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Microsoft’s Edge browser is basically the evolution of the Internet Explorer browser. It’s been available on PCs since 2015 and now it’s arriving on the Mac. Microsoft’s Edge browser is basically the evolution of the Internet Explorer browser. It’s been available on PCs since 2015 and now it’s arriving on the Mac. The Safari browser comes pre-installed with macOS and it’s a browser many people.

Since most of your working (or even entertainment) time today is spent in your web browser window, it's likely the most important app on your computer. Without a doubt, there are lots of web browsers for Mac, but not all of them were created equal. So you might be wondering what is the best web browser for Mac.

After all, not everyone's needs are the same. You might be striving for speed or safety, or alternative ways of surfing online. And with Microsoft Edge set to appear on Mac shortly, the competition to become the top browser for Mac is getting fierce — but there's no need to try them all.

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The browser comparison below will outline all strengths and weaknesses of all the contenders on the market today to reveal the best browser for Mac you need.

What Makes The Best Web Browser

Depending on how exactly you use your Mac browser, you might require different features and specialties. Generally, there are four broad categories that make people sway one way or another.

Familiarity: Use something regularly for a while and you'll develop muscle memory, which makes it extremely hard to switch to anything else. This is the main reason most people keep using the first web browser they've tried. But it’s important to realize that experimenting with alternative browsers is not hard and might present you with much better options in no time.

Speed: Slow speed might quickly kill even the best web browser for Mac. If you think about it, no one has ever asked for their webpage to take more time to load.

Security: A lucky few might have never been the target of a hack or malware with a potential to disrupt or in some cases destroy a computer. But there's no such thing as being too careful. While some browsers are optimized for ease of use, there are safe browsers too that are secure from the ground up.

Bells and whistles: For some, it's the little things that matter most. Looking for Chromecast support? Configurable shortcuts? Extension libraries? All best internet browsers try to differentiate themselves in various ways to tailor to particular audiences.

The top browser for Mac out of the box: Safari

It could be that the best browser for Mac is the one that comes with every Mac already. Apple's proprietary web browser for Mac, Safari, is preinstalled on all Apple devices and is generally a good choice. No shame here for not bothering to explore alternative browsers at all.

Safari is good because Apple doesn't do things by half measures. Benchmarks suggest that when it comes to Safari vs Firefox, Safari loads HTML twice as fast, and four times as fast for Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Makes sense — no one knows Apple hardware better than Apple, so they have all the trump cards for near-perfect speed optimization. Safari might well be the fastest browser for Mac.

In terms of extras, Safari has a decent support for third-party plugins and integrates perfectly with your iOS and watchOS devices.

What’s great:

• Blazing-fast speed
• Already installed on your Mac

Not so great:

• Lacks Chromecast support and some other plugins

The most popular web browser: Chrome

Chrome is by far the top browser for Mac and other operating systems when it comes to popularity — some reports suggest that 70% of people on the web use it. But does that mean it’s the best web browser for Mac?

It could be. First of all, Chrome is generally one of the fastest web browsers. Second, it uses Google's proprietary Sandbox security technology, so you're completely safe running all kinds of websites on it. Third, Chrome's extension library is the largest on the market, allowing you to transform the browser into the tool for all your needs.

Even better, when you sign into your Google account on any Chrome browser anywhere, it'll load your bookmarks and logins right away. So if you're constantly using different computers, Chrome is a great choice (just remember to log out if you're using public ones).

When it comes to Safari vs Chrome, Safari wins as the best browser for Mac, whereas Chrome takes the crown if you find yourself jumping between operating systems.

What’s great:

• Fast and secure
• The best third-party support for browser extensions
• Travels well by signing into Chrome from anywhere
• Fully integrated with Chromecast

Not so great:

• Not as fast as Safari

The underdogfox web browser: Mozilla Firefox for Mac

Though it's not as commonly used as Safari or Chrome, Firefox is not without its share of devoted fans. It's been a mainstay in the browser wars for many years now and is maybe the most recognized one of the alternative browsers for people who would rather not support megalithic companies like Apple or Google. So do you want to download Firefox for Mac?

Unfortunately, sometimes the underdog is the underdog for a reason. Firefox is quite a bit slower when it comes to loading webpages. And while you can sign into your Firefox account for bookmarks just like in Google Chrome, the fact that it’s not a standard option on most computers in the way Chrome is makes this feature less useful.

Add to that a busy design that looks at odds with macOS, and when it comes to Safari vs Firefox as the best browser for Mac, Safari is the clear winner.

What’s great:

• Open-source development
• Long-established user base
• Firefox account to sync bookmarks across computers

Not so great:

• Slow by modern web standards
• Busy design

The 'could be a contender' browser: Opera for Mac

Opera has been around for years, but it's always been the 'also-ran' of the alternative browsers. But things could be different now: Opera today comes with a free VPN, ad-block, and built-in messenger client support right out of the box. The free VPN alone makes this browser worth downloading and checking out.

In the backend, Opera usings the same Blink Engine that powers Chrome, so you can be sure of its speed. Add to that integrated phishing and malware lists and you have a fast and secure browser. Some could argue that given recent Opera innovations it might have surpassed Firefox as the third-best web browser. It also might now be the best new browser for Mac, depending on what you’re looking for.

What’s great:

• Free VPN
• Just as fast as Chrome
• Great default ad and malware blocking

Not so great:

• Less third-party support compared to Chrome
• Low adoption

How to change default browser on Mac

So now that you have so many options to try — explore their websites and download the ones that you like. Just remind yourself that you're not yet fully committed to any single one.

But once you decide which one is your favorite, you need to know how to change default browser on Mac:

1. Click on the Apple menu ➙ System Preferences
2. Navigate to the General tab
3. Find a dropdown menu marked 'Default web browser' and click on it to choose from the browsers you've installed

The top browser for Mac is what you make of it

In the end, it doesn't matter too much which browser is the best — if you like it and feel like it does what you need it to do, then everybody's happy. What matters the most is whether or not you can customize the browser to your needs. That means downloading extensions that make the most of your internet experience.

If you've ever been watching a YouTube video and thought, 'I wish there was a safe and easy way to download this video,' then you absolutely need to check out Downie.

Capture video from any browser

Try a seamless video downloader that works with any browser. With Downie, you’ll be able to instantly save videos from 1000+ sites.

Downie is an app for your Mac that lets you drag and drop videos from any website onto your computer. It works like magic:

1. Copy a link from Vimeo or YouTube or anywhere else
2. Open Downie and hit ⌘ + V to paste the link
3. The download will start automatically

Even for times when you can't find a song anywhere but streaming video, use Downie to simply download the audio file. Brilliant!

Want to edit or format that file? Downie blends seamlessly with Permute, which lets you combine videos, edit them down, or convert the file type:

1. Drag and drop a video onto Permute
2. Choose to work with Audio or Video
3. Use the dropdown to choose the file format to convert to
4. Click Start

Yet another great app to completely unlock your browser is Inboard. Designed to easily capture screenshots from your screen so that you can create collages and moodboards, Inboard lets you cut and paste images from your Mac browser, and even make a Pinterest-style inspiration board from all your captured pictures.

Best of all, Downie, Permute, and Inboard are all available to try absolutely free for seven days when you sign up for Setapp, an app subscription services that gives you over 150 different apps for every possible use case. Now that’s a Mac browser transformed!

Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.

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Run Internet Explorer on Mac is easy.

Globally, there are millions of users who are required to use Microsoft Internet Explorer for banking, human resources, tax systems, and many other corporate intranets. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and even Microsoft Edge are free browsers that are more stable and secure than IE. However, Internet Explorer is still the second most popular web browser in the world. This leaves current Mac® users in a bit of a bind. This is where Parallels Desktop® for Mac arrives as a reliable solution.

How to install Internet Explorer on Mac with Parallels Desktop:

1. Download Parallels Desktop for Mac.
2. Install, migrate your PC, or use an existing Boot Camp® partition of a Microsoft Windows operating system.
3. Launch Internet Explorer in Microsoft Windows simultaneously alongside macOS® without rebooting

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With Parallels Desktop you can easily download and run any popular PC programs, such as Microsoft Access, Paint Tool Sai or even play games.

Issues with Other Solutions:

Boot Camp – This option demands for a partition on an existing hard drive. This means a user would be required to wipe their Mac hard drive and erase all existing files and partition that hard drive to make space for a Windows operating system. These two partitions on the hard drive are not seamlessly running side by side—they are divided, and act as such. With Parallels Desktop, users run a virtual machine on their Mac, and the rich integration of the two operating systems creates a seamless match. Users are then able to copy and paste, drag and drop, use Spotlight to search within Windows, or use even Cortana on Mac. Not to mention, the ability to share folders between the two operating systems allows users to avoid rebooting your Mac every time.

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Pretend to run Internet Explorer with Safari’s development tools – This option creates the opportunity for unexpected interruptions to your workflow later. Within Safari, there is an advanced setting to “Show Develop Menu in Menu Bar,” which will provide you with a drop-down menu with Develop tools to launch a webpage in another browser, such as Internet Explorer.

This is a fantastic built-in resource for web developers to test—but for an everyday user, this is not ideal. If users select one of these above options, Safari will send a different user agent. (A user agent is the string of code that a user’s browser sends to the desired site to let the site know which browser the user is attempting to access the site from.) This doesn’t always work, as web forms are rarely supported through this method, and can cause web masters to ban any further access via Safari. This is not an ideal solution for long-term use, and users will not know if this solution will work until settings are changed and attempted.

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Parallels Desktop is the #1 choice of Mac users for over 10 years for running Windows on Mac. If you’re looking to run Internet Explorer for Windows on your Mac without rebooting, we encourage you to download a FREE 14-day trial of Parallels Desktop for Mac and get started today.