Updated March 2026

Browser benchmarks,
not opinions

Independent performance data for 9 major browsers. Memory, speed, JavaScript performance, and battery life — tested on the same hardware with reproducible methodology.

🖥 macOS Sonoma 14.3
💻 M2 MacBook Air
🧪 Methodology v1.0
📊 9 browsers
Browser ↑ Memory (idle) ↑ Memory (10 tabs) ↑ Cold Start ↑ Page Load ↑ Speedometer ↓ JetStream ↓ Battery ↓
Methodology

How we test

⚙ Test Environment

All browsers tested on identical hardware under controlled conditions.

  • Apple M2 MacBook Air, 16GB RAM
  • macOS Sonoma 14.3
  • Fresh browser profiles (no extensions)
  • Wi-Fi 6, 500 Mbps connection
  • 3 runs per test, median reported

📏 What We Measure

Six categories covering real-world browser performance.

  • Memory — Activity Monitor after idle, 10 tabs, 30 tabs
  • Startup — Cold start (after reboot) + warm start
  • Page Load — Average across 50 popular sites
  • JS Perf — Speedometer 3.0 + JetStream 2.2
  • Battery — Continuous browsing until shutdown

🔄 Update Schedule

Benchmarks re-run after every major browser release cycle.

  • Full re-test every 8 weeks
  • Point updates for major releases
  • Version numbers tracked per test
  • Historical data preserved
  • Methodology versioned (currently v1.0)

⚠ About These Benchmarks

Benchmarks represent one data point — not the full picture. Real-world performance varies by hardware, OS, installed extensions, network conditions, and workload. These tests use fresh profiles with no extensions on a single hardware/OS configuration. Use this data as a starting point for comparison, not as an absolute ranking. Different users with different workflows will have different "best" browsers.