The comparison of Chrome, Edge, and other browsers changes with each software release and iteration. Over the past few years, Microsoft Edge has become a real contender to Google Chrome’s throne as the best web browser.

Microsoft Edge is a legitimate challenge following Microsoft’s move to a Chromium base for Edge in 2020 that completely changed the capabilities and performance of the browser.

Both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge have received several significant updates that have introduced new features and improved existing ones over the past years. However, Google constantly adds new, handy and secure features.

Even though both are built on the open-source Chromium project, each is unique in its own way.

Edge now even lets you import all the Chrome settings, bookmarks, passwords, the first time you install and start using it. This makes the switch from Chrome to Edge simple with ease.

A browser can be good at many things, including:

• Being fast.
• Protects your privacy.
• Support 3rd party extensions.
• Or comes full of unique features.

The Chromium engine has also solved the compatibility problems with Edge, allowing Microsoft to develop more exciting and useful features.

User interface and design differences

There is not much differentiation between both of them on the surface when it comes to appearance. The search bars are similar, and extensions, add-ons, bookmarks, and settings are found almost in the same place in each browser. Right-clicking on a tab in Edge or Chrome will bring up the same list of options, too.

The most obvious difference on the homepage for each browser is that Edge uses Bing while Google uses Google as a default search engine respectively. But, this can be changed to your liking in either browser. The Microsoft Edge has a built-in dark mode, Chrome uses third-party extensions, to change to a dark theme. Google nevertheless has many customized themes to make up for this, however.

Performance

Even though they both use the same chromium engine, giving them relatively similar performance, the low RAM will have a significant lag in performance when using Chrome over Edge. The new Edge uses less RAM and responds faster.

High RAM consumption has consistently been an issue when it comes to Chrome, and this is more apparent when opening the same web pages. Google, though, has recently been releasing several updates to address RAM usage.

 In general, the more memory and CPU the browser consumes, the slower it performs. Google browser can quickly use a lot of system memory, but Google is making some strides, however, with the introduction of a new “freeze” feature for background tabs.

Features And Extensions

Google developers maintain the most extensive library of add-ons out there, and Chrome takes full advantage of it.

There are plenty of extensions that let you bring the best out of Google Chrome. Notably, Google Suite app integrations such as Drive, Docs, translate are fantastic at making you more productive. This allows syncing your browser with all Google services.

Edge browser has the advantage of allowing users to use not only the limited collection of extensions available in the Microsoft Store. It also allows the usage of extensive extensions in the Chrome web store by enabling the extensions from other stores in the settings, though it’s much more convenient to access and add extensions to Google Chrome.

Microsoft Edge organizes your web pages into different Collections to stay on top of your web clippings and research, by letting you save parts of a website instead of the entire page. There’s even a dedicated Performance feature that lets you enable Efficiency mode to enhance battery life and limit consumption of system resources.

Microsoft Edge also has a feature baked into the system, a shopping add-on that automatically scans for and applies coupons and discount codes on the sites you visit. This gives you comparisons in prices and can find cashback options. Chrome too has a similar feature as an extension.

Edge too has a built-in feature, the immersive reading mode complemented by an excellent audio reader, minimizes distractions and works perfectly as an accessibility tool, by removing everything from the page except the core content.

With Chrome, you can easily sync most of your browser settings and activities including bookmarks, apps, extensions, history, settings, themes, passwords, contact information, payment information, and even open tabs, across all your devices.

One of the most significant advantages of Edge is the deeper integration with Windows and Microsoft 365.

Edge saves web pages as an app, and tabs can be sorted at the top and on the left.

Security and privacy

The Chrome team is actively pushing for an HTTPS-only online experience, which will guarantee user protection across all websites.

In Google Chrome, you can run safety checks, manage cookies and site data, and even choose a security level between Enhanced, Standard, and No protection options.

However, these Google Chrome settings are not easily accessible, whereas Microsoft Edge has a clear and well-defined settings page that is easy to navigate with clear information on their privacy and security settings. Edge even offers built-in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen protection to fortify cybersecurity.

As Google does not limit tracking in its services on Chrome, the most private option is blocking third-party cookies, but it still has little effect on ads-blocking.

Still, if you decide to use Chrome’s “Enhanced protection” feature, you’ll have to agree to share your browsing data with Google.

Conclusion

Microsoft Edge is fast, uses less RAM and CPU, thus devours less system usage while browsing the web. Google Chrome uses a lot of RAM, with just more than a handful of tabs open.

Edge gives more control over security and privacy in a simplified and straightforward way to manage and understand all kinds of users.

Extra functionalities come in the form of a vast variety of plugins, even though more add-ons often increase the system resources consumed. The overall experience is still better on Google Chrome regarding extension support.

Even though Chrome has a large variety of add-on tools, Edge offers a limited number of extensions and more built-in exclusive features.

Both browsers are cross platforms & built on the Chromium open-source browser.

There are performance and speed differences between full desktop versions of Edge and Chrome against their mobile counterparts. The advantage to Android users is, Chrome works well with Google’s Android software. However, even on a mobile device, Edge is a safer and more secure browser.

For privacy, security, and less resource usage, Edge is the better option. If efficiency is less important than customization, Chrome will be a better choice.