10 Best Windows 11 Browsers Based on Use Case

Browsers give you access to the internet, also known as the world wide web (WWW). This is how you can get to the wild web. It would be best if you had a browser that works with Windows 11, and there are a lot of them. So, which browser should you use on a computer with Windows 11? Good question. The answer is that there is no clear winner, and picking a browser for your Windows PC depends on how you plan to use it and what you want it to do. I will test the speed, security, privacy, and features of 10 Windows 11 browsers today.

1. Google Chrome (Most Popular, Largest Ecosystem)

Google Chrome is the most-used Windows 11 browser in the world, and it also has the most significant share of the market. The Chrome browser is powered by the Chromium engine, a free, open-source project used by many other browsers in this guide. Google has done a great job building the Chrome ecosystem, which includes an extensive library of extensions. However, Chrome is slow and often freezes or crashes.

Chrome is also known to use many resources, especially when you have many windows and tabs open simultaneously. A quick look at the Task Manager shows how much RAM and resources a programme uses. But Chrome is still the first and best choice for most people.

Chrome uses Google's wide range of apps, such as Search, Translate, Dates, Currency Converter, etc., to its advantage. So you can use the address bar to solve simple math problems or do quick searches without opening a site or even Searching.

Pros:

• Privacy and security focused
• Create QR code for any page
• Cast to device
• Translate, Lens, Search, etc. works
• Benefits of Google’s ecosystem
• Search, convert, translate, etc. right inside the address bar
• Search Google Drive from Chrome address bar directly
• Send page to synced devices
• Password and credit card manager

Cons:

• Resource intensive on RAM
• Lags and hangs frequently

Download Google Chrome

2. Microsoft Edge (Balanced Replacement for Chrome)

Microsoft finally got rid of IE and made Edge, a browser based on Chromium that has many good things about Chrome and almost none of its bad things. Edge is pretty fast, and it has never slowed down for me. It works with Microsoft apps because it is a Microsoft product, just like Chrome works with Google apps.

The Microsoft Edge browser for Windows has some exciting features. For example, you can use web capture to take and annotate screenshots of any page on the fly, solve math problems on-screen, and choose from three privacy profiles.

Edge also uses Microsoft's suite of apps and can do several things right in the address bar, just like Chrome.

I took note of some exciting things. Edge can't translate words in Bing like Google does in Chrome. Advantage, on the other hand, can solve even the most challenging math problems on any website or page.

Pros:

• Create QR code for any page
• Cast media to device
• Solve on-screen math problems
• Suggests coupons when shopping
• Three Privacy profiles to choose from
• Web capture to take and annotate screenshots
• Benefits of Microsoft’s ecosystem
• Send page to synced devices

Cons:

• Can’t search OneDrive from Edge
• Can’t translate on the fly

Download Microsoft Edge

3. Brave Browser (Private Browser That Pays You)

Brave is a web browser for Windows 11 PCs focused on privacy and security. It is also web 3 and crypto-native. One of the people who made Firefox made it, so privacy and safety are essential. We've talked about the Brave browser before and compared it to Chrome, Vivaldi, and even Firefox, and each time it won.

By default, Brave blocks ads and tracks. Google's business model is based on advertising, so it has to show ads, which means it has to collect and sell information about its users. Brave chose a decentralised web with its own cryptocurrency token and advertising model.

The reward is an exciting programme that lets Brave share its profits with its users. You can choose to see ads if you want to, and Brave will transfer the money it makes to you. Get paid to look around! This is already turned off, which is a good thing. Your earnings will be added to your cryptocurrency wallet and paid out in Brave, your token.

It also uses DuckDuckGo as the default search engine and adds TOR's world-class privacy feature. This helps protect your privacy online. Over time, Brave has added more and more products to its line.

But because Brave is still new, it can't compete with Google or Microsoft regarding resources or ecosystems. But it does benefit from Chromium because it was built on it.

Pros:

• Rewards
• Search engine
• Talk – Video calling app
• Crypto wallet
• VPN
• Privacy-focused
• Native token
• Chromium-based

Cons:

• Lacks ecosystem benefits of Edge and Chrome

Download Brave Browser

4. Opera (Free VPN With a Catch)

Opera is a Chromium browser for Windows 11 with a lot to offer. One of the most essential features is a free VPN that can be set to 4 different countries. But a well-known saying says that if there is no product, you are the product. Free VPNs make money by selling your information, so privacy is out the window. But they recently added paid plans that start at $1.99 per month.

You can also use messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram right in the sidebar, which is an exciting feature. You can keep them open in different tabs. It makes life easier and saves time. Also works with apps like Spotify that stream music.

Pros:

• Multiple workspaces
• Messaging apps in sidebar
• Music streaming apps in sidebar
• Crypto wallet
• Built-in ad blocker
• Built-in Calculator
• Flow to share files/URLs between devices
• VPN (Freemium)
• Screenshot tool

Cons:

• Slightly bloated

Download Opera

5. Opera GX (Gaming Browser or Fad)

Opera also has a browser called GX, which is made for gamers. In fact, Windows users can choose from several Opera browsers, which can be a little confusing. For example, Opera supports crypto wallets, but a Web 3 browser is made just for that.

You should think about GX if you like to play games in a light browser on Windows 11. Steam and desktop apps like MSI Afterburner, Rivatuner, and many others can be used for everything else. GX will add fancy bookmarks to sites that gamers might visit, a red theme that screams "gamer," and tools in the sidebar to limit CPU, RAM, and Network. The limiter feature might come in handy if you play games in your browser.

Pros:

• RAM, CPU, Netowork limiter
• Screenshot tool
• Gaming themes/wallpapers
• GX Corner – gaming news, deals, etc.
• Messaging apps in sidebar
• Music streaming in sidebar
• Share files and URLs between devices
• Gaming calendar
• Ad-blocker
• Freemium VPN
• Crypto wallet

Cons:

• No workspaces

Download Opera GX

6. Firefox (Fighting Losing Battle)

Firefox is the only Windows 11 browser on the list that isn't based on Chrome. It is slowly losing ground to Chrome, and all the other browsers made possible by its browser engine. That means that if Firefox loses and has to close down, Google will be the most significant player in the browser market, which is essential because browsers are how we access the Internet.

Before others started offering features that just made life easier, Firefox's selling points were privacy and security. Firefox had to step up its game by adding features like the ability to edit PDF files right in the browser, Eye Dropper, which can find colour codes, and a few more.

But the main selling point is still that it is a secure Windows browser focused on privacy and is not owned by Google or even related to it in any way. It becomes more apparent when you look at what Firefox has to offer. There is a VPN, a Monitor that will tell you if your email address was used in known hacks, and a Relay that works like Apple's own iCloud Email Relay.

Firefox is essential, but it looks like it needs to catch up. Too late for what? Most likely, but it is the best regarding privacy and security.

Pros:

• Built-in ad blocker
• Color picker
• Dev tools
• Dedicated Facebook Container
• Screenshot tool
• PDF editor
• VPN
• Monitor
• Relay

Cons:

• Doesn’t support many popular extensions/add-ons
• Sometimes sites don’t load correctly

Download Firefox

7. Safari (Try and Buy)

Regarding privacy and security, most people in Apple's "walled garden," or what Apple calls its "ecosystem," use Safari as their primary browser. On the outside, Apple decided in 2015 to stop supporting Safari. On Windows 11, you can still download the old version, but it's not a good idea. So Windows users won't be happy unless they want to try it out before switching to macOS. Only because of that did it make a list. Read on; there's nothing to see.

Download Safari

8. Vivaldi (Endless Customizable)

Vivaldi takes a page from Opera and adds features and customizations to make itself stand out in a sea of Chromium browsers on Windows. You can choose how much clutter you want in your UI, which is good.

I chose fully loaded because it is one way to get the most out of the browser on my Windows 11 computer. The setup process is easy to understand and walks you through features, security, privacy, etc.

Like Brave, it shows how many ads and trackers have been blocked. Like Opera, it has a helpful sidebar where you can find notes, tasks, and a mail client, among other exciting and valuable things. The best thing about the UI is that it can be changed in any way you want, from the tabs to the sidebar to the menus and everything in between.

Vivaldi is for people who want to be in charge of every part of their Windows browsing experience, from where the address bar is to what keyboard shortcuts they can use. And Vivaldi doesn't disappoint.

Pros:

• Customizable keyboard shortcuts
• UI is flexible and customizable
• View multiple pages
• Tab manager
• Notes
• Tasks
• Mail client
• Calendar
• Translation tool
• RSS feeds
• In-built ad blocker

Cons:

• So many settings/options can be overwhelming

Download Vivaldi

9. Slim (Lightweight and Fast)

We saw browsers that cared about privacy and safety. We saw browsers that had features that could be changed. We also saw Windows browsers that had Web 3 and encryption in mind. All of that is taken away by Slim, making it the lightest Windows 11 browser you can find. It doesn't do anything else, so it opens quickly, and pages load quickly.

It does come with a download manager that lets you download multiple packets at the same time. A few other add-ons allow you to share pages directly to Facebook and Twitter, but that's it.

Pros:

• Ad blocker
• Download manager
• Addons

Cons:

• Too basic and simple for modern browsing

Download Slim

10. TOR (For privacy and Security Fanatics)

Download Impervious

11. TOR

When it comes to privacy and security, TOR is the best. TOR, or The Onion Router, hides your source IP by sending traffic through several servers. This is called "multi-layered encryption." In the same way, that onion has many layers.

But because traffic and data are sent through up to three servers, loading times are slow. TOR doesn't have any cool features we saw in some Windows browsers above. No. From the beginning, it was made to do one thing: give the user the most privacy.

Because of this, TOR isn't a standard browser, and neither are its uses. TOR is used by people who want to look at the dark web, journalists who write about war, and so on. It was made with a few specific uses in mind.

Pros:

• Private and secure
• Encrypted traffic
• Blocks ads, trackers
• Resist fingerprinting

Cons:

• Slow loading speeds

Browsers for Windows 11

Here is the breakdown.

If you use a lot of Windows apps, you should use Edge. Use the Brave browser if you like cryptography and the third web, but also care about your privacy and safety. Opera and Vivaldi will have way more features than you can use, which is a good thing. Most of you won't need TOR unless you really want to hide your identity at all costs. I still like Firefox, and it still does important things, but it's getting worse. I really hope it comes back strong.