While Safari is the default browser and the one most people use on their Macs, you can also easily use Chrome or Firefox. The advantage to those is being able to use the same browser on non-Apple devices, and for Chrome being able to use Google's cloud systems instead of Apple's. Both are free and easy to install, and may come in handy in situations where Safari doesn't work.
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Comments: 27 Responses to “Alternative Mac Browsers Chrome and Firefox”
Carl
6 years ago
I am a Mac user on both platforms iOS and Desktop. I prefer using Chrome because when I started with my Mac experience I kept running into the browser specifically Safari having to install something before I could say something so I realized that chrome already did all the security in the background “ patches and plug-ins so everything just worked. I have never gone back to Safari because of the negative experience but maybe they have improved user side experience. Thank you for your site.
Bill
6 years ago
My previous employer was very much Windows-based and this forced me to use different browsers at home and at work. The one reason I turn to Chrome these days is when Safari saves passwords as cookies and, when I turn to publishing websites, I find myself getting into a tangle if I have different levels of authorisation for different tasks. So, if I log on as editor, I used Safari but if I log on as reviewer I use Chrome.
Jack
6 years ago
I stopped downloading and using Adobe Flash on my Mac years ago due to security concerns and other reasons. My understanding is that the Flash player is a sandboxed extension in Chrome (doesn't live on my Mac). This allows me to use a TV viewing app provided by my cable company with Chrome, while I can't with non Flash-enabled Safari.
Richard Fuhr
6 years ago
While I use Safari as the default browser on my Mac, I also use Firefox and Chrome. One reason for this is that I have developed a few web apps, and want to make sure that they work properly on all the major web browsers (and on some of the relatively minor ones as well, including Vivaldi and Opera).
Mark D.
6 years ago
Similar to Jack (above post), I have not had Adobe Flash installed on my iMac in years. As such, I used to use (and still do actually) use Chrome, but only for viewing YouTube. For everything else, Safari works fine for me.
Ked
6 years ago
I use Linux and macOS. My OS of choice is macOS. In macOS I only use Safari. Safari is fast, secure and I never ha problems to open any website with it. I already test on macOS Firefox, Chrome, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi. After test all described browsers in macOS still Safari is my choice. Beside, why to have several browsers on macOS if Safari is good enough? Like I said, I never found any website that Safari did not open or did not do what I want.
Stu
6 years ago
It's a shame Opera isn't available on Mac, as it's a fantastic browser with good built-in ad blocking
TheReddieSpirit
6 years ago
Opera and Brave are my go to browsers when I'm not on Safari.
Stu - Opera is on Mac and it seems to perform more reliable than Chrome.
Jim
6 years ago
I use Firefox on my pc’s, macs, iPads, and iPhones.
I prefer the interface.
And, I love the clean integration with LastPass password manager and form filler.
Norm
6 years ago
Similar to Jim above, I use Chrome mainly because works well with LastPass password manger. Safari has difficulty launching websites and filling in IDs and passwords directly from LastPass program. Unless Safari has been fixed to solve this problem.
Bruce Anschutz
6 years ago
I use Firefox on my mac because I am a webmaster on a couple of different platforms and Safari does not transfer the correct lettering as posted which requires going back in a repairing with Firefox.
Philip Noguchi
6 years ago
I actually keep Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Vivaldi on hand. I use an extension called Choosy, that allows the same url to be opened in any of these browsers on demand. It's very handy when any one website looks funny or doesn't work to try it immediately in another browser. I find myself using the latest firefox most of the time, with chrome second and safari third. The major issue I face is lack of full synchronization of bookmarks among the four browsers.
carl hammel
6 years ago
I have actually switched my default browser to Opera. It has free, baked-in VPN.
geo lud
6 years ago
I use Opera on my Mac...it's faster, doesn't bog down with open tabs, and many Chrome extensions work on Opera......Gary you should try It!!!
John H
6 years ago
I use Chrome with my MacBook Pro because I find it faster than Safari.
I use Safari for my banking and financial matters because I I have a program designed for Safari which is excellent for these matters.
Bill W
6 years ago
I use Safari the most but I also use Opera ( I use Opera since version 3.5 )
and now lately Brave.
Wayne
6 years ago
For general web browsing on my Mac's at home I use Safari. At work for doing web development I use Chrome. The developer tools in Chrome are better, especially when editing CSS. I occasionally also use Firefox for web development too.
Joe Kozuh
6 years ago
I find Safari the easiest to us.
Chrome logs info on my web-pages trail, but I find it is awkward to use within a web-page.
I use Google Search with Safari, but Google Search on Chrome gives better results.
TIm
6 years ago
I use both safari and Firefox. I like Firefox for its philosophical background.
Sandy
6 years ago
I have an online account with a finacial/bank/brokerage business. Every once in a while I cannot log in with Safari, but I can with Firefox. I started using online financial accounts in 2003 and learned that many were not supporting Mac OSX. That problem has dramatically improved.
Mike W
6 years ago
I use Chrome most of the time on the Mac. One issue I have with Safari is that it has a paltry list of available extensions available for it, as opposed to Firefox and Chrome which both have loads of them, including themes. Also, I use the Google stuff sometimes and Chrome is just better with that.
Jesper V
6 years ago
I use Firefox for homebanking and Safari for everything else.
The reason is that if I - by mistake of course - visit a "nasty" website and get a virus or something (not very likely on a Mac, I know), it will be sandboxed in Safari and not affect my homebanking. Is that correct thinking, or will it be okay to use Safari for everything including homebanking ?
Jesper: If you were to get some sort of malware on your Mac, it would compromise everything. It doesn't matter which browser you use. But you can't get malware from just "visiting" a website. You'd need to be tricked into downloading and installing something (prompts, passwords, etc).
Jesper V
6 years ago
Thanks Gary - I will stick to Safari in the future.
And thank you for your website and newsletter.
You are a great inspiration.
Ron
6 years ago
Mozilla also offers the Tor browser --- I'd be interested in your general comments on using Tor
Ron: Tor would only be needed if you have a significant privacy concern. So for the vast majority of typical users, it isn't needed. Do you have a significant privacy concern?
Tom Voelz
6 years ago
I had to download Firefox to access 2 sites. The Harley Davidson Ride Planner does not work with Safari. The site has maps and you can create routes and then export to a GPX file for import to GPS.
I have Humana insurance and their website doesn't work with Safari. Many of the drop down menus and other content are not displayed. I even called them on it and they told me to use Chrome. I found it worked well with Firefox.
I am a Mac user on both platforms iOS and Desktop. I prefer using Chrome because when I started with my Mac experience I kept running into the browser specifically Safari having to install something before I could say something so I realized that chrome already did all the security in the background “ patches and plug-ins so everything just worked. I have never gone back to Safari because of the negative experience but maybe they have improved user side experience. Thank you for your site.
My previous employer was very much Windows-based and this forced me to use different browsers at home and at work. The one reason I turn to Chrome these days is when Safari saves passwords as cookies and, when I turn to publishing websites, I find myself getting into a tangle if I have different levels of authorisation for different tasks. So, if I log on as editor, I used Safari but if I log on as reviewer I use Chrome.
I stopped downloading and using Adobe Flash on my Mac years ago due to security concerns and other reasons. My understanding is that the Flash player is a sandboxed extension in Chrome (doesn't live on my Mac). This allows me to use a TV viewing app provided by my cable company with Chrome, while I can't with non Flash-enabled Safari.
While I use Safari as the default browser on my Mac, I also use Firefox and Chrome. One reason for this is that I have developed a few web apps, and want to make sure that they work properly on all the major web browsers (and on some of the relatively minor ones as well, including Vivaldi and Opera).
Similar to Jack (above post), I have not had Adobe Flash installed on my iMac in years. As such, I used to use (and still do actually) use Chrome, but only for viewing YouTube. For everything else, Safari works fine for me.
I use Linux and macOS. My OS of choice is macOS. In macOS I only use Safari. Safari is fast, secure and I never ha problems to open any website with it. I already test on macOS Firefox, Chrome, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi. After test all described browsers in macOS still Safari is my choice. Beside, why to have several browsers on macOS if Safari is good enough? Like I said, I never found any website that Safari did not open or did not do what I want.
It's a shame Opera isn't available on Mac, as it's a fantastic browser with good built-in ad blocking
Opera and Brave are my go to browsers when I'm not on Safari.
Stu - Opera is on Mac and it seems to perform more reliable than Chrome.
I use Firefox on my pc’s, macs, iPads, and iPhones.
I prefer the interface.
And, I love the clean integration with LastPass password manager and form filler.
Similar to Jim above, I use Chrome mainly because works well with LastPass password manger. Safari has difficulty launching websites and filling in IDs and passwords directly from LastPass program. Unless Safari has been fixed to solve this problem.
I use Firefox on my mac because I am a webmaster on a couple of different platforms and Safari does not transfer the correct lettering as posted which requires going back in a repairing with Firefox.
I actually keep Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Vivaldi on hand. I use an extension called Choosy, that allows the same url to be opened in any of these browsers on demand. It's very handy when any one website looks funny or doesn't work to try it immediately in another browser. I find myself using the latest firefox most of the time, with chrome second and safari third. The major issue I face is lack of full synchronization of bookmarks among the four browsers.
I have actually switched my default browser to Opera. It has free, baked-in VPN.
I use Opera on my Mac...it's faster, doesn't bog down with open tabs, and many Chrome extensions work on Opera......Gary you should try It!!!
I use Chrome with my MacBook Pro because I find it faster than Safari.
I use Safari for my banking and financial matters because I I have a program designed for Safari which is excellent for these matters.
I use Safari the most but I also use Opera ( I use Opera since version 3.5 )
and now lately Brave.
For general web browsing on my Mac's at home I use Safari. At work for doing web development I use Chrome. The developer tools in Chrome are better, especially when editing CSS. I occasionally also use Firefox for web development too.
I find Safari the easiest to us.
Chrome logs info on my web-pages trail, but I find it is awkward to use within a web-page.
I use Google Search with Safari, but Google Search on Chrome gives better results.
I use both safari and Firefox. I like Firefox for its philosophical background.
I have an online account with a finacial/bank/brokerage business. Every once in a while I cannot log in with Safari, but I can with Firefox. I started using online financial accounts in 2003 and learned that many were not supporting Mac OSX. That problem has dramatically improved.
I use Chrome most of the time on the Mac. One issue I have with Safari is that it has a paltry list of available extensions available for it, as opposed to Firefox and Chrome which both have loads of them, including themes. Also, I use the Google stuff sometimes and Chrome is just better with that.
I use Firefox for homebanking and Safari for everything else.
The reason is that if I - by mistake of course - visit a "nasty" website and get a virus or something (not very likely on a Mac, I know), it will be sandboxed in Safari and not affect my homebanking. Is that correct thinking, or will it be okay to use Safari for everything including homebanking ?
Jesper: If you were to get some sort of malware on your Mac, it would compromise everything. It doesn't matter which browser you use. But you can't get malware from just "visiting" a website. You'd need to be tricked into downloading and installing something (prompts, passwords, etc).
Thanks Gary - I will stick to Safari in the future.
And thank you for your website and newsletter.
You are a great inspiration.
Mozilla also offers the Tor browser --- I'd be interested in your general comments on using Tor
Ron: Tor would only be needed if you have a significant privacy concern. So for the vast majority of typical users, it isn't needed. Do you have a significant privacy concern?
I had to download Firefox to access 2 sites. The Harley Davidson Ride Planner does not work with Safari. The site has maps and you can create routes and then export to a GPX file for import to GPS.
I have Humana insurance and their website doesn't work with Safari. Many of the drop down menus and other content are not displayed. I even called them on it and they told me to use Chrome. I found it worked well with Firefox.