Chrome, Firefox or Safari: privacy, battery life and extensions compared

Your browser is the app you use most, and for many people it is the computer. Chrome, Firefox and Safari all render modern websites well, so the choice comes down to quieter things: who learns what about you, how long your battery lasts, what extensions you can add, and how your tabs and passwords follow you between devices.

We use all three daily for testing websites. Here is the honest comparison.

Three engines, not three skins

Under the surface there are only three major browser engines left:

This matters more than it sounds. When almost every browser shares one engine, a website that only gets tested in Chrome can break for everyone else. Using Firefox or Safari keeps the web open to more than one implementation. It also means a security bug in Chromium affects many browsers at once, until each vendor ships the fix.

On iPhone and iPad, Apple required all browsers to use WebKit for years. Chrome and Firefox on iOS look different but run on Safari's engine. Since iOS 17.4, the EU allows other engines, but outside the EU the rule still applies.

Privacy and tracking protection

Safari blocks cross-site tracking by default with Intelligent Tracking Prevention, which limits how long tracking cookies and website storage survive. It hides your IP address from known trackers, and iCloud+ subscribers can use Private Relay, which routes Safari traffic through two separate relays so no single party sees both who you are and which sites you visit.

Firefox turns on Enhanced Tracking Protection by default. Its Total Cookie Protection keeps a separate "cookie jar" for each website, so a tracker embedded on many sites cannot follow you between them. A Strict mode blocks more, at the cost of breaking some sites. Mozilla is a non-profit-owned organisation, though it earns most of its revenue from search deals.

Chrome offers Safe Browsing (warnings about dangerous sites and downloads), an Enhanced mode, and controls for third-party cookies. Google planned for years to remove third-party cookies, then announced in 2025 that it would keep its current approach, so by default Chrome still allows them; you can block them in settings. Chrome is tied closely to a Google account, and Google's business is advertising, so think about what you sync and which settings you accept.

In short: Safari and Firefox protect you more without any setup; Chrome can be tightened, but you have to do it.

Battery life and performance

On a Mac, Safari is usually the most battery-friendly browser because Apple tunes it together with macOS and its own chips. Chrome and Firefox have improved, but on long days unplugged the difference is noticeable.

On Windows, Safari is not available. Chrome and Edge are both very optimised there, and Firefox is close behind.

Chrome has two built-in features worth turning on for laptops:

• Memory Saver frees memory from tabs you are not using; they reload when you click them.

• Energy Saver limits background activity and some visual effects when the battery is low or the charger is unplugged.

Firefox and Safari also unload or slow down background tabs automatically. In all browsers, the biggest battery drains are open tabs with video, heavy web apps, and badly written extensions.

Extensions

Chrome has the largest extension library, the Chrome Web Store. Most extensions you hear about exist there first. Since the move to Manifest V3, some extensions, especially ad blockers, are more limited than before (we explain that in a separate post).

Firefox has its own add-on store. Many popular extensions exist for Firefox, and it still supports the older, more powerful blocking features that Chrome removed. Firefox for Android supports full extensions too, which is rare on mobile.

Safari extensions come through the App Store and are packaged as Mac or iPhone apps by the developer. The selection is smaller, and some extensions are paid. Safari on iPhone does support extensions, including content blockers.

Rule for any browser: every extension can potentially read the pages you visit. Install few, from well-known developers, and remove the ones you no longer use.

Sync across devices

If you use a Windows PC and an iPhone, Safari cannot follow you to the PC. Chrome and Firefox work everywhere. If everything you own is Apple, Safari's sync with the Passwords app is seamless.

What private browsing does and does not do

All three have a private mode (Incognito in Chrome, Private Browsing in Firefox and Safari), and it is often misunderstood.

What it does: the browser does not keep your history, cookies, site data or form entries from that window after you close it. That is useful on a shared computer, or to check how a site looks when you are logged out.

What it does not do: it does not hide your activity from your internet provider, your employer's network, or the websites you visit. If you log in to a site in a private window, that site knows exactly who you are. Downloads and bookmarks you create are still saved.

Safari and Firefox add extra tracking protection to private windows, and Safari can lock private windows behind Face ID, Touch ID or your password when they are not in use. Chrome warns on the Incognito start page about what it does not protect. Treat private mode as "leave no trace on this device", not as "anonymous on the internet".

Which browser should you use?

Many people use two: Safari or Firefox for daily browsing, Chrome for one web app that works best there. That is fine.

Settings worth changing today

1. Turn on automatic updates (all three update themselves by default; check that nothing blocks them).

2. In Chrome, review Privacy and security, consider blocking third-party cookies and turn on Enhanced Safe Browsing if you want stronger warnings.

3. In Firefox, try Enhanced Tracking Protection: Strict, and switch back per site if something breaks.

4. In Safari, check that "Prevent cross-site tracking" is on and review website permissions.

5. Remove extensions you do not recognise.

Key takeaways

• There are only three engines: Blink (Chrome and most others), Gecko (Firefox) and WebKit (Safari).

• Safari and Firefox protect privacy more out of the box; Chrome needs some settings changes.

• On a Mac, Safari usually gives the best battery life.

• Chrome has the most extensions, Firefox keeps the most powerful blocking, Safari has the smallest catalogue.

• Pick the browser that syncs with all of your devices.

References

• Safari privacy (Apple)

• Firefox Enhanced Tracking Protection

• Firefox Total Cookie Protection

• Chrome Memory Saver and Energy Saver

• Chrome Safe Browsing protection levels

• Apple: browser engines in the EU