Web browsers on macOS run significantly better than Windows. The OS is optimised and the hardware is highly efficient. Moreover, there are fewer macOS devices with even fewer hardware specifications. This allows developers to easily build and optimise a web browser for macOS. This is also why there are more macOS specific web browsers.
We have tested pretty much every mainstream (and some niche) web browser available on macOS and came up with a list of few that stand out.
Overview of the Best Browsers for Mac
| Browser | Best For | Best Feature | |
 | Arc | Unique Features | Peek & Max |
 | Safari | Privacy for Apple Users | iCloud Private Relay |
 | Orion | Extension Support | Built-in Ads and Tracker Blocker |
 | Chrome | Speed & Reliability | Google Integration |
 | Vivaldi | Customisability | Vertical Tabs |
Arc Browser – The Productive Browser
The reason Arc comes up on top and not Safari is because of its features. Browsers like Chrome and Safari have perfected the formula of web browsing. However, if you really think about it, there wasn’t much to add. And this is where Arc proves us wrong.
Chromium-based Lightweight Browser
Arc is a Chromium-based web browser. And we’ve tested a number of those on Mac. And someone Arc came up on top. It’s feature-packed yet lightweight. It’s great at memory management. And it never crashed.
Unique Features
Arc Browser has a bunch of unique features that you won’t find anywhere else. And they’re all useful. At the center or Arc is a Command Bar that is used to browse the web, search, ask ChatGPT, and use one of many browser-specific commands.
There’s a whiteboard-like functionality called Easel. You can open a new easel and write, doodle, take notes, or do whatever you would wanna do on a digital whiteboard. It can be both private, shareable, and collaborative.
And Peek lets you Shift+Click on any link to open it up on a pop-up style window, so you can easily get rid of it after reading, or choose to put it on your side bar. Yes, Arc is one of those browsers with vertical tabs and navigation.
AI Features That Are Actually Useful
And then there are a bunch more useful AI features within Arc Max.
- Tidy Tabs automatically organise your tabs into groups based on the content and title.
- Tidy Tab Titles shorten your tab titles to make them easier to find.
- Instant Links automatically opens up the top result of any web search.
- Ask on Page lets you ask Max (based on ChatGPT) any question about an open webpage.
- 5-Second Previews gives you the summary of any webpage when you hover over the link.
- Tidy Downloads renames your downloaded files to something that actually makes sense.
- And finally Ask ChatGPT on Command Bar adds ChatGPT to your search suggestions on Arc’s Spotlight-like command bar.
A Couple of Drawbacks
Arc has gone through a couple years of development and beta testing. And the browser is finally at a point where the developers have nothing more to add. So the browser will not receive any major feature update anytime in the near future. However the security updates and bug fixes will keep coming.
And if you’re a long-term Safari user, making the switch to Arc, many of your Safari extensions won’t work. And yes, that includes the ones you’ve paid for.
Why is Arc The Right Choice for Mac Users?
Well, Mac users are usually creative power users who appreciate anything that enhances productivity. I’m making this assumption based on some of the most popular apps on the App Store. Arc offers creative, collaborative, and productive space for them.
Safari – The Apple Browser
Safari is Apple’s own browser. It’s the one that comes with your iPhone and Mac. And if you’re a Mac user, you’ve definitely tried Safari at some point. But Safari offers more than just a “default browser experience.”
Optimised Performance and Battery Life
The one thing Safari truly nails is optimisation. Apple designed it specifically for Mac hardware, which translates to buttery-smooth performance. Safari loads pages quickly, scrolls fluidly, and is noticeably gentle on your battery. Seriously, if you’re often away from a charger, Safari can significantly increase your browsing time before you need to plug in again.
Privacy Features You’ll Actually Use
Privacy is built right into Safari. Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) actively blocks trackers that follow you around the web. There’s even a nifty Privacy Report feature that lets you see exactly who’s been blocked. Plus, if you’re serious about anonymity, Private Relay (part of iCloud+) routes your browsing through Apple servers, adding an extra layer of protection.
Deep Integration with Apple’s Ecosystem
Safari integrates brilliantly across your Apple devices. Handoff lets you start browsing on your iPhone and pick up right where you left off on your Mac. Shared Tab Groups keep your browsing organised across devices, and built-in Apple Pay integration makes online payments quick and secure.
Clean and Minimal Interface
Safari’s minimalist UI feels clean, polished, and distraction-free. There’s zero clutter and the main focus is on your content. Tabs, bookmarks, and settings are all tucked away. Most Safari extensions follow the design choice too.
The Reader View helps with the clutter on web pages, to give you a more clean browsing experience on that front too. And some of the best ad blockers on Safari have a minimal UI. And some don’t have a UI at all, just the blocklists. If aesthetics matters that much to you, you’ll feel right at home.
A Few Annoying Limitations
However, there are a few things that hold Safari back. The way Safari handles multiple tabs on macOS can be a bit confusing. It’s one of those situations where minimalism comes in the way of functionality.
And Safari’s extension library is significantly smaller due to Apple’s tight oversight on the App Store.
Why is Safari The Right Choice for Mac Users?
It’s the ecosystem. It’s also privacy. But there are a lot more private browsers that are more secure than Safari. But none of them has the same level of integration into the Apple ecosystem. If you use an iPhone and/or an iPad alongside your Mac, or if you have one of those multi-Mac setups where you use a MacBook Pro on the go and a Mac Studio on your desk, Safari can streamline your workflow and save you a lot of time.
Orion – It’s Safari, also Chrome, and Firefox?
Orion is a Mac-exclusive browser that’s built on WebKit. Which means, it’s as fast and battery efficient as Safari. Faster even. Yet it can run Chrome and Firefox extensions. I know. It’s the Frankenstein’s browser.
Fast and Minimal with a Familiar Interface
Orion looks and feels like Safari, but with more customisation options. You can switch between tab layouts, enable vertical tabs, and customse the toolbar by adding or removing buttons. It’s a lightweight, responsive browser that doesn’t feel bloated.
Supports Chrome and Firefox Extensions
This is Orion’s biggest selling point. The third-party extension support. Safari has a limited selection of extensions on the App Store. We’ve already talked about it. So Orion decided to bring Chrome Web Store and Mozilla Add-ons Store as options. Now all extensions might not work flawlessly. However, most ad blockers, password managers, and productivity tools work flawlessly.
Battery Efficient and Lightweight
Started my day with a 100% battery on a MacBook Air M2. After approximately 8 hours of document editing, web browsing, and watching videos on Orion, I was still left with 36% battery. While this is not a professional benchmark, it shows how efficient Orion is. It’s slightly more power hungry compared to Safari, but significantly less than Chrome.
Browser Profiles and Tab Grouping
If you use the same browser for work, research, entertainment, studies, and more, the ability to switch between profiles should come in handy. And the built-in tab grouping makes browsing more organised.
Install Websites as Standalone Apps
Orion can turn any website into a native macOS app. So sites like YouTube, Netflix, and Gmail can be installed as standalone apps with their own dock icons and separate windows. And these apps, while running on their separate instances, will share the same extensions. Which means, if you have an ad blocker installed, it will work there too.
Some Bugs and Stability Issues
Since Orion is still in active development. Which means it has some bugs. Certain Chrome extensions don’t work properly, and the browser occasionally crashes. Some websites may freeze or stop responding, but these issues are improving as the browser gets more updates.
Why is Orion The Right Choice for Mac Users?
Orion is for Mac users who have used Safari for a long time, but aren’t happy with the lack of customisation and extension support.
Chrome – Still the Safe Bet
There’s a reason Chrome dominates the market, even among Mac users. It might not be as optimised as Safari or as innovative as Arc, but it consistently delivers on speed, reliability and integration, especially if your life revolves around Google’s ecosystem.
It’s All About Speed and Stability
Chrome has always been fast. It still loads pages lightning quick, handles video streaming fine and manages tabs better than most other browsers (yes, even with dozens open). Stability is Chrome’s strong suit. It rarely crashes and even when it does, individual tabs crash instead of the whole browser. Moreover, it’s faster on macOS compared to Windows
Syncs Across All Your Devices, flawlessly
Chrome’s sync is unbeaten. Your passwords, bookmarks, browsing history or even recently closed tabs. Chrome mirrors your experience across every device. Mac, Android, Windows or Linux. If you’re deeply invested in Google’s ecosystem (Gmail, Docs, Drive or Google Calendar), Chrome will always feel like home.
Largest Repository of Browser Extensions
Chrome’s Web Store is the biggest when it comes to extensions. From advanced ad blockers and password managers to productivity tools and niche utilities – if it exists, it’s on Chrome first.
Clean and Familiar UI
Chrome’s UI is simple and straightforward but minimalism isn’t its priority. It’s sleek enough but compared to Safari or Arc, it feels more functional than beautiful. If you like Apple’s minimalism, Chrome might feel a bit clunky. But it’s consistent, reliable and easy to use.
A Few Annoyances You Can Probably Get Past
But here’s the catch. Chrome’s resource management isn’t the best. It’s a notorious battery drain compared to Safari or Orion. Running Chrome all day on a MacBook Air or Pro will noticeably reduce battery life, especially if you’re constantly juggling multiple tabs and extensions.
And another major drawback is privacy. It’s Google’s browser, after all, and privacy isn’t their strong suit. While Chrome offers basic security features like sandboxing, phishing protection and enhanced Safe Browsing, it’s still tracking-intensive by default. You’ll need a solid ads and tracker blocker for Chrome.
Why is Chrome The Right Choice for Mac Users?
Chrome is for Mac users who prioritise stability, syncing and extensions above all else. It’s safe, reliable and gets the job done without hassle.
Vivaldi – The Customisable Browser
If Orion is Safari with Chrome extensions, then Vivaldi is Chrome on steroids. Seriously, the customisation options on this browser are ridiculous, in the best possible way.
Built for Power Users
Vivaldi isn’t subtle about its audience. It’s power users. Tabs can be stacked vertically, horizontally or even in grids. You can customise the placement and appearance of every toolbar and button, or remove them all together for a completely minimalist look. You can even customise keyboard shortcuts to do pretty much anything.
An Interface You Shape Yourself
Vivaldi’s interface can look overwhelming at first, but that’s only until you realise you’re in control. Want vertical tabs? You got ‘em! Prefer a simplified, minimal layout similar to Safari? Just strip out the clutter. It’s all as easy as just dragging and dropping.
Multi-tasking Made Easy
Web Panels are a Vivaldi feature you’ll love. You can pin entire websites like WhatsApp, Slack, or Twitter as persistent sidebars. These are accessible from any tab. Imagine having Spotify playing in one panel, your Twitter feed in another and your actual browsing in the middle. If you have a multi-screen setup, this can be even more useful.
Built-in Productivity Tools
Vivaldi has a bunch of productivity tools built in. There’s a Notes app to jot down quick thoughts and save snippets from web pages. Vivaldi Calendar, Mail and RSS Feed Reader are also built in. Vivaldi’s all-in-one approach could simplify your workflow big time.
Extensive Extension Support
Since Vivaldi is Chromium-based it supports all Chrome extensions without any workarounds. If it’s on the Chrome Web Store, it’s yours to install. If you’re coming from Safari, the selection can be a bit overwhelming.
Drawbacks to Consider
Despite all the features Vivaldi doesn’t feel as light or battery friendly as Safari or Orion. It runs fine most of the time but throw in dozens of tabs and panels and you’ll notice the battery draining a bit quicker. It’s optimised enough to work well but expect your MacBook’s battery to dip faster if you’re juggling a lot.
Moreover, Vivaldi can feel overwhelming if you’re new to customisation-heavy apps. It takes a while to set up just right and sometimes customisation options feel endless. It’s easy to get lost tweaking settings instead of just using the browser. Also it can feel bloated compared to minimalist browsers like Safari or Orion.
Why is Vivaldi The Right Choice for Mac Users?
Vivaldi is for you if you want deep customisation and integrated tools that replace standalone productivity apps.
What’s the Fastest Browser on Mac?
Safari is the fastest browser on a Mac across the board. Why? Because Apple built Safari for macOS. Safari uses WebKit, Apple’s browser engine designed specifically for Macs, so pages load almost instantly. Whether you’re browsing casually, multitasking with dozens of tabs or scrolling through social media feeds for hours, Safari is as smooth as it gets.
Chrome and Orion are fast too, especially Orion, being WebKit-based like Safari. But neither can match Safari’s performance when scrolling, loading pages or streaming high quality video.
It’s also the browser that uses your battery the least, which is a bonus to its performance. Especially if you’re running resource intensive tasks or working remotely.
Wrapping Up
There are a lot of factors that can influence the decision when choosing a web browser. When you’re on macOS, it heavily depends on which device you’ve using. For example Chrome on a MacBook can eat up a lot of battery, but you don’t have the same concerns on an iMac. However, if you have multiple Mac devices or iPhone and/or iPad, then Safari should be a good fit. Also based on your use cases, both Arc and Vivaldi can easily slip into your workflow and make you more productive.