Assalamu'alaikum wr. wb.
See you again with Inzaghi's Blog! Apart from Mozilla Firefox, there are now 2 browsers which are both based on Chromium. Even though Google Chrome is the King of the World's Web Browser, Windows users don't forget Microsoft Edge. What is the difference between the two web browsers? Let's take a good look at this article.
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| Illustration Comparison of Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome (Edge vs Chrome) |
Sources : Uvinsa.com, Expressvpn.com, and Kinsta.com (Blog)
And for most of you, that preference is Google Chrome, by far the most popular browser on desktop and mobile. But does that make it the best Browser?
Another top competitor is Edge, the browser that Microsoft first released with Windows 10 and also as the Default Browser in Windows 11. Meanwhile, Google Chrome is the reigning King of Browsers, with highest usage on Computers and Mobile Devices especially Android.
To find out which Browser is the best, we will be doing a side by side comparison of Microsoft Edge vs Google Chrome.
A. General Description
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| Global Browser Market Share (2011-2021) [Sources : Kinsta.com and Backlinko.com] |
1. Google Chrome
The World's Most Popular Browser Was Born in 2008. Prior to its release, pioneer Internet Explorer (IE) Edge led the way with a peak market share of 95%.
Google Chrome overtook Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox in a few years to become the market leader. Currently, it has a market share of 65.27%, while Internet Explorer is down to only 0.61%.
Chrome was originally developed for the Windows operating system and subsequently made available for Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android. The majority of the source code for Google Chrome is derived from Chromium, an open-source software project created by Google. Competition for market dominance is ongoing among Chrome, Chromium, and numerous other web browsers.
2. Microsoft Edge
In 2015, Microsoft introduced Edge as the default browser for Windows 10 and Xbox One, replacing Microsoft Internet Explorer. It was announced that Internet Explorer would be completely phased out in 2022.
Originally, Edge was built as an HTML-based browser. However, in 2020, Microsoft launched a new version of Edge that was based on Chromium, the same open-source software utilized by Google Chrome.
Microsoft Edge is compatible with various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux. By adopting Chromium, Microsoft made Edge more competitive with Chrome, resulting in several notable improvements that we will delve into shortly. Nevertheless, despite these enhancements, Edge currently holds a market share of only 3.4%, indicating that it still has a considerable way to go before catching up to Chrome.
B. User Interface (UI)
The user interface is usually the first thing you notice when you use a Browser. Out of the box, the two Browsers are (not surprisingly) similar in appearance. One immediate difference you'll notice is that Edge provides an option to organize your tabs vertically. Both browsers allow the option to group multiple tabs into groups.
In addition, Edge has a function that allows you to group ideas into a single "Collection". Think of it as the halfway point between bookmarks and lists. In other words, this function has been designed for users to group tabs thematically for a specific purpose such as a holiday to-do list or a shopping list.
Bookmarks and Bookmark Bar work the same way in both browsers, although in Edge it's called "favorite bar".
C. Browser Extensions
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| Chrome Extensions |
Chrome's biggest advantage over every other browser available in the market is its choice of extensions. There are currently more than 150,000 extensions available in the Chrome Web Store—and all of them are compatible with browsers based on Chromium.
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| Edge Add-ons |
D. Default Settings
Microsoft Edge :
- The default homepage is the Bing search box with content from Microsoft News.
- The default search engine is Bing.
- It displays video output on any device that supports Miracast or DLNA protocol.
Google Chrome :
- The default homepage is Google Search.
- The default search engine is Google.
- It displays video output on Chromecast devices.
The default settings for both browsers are different, but you can change these settings.
- Homepage : The default homepage for Chrome is Google. When you launch Chrome, you have quick access to Google search functions and services like Gmail (if you have a Google account).
- Default Search Engine : When you enter keywords in the browser's address bar, Chrome uses Google as the default search engine.
- Casting : Newer devices feature the ability to transmit or display video output on other devices. Chrome connects to Chromecast devices to display its output.
- Home page: When you open a new tab or window, you see a page with stories from Microsoft News and a search box powered by Bing.
- Default Search Engine : When you enter a search term in the address bar, Microsoft Edge uses the Bing search engine.
- Casting : Microsoft Edge can cast to any device that supports DLNA or Miracast protocols. These protocols are compatible with more hardware than Chrome for media streaming or screen mirroring.
E. Other Features
1. Backup and Synchronization
Both browsers provide the same functionality for device backup and synchronization. Specifically, this includes options such as :
- Bookmarks/Favorites
- Extensions/Add-ons
- Settings
- History
- Open Tabs/Tab Groups
- Themes/Appearances
- Passwords
2. Compatibility and Availability
Google Chrome is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and Chrome OS. Microsoft Edge is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and comes pre-installed with Xbox One and Series X/S.
3. Customization
Both Chrome and Edge come with a large number of theme options on the Chrome Web Store and Edge Add-on page. By default, Chrome has more visual customization options, and any extensions available for Chrome will work with Edge, but not vice versa.
F. Performance Comparisons
1. Speed
Although both browsers are touted as fast, we didn't observe any significant differences in loading times when loading the same content. We conducted several browser speed tests—using WebSPRT 4 in this case—and the results were very close.
2. Resource and RAM Usage
It's no secret that Google Chrome has a reputation for being resource-intensive. Forums are filled with questions on how to optimize Chrome's RAM usage.
It's not surprising that many of these issues can arise due to an excessive number of third-party extensions burdening the browser. Other possible causes may include having too many tabs open, unclear cache, or malware.
With Edge, Microsoft has worked on improving memory usage with features such as sleeping tabs that put unused tabs to sleep if they're inactive for a while. Users are likely to experience less battery drain when using Edge compared to Chrome.
That's not to say that Google hasn't made efforts to improve Chrome, but in our experience, Chrome seems to consume more system resources.
3. Privacy and Security
This is where it gets interesting! In recent years, both Google and Microsoft have taken steps to ensure that their browsers have at least the necessary level of security. For example, both Chrome and Edge default to HTTPS connections, have imperfect malicious site detection, and malware detection features.
Both browsers have a set of privacy and security features that are quite good, but Edge is more user-friendly and provides more control to its users. However, Chrome has a more consistent update schedule, which means that malware or exploits will be patched faster than with Edge.
Both browsers also offer private browsing options, with Chrome's Incognito mode and Edge's InPrivate browsing. It's important to mention here that private browsing is not 100% private. In other words, your activities can still be tracked. Google has faced criticism in the past for Chrome's Incognito mode being less anonymous.
However, it's important to note that neither Chrome nor Edge is considered a privacy-focused browser. Chrome still hasn't shaken off its reputation for collecting large amounts of user data. This includes location, search history, browsing history, and user preferences. Google is also known to be able to link this data to individuals and their devices.
To see this Article in Indonesian, can be see in here.
If I myself still choose Google Chrome over Microsoft Edge. Because the UI display on Google Chrome is cleaner and better than Microsoft Edge. If we use Windows 10 and Windows 11, of course, Microsoft Edge has become the default browser. But, Google Chrome is already the Default Browser for Android and Chrome OS.
Thank you 😄😊👌👍 :)
Wassalamu'alaikum wr. wb.