iOS App Store is restricted to using the WebKit library. Therefore, there are no Chomium-based web browsers for iOS.
So, what does this mean in plain English? Well, it means that all iOS browsers are essentially like Safari at their core. They share the same fundamental engine. However, each of them adds their own unique twists and features to stand out from the crowd.
It seems that from 2024 Apple might be forced to allow alternative web engines in iOS such as Chromium.
