While it might sound odd to discuss the best among web browsers for any platform — after all, all they exist for is to browse the web — you might be surprised how hefty a debate it is among users of various platforms and different browsers. These days, no matter what platform you’re on; from desktop to mobile phones to tablets, there is a variety of browser choices available to pick from. And almost all of them come with their own strengths and weaknesses that make them either coveted or hated (looking at you, O’ Internet Explorer — may you rest in peace!). Windows and Macs differ here significantly, thanks to the default browser they come with (discounting Windows 10 and its, of course).
With OS X, you get a very, very capable browser out of the box, the mighty Safari, and for most users, that will be all they will ever need. This is in stark contrast to Windows’ Internet Explorer, which is basically fired up just to download an alternate browser and be done with it forever.
Malwarebytes was created by a contributor to these communities, and is often recommended for scanning your Mac for malware/ aware. Anti-virus is not recommended for Mac as it is not needed and can often hog resources slowing down your Mac, and can often be the cause of deleting necessary system files.
However, even on a Mac, there are a number of other browser choices available that you can employ should you wish for a different experience, or have a need that is not catered to by Safari (more on that later). So, here are our picks for the best browsers for Mac OS X, with the best at number and the rest following suit. Before we get to the actual list, a small disclaimer: you will find a lot of common names in this list, which might even prompt you to ponder why.
The reality is, it’s hard to name the best Mac OS X browsers without these big names, but since they all have their merits and demerits, we will discuss them all one by one. Safari This one would hardly come as a surprise, but beyond doubt, the native Safari is the overall best browser for OS X. Over the years, Apple has heavily optimized its browser to work best within its own ecosystem, and while it’s hard to recommend Safari as the top choice for Windows, there is nothing better for Macs.
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If you’re using a Macbook, Safari truly shines, since this is the only browser that you can freely use without making a significant dent to your battery life. Safari’s page rendering is blazing fast, stability is matchless on OS X and the existing feature set is expandable courtesy of a decent extensions gallery. It also comes with decent bookmark management, and the Reading List allows you to save web pages for offline viewing.
Akin to its mobile counterpart, Safari for OS X also comes with a Reader view that removed clutter from web pages and keeps only relevant content for easy reading. Safari’s password management is also stellar, and better than any other browser’s native offering. The is also the area where Safari falls a little short, seeing as how the number of available extensions doesn’t come close to Chrome’s extensions of Firefox’s add-ons.
Extensions aren’t very easy to browse either, with Chrome doing a much better job in this area. Oh, and Safari also doesn’t support Flash, so if you frequent web pages that require the outdated medium, look elsewhere. Engine: Apple’s proprietary WebKit License: LGPL Download link: Included in OS X 2. Firefox It was a really close call between Firefox and Google Chrome for the second spot on our list, with Firefox barely topping Chrome in only battery-friendliness.
Personally, I feel that’s a major deciding factor, seeing how one of the biggest strengths of OS X is the large battery timing that it offers. Firefox otherwise offers a really robust feature set with one of the best tab managements available on any browser. Page rendering is fast and the is nothing short of impressive. Firefox also shines in download management, where its native download manager eliminates the need for any third party solutions that you will yourself scampering for in both Safari and Chrome. The browser also supports all the regular features like bookmark management, private browsing, web-form management, a capable editing console, spell checking and site-based security configurations, to name a few. Since it’s available for a number of platforms, you can also take benefit of creating a Mozilla account and using that across all your devices for a smooth browsing experience.
Engine: Gecko License: MPL 2.0. Download link: 3. Google Chrome For me, Google Chrome is a bittersweet experience on OS X. Before I praise Chrome for anything, allow me to clarify that it really kills your battery on a Macbook, and that’s one of its biggest pitfalls. To put things in perspective, an hour-long Google Hangout in Safari with video drains approximately 20% of your battery while keeping the core temperature pretty stable. Same in Chrome will drain almost 60% of your battery with temperatures approaching 80°C, causing the Macbook’s fan to go berserk. In the long run, that might seriously damage your hardware, so be warned.
This use scenario, however, doesn’t mean that Chrome is all bad news on OS X. If you’re really invested in Google Apps (like I am), you will never find a smoother experience on any other web browser.
Chrome has one of the most that can considerably enhance and improve the usefulness of your web browser. Top it off with the plethora of Chrome apps available, and you have a pretty solid deal at your hands. Also, if you’re a web developer, Chrome’s inspection console and developer tools offer the most detailed page analysis of all browsers that I tried. The additional ability to sign into Chrome with your one Google account across various platforms makes using Chrome a breeze.
Then there’s pinned tabs as well; something I sorely miss in Safari despite favoring that on the whole. The bottom line for Chrome is, use it. Give it a try and make a decision yourself. Just don’t do too much media consumption on this browser, or you’ll kill your battery faster than you can say battery itself. Engine: Blink License: BSD (Chromium executable) Download link: 4.
Maxthon Maxthon is all about cloud browsing. This cross-platform browser and service basically allows for a smooth browsing experience across all your devices, be it Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows PC or Mac/Linux etc. You can sign up for a Maxthon account and take all your browsing with you, from open tabs to bookmarks and passwords. The thing that truly sets Maxthon apart is its cloud service, which allows you to push text, images, URLs and tabs from one device to the other with ease. Likewise, the cloud sharing makes it possible to share all of this with friends as well.
Another stellar feature of Maxthon is unique drag & drop and gesture support, whereby, for instance, you can select a word or phrase and drag it to the URL bar to initiate a quick search in your default search engine. Gestures allow you to quickly perform actions like refresh, previous tab, next tab etc, using mouse or trackpad. Alongside a good amount of extensions available (though nothing comparable with Chrome), you also get built-in Flash support, which makes it a viable choice particularly for OS X where the native Safari simply abandons the protocol. Top that all off with the neat interface of Maxthon, and you have a good competitor that doesn’t kill your battery as much as Chrome does. Maxthon for OS X is available on the Mac App Store, and is the only browser on our list that can be obtained this way. A classic version is available via the official website as well, should App Store not work for you for some reason.
Engine: Blink, Trident License: Proprietary Download link: 5. Opera Opera made a name for itself back in the day owing to blazing fast browsing experience and quick tabs, but that became a thing of history since other browsers caught up fairly well. Today, Opera doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but it does the job and does it well. Pages load fast, the interface is minimalist, it has extension support (albeit the number of extensions is fairly limited), and the browser itself is secure. If you use Opera on your cell phone or tablet as well, you would favor this on your Mac as it offers syncing everything from tabs to bookmarks and passwords. The regular tally is all there as well: search bar, download management, spell checking, private browsing, per-site configurations and all.
One standout feature for Opera is a built-in RSS reader of sorts, which allows you to keep abreast with latest happenings in topics of your interest. The quick access area at the top right corner of your screen (right next to the URL bar) is also fairly rich, and allows you put in whatever you deem most important for your work (or leisure, we’re not judging). Engine: Blink License: Proprietary Download link: 6. Yandex If you liked the look and feel of Microsoft’s Edge browser that comes bundled with Windows 10, that’s because it’s worth liking. The transparency really adds a neat touch to your whole browsing experience, offering clutter-free display across the web. Well, Yandex delivers that on steroids for OS X. If look and feel is your first priority, there’s hardly any other browser that will hold a candle to Yandex.
With its sleek looks and extremely minimalist URL bar at the bottom of the page (yes, it’s unconventional, but really cool), you get to see only the website and nothing more, providing the most uncluttered browsing experience. However, that doesn’t mean that Yandex is lacking in features. The best part about this browser is that the controls and other items appear only when they’re needed, so if you were to take your mouse cursor to the top of the page, for instance, you will see all the usual toolbars and menus fade in. New tabs get laid out neatly at the bottom of the page. In fact, browsing with Yandex generally gives the impression of using and interacting with an app rather than a website, and that makes sense, seeing how Yandex exists in all its glory for major mobile platforms as well. I highly recommend that you give Yandex a try.
If pure browsing is what you’re after, there’s simply no competition. Engine: Blink License: Proprietary Download link: 7. OmniWeb OmniWeb is hard to recommend for anyone unless you’re using OS X Mountain Lion or older, where it actually works well. The browser carries the reliable name of the Omni Group behind it, but the project was discontinued and hence, will not work well with Mavericks or El Capitan.
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However, if you’re rocking an older Mac that finds it hard to handle the recent browsers that we’ve discussed above (and quite frankly, Safari used to be a pain in those versions), you can definitely take OmniWeb out for a spin. The biggest thing with OmniWeb that you’ll notice on first launch is the outdated interface, but that’s to be expected seeing as how it’s not for the modern operating systems in the first place. The browser itself works fine, but you’ll feel the outdated-ness almost everywhere. The regular feature tally is complete here as well, with the only thing that’s missing is a private browsing mode. Simply put, if you are rocking OS X 10.9 Mavericks or above on your Mac, look at others in our list (despite OmniWeb officially supporting new versions). If you’re running an older Mac with Mountain Lion or below, OmniWeb is a good choice.
Engine: WebKit License: Proprietary, LGPL Download link: SEE ALSO: Think you have a recommendation that we should have included here? Drop us a comment below. The reason I have interest in this article is that I have been using Safari for a couple of years and it seems to give me the “spinning pinwheel of death” somewhat often. I don’t seem to get it very often when I use Chrome, but I do upon occasion. It’s very frustrating and I would love to know the real cause.
I am using Mac OS Sierra 10.12.1 and Safari 10.01.1 I have 8GB of Ram and a 1 TB hdd. This is my first venture into Mac, as I have always used windows, but found the virus susceptibility worrisome. I am asking for help here if there is any available! The reason I have interest in this article is that I have been using Safari for a couple of years and it seems to give me the “spinning pinwheel of death” somewhat often. I don’t seem to get it very often when I use Chrome, but I do upon occasion. It’s very frustrating and I would love to know the real cause.
I am using Mac OS Sierra 10.12.1 and Safari 10.01.1 I have 8GB of Ram and a 1 TB hdd. This is my first venture into Mac, as I have always used windows, but found the virus susceptibility worrisome.
Over the years I have noted even the mention of malicious adware on a Mac brings up those stanch believers that there is NO way Mac's can be affected. While using my Apple Care membership yesterday it was suggested that Apple now recommends the use of the MalwareBytes/Adwaremedic program to detect and prevent what they perceive to be an ever increasing occurrence of threats to the Apple software community. What is your thoughts on downloading this product? I am not trying to start a war about how safe our OS is, but giving a comment coming from Apple Care and one of their representatives. I use Malwarebytes at home. The OSX version does not include active monitoring, so I don't see how it can do damage to the system files as some of the more religious Mac users will claim there is a risk of. I have used various Macs over the years, most without protection.
I have never encountered malware. This is purely anecdotal, though. Chances are very low for any OSX machine to be infected with malware. There isn't a big enough pay-off to target these machines. This might change over time, however. Safe searching is your best protection.
Thanks to bent christian, & briloronmacrumo for your quick intelligent reply. None of that in your face, blah, blah, about OS being void of any dangers. I will get the Malwarebytes for my Mac, I have used it for many years on the PC's our network has, but in reality, doing a scan with it has never found or fixed anything on those Windows systems. I use the free one. I have been told that there can be a conflict between the Norton security software my Comcast IP provides and Malwarebytes.
Never know who to count on in this ever changing IT world. Mac Rumors has always been a helping hand for me since I added my iMac to my system. For sure there are some programers out there who would love to destroy any OS just for the buzz it would produce to their deranged mentality.
The stuff that MalwareBytes deals with comes from downloading. Adware is commonly installed as a bogus browser plug-in or extension. 'To view content on this site you have to install XXXX.
Sometimes it's legit, but even if it's a brand-name like Adobe Flash, go directly to Adobe.com for the download, don't trust that popup (and in the case of Flash and Java, there are usually System Preferences panes for them, where you can check for legitimate updates). Adware also hitches a ride on downloads of other apps (you think you're just downloading a particular app, but you wind up getting several useless programs and an adware infection - blame whoever offered the download - they're getting a cut of the ad revenue from the adware infections). The stuff that MalwareBytes deals with comes from downloading. Adware is commonly installed as a bogus browser plug-in or extension.
'To view content on this site you have to install XXXX. Sometimes it's legit, but even if it's a brand-name like Adobe Flash, go directly to Adobe.com for the download, don't trust that popup (and in the case of Flash and Java, there are usually System Preferences panes for them, where you can check for legitimate updates).
Adware also hitches a ride on downloads of other apps (you think you're just downloading a particular app, but you wind up getting several useless programs and an adware infection - blame whoever offered the download - they're getting a cut of the ad revenue from the adware infections). Click to expand.I just noticed your reference to Malwarebytes.org. I had just downloaded (but not opened the.dmg) from Malwarebytes.com insert heart palpitation coupled with faint nausea feeling LoL. Opened new browser -typed malwarebytes.org -pressed Enter.was immediately taken to their site '.com' so my download was safe -I had got the link from a thread on this site. Thanks xoxo I just went to the site again to download.
It's for Windows. Chatted with their rep. Was given this link for mac.