The tests were conducted in a freshly restarted environment with browser add-ons disabled. The results show that browsers fall into two distinct groups in terms of memory consumption: full-featured browsers like Microsoft Edge and Firefox, and more minimalist browsers like Thorium, Brave, and Ungoogled Chromium.
Thorium won the test, consuming only 3,101 MB of memory, 46% more efficiently than Chrome. Chrome, however, topped the list as one of the most memory-consuming browsers, at 5,737 MB. Surprisingly, Opera consumed even more memory than Chrome, consuming 6,141 MB.
Microsoft Edge: Edge, which consumed 19% less memory than Chrome, stood out with 4,653 MB. Microsoft’s “Sleeping Tabs” feature frees up memory by putting tabs that have been inactive for five minutes into sleep mode. Edge also stands out with its built-in PDF editor, collections, and shopping tools.
Firefox: Firefox, with a 4,755 MB memory consumption, outperformed Chrome by 17%, making it the only non-Chromium-based browser. Firefox’s “Multi-Account Containers” add-on enhances privacy by isolating different sessions. Developer tools and customization options are other features that make Firefox attractive.
Brave: Brave had the second-best memory performance with 3,329 MB. Brave blocks ads and trackers from the outset, allowing pages to load much faster. This not only saves memory but also provides a fast browsing experience. It also offers some additional features, such as Tor mode and a cryptocurrency wallet.
Thorium: Thorium, the most efficient in the test, achieved a 46% better performance than Chrome, consuming 3,101 MB of memory. This success was achieved by recompiling Chromium with aggressive optimizations. Thorium is effective on older or lower-end computers, but its small development team can cause delays in security updates.
Ungoogled Chromium: Ungoogled Chromium, a version of Chrome stripped of all Google features, offers 25% more efficiency with a 4,318 MB memory consumption. However, it has drawbacks such as the need to manually install add-ons and the lack of automatic updates.
Zen Browser: Firefox-based Zen Browser focuses on customization and aesthetics rather than memory savings. While offering only a 5% improvement with a 5,424 MB memory consumption, it stands out with its user interface and privacy-focused features. However, streaming DRM-protected content can be problematic.
The research indicates that there are many alternatives for those who want to abandon Chrome due to its high memory usage. Because most of these browsers are Chromium-based, switching to Chrome is easy and works seamlessly with existing add-ons.
