Beyond Chrome: The Best Alternative Web Browsers for 2025

Brave is one of the most privacy-focused browsers you can find. It blocks standard web ads by default, and beyond that, it introduces a new way for websites to monetize your attention. Brave rewards you for your browsing by giving you a cut of the ad revenue you generate. Your rewards come in the form of Brave’s own cryptocurrency, BAT (Basic Attention Token), which you can also use to support websites. The idea is to rid the web of unsightly ads and replace that system with one in which you directly support the sites you like.

Brave is based on Chromium, Google’s open-source project underpinning the company's Chrome browser. It has all the standard browser features—bookmarks, extensions, history, themes, and syncing. It recently added split view, too. Brave delivered the best results on the EFF's Cover Your Tracks privacy test, which susses out fingerprint tracking vulnerability. It was the only browser we tested for which the test reported a randomized browser fingerprint. For even more privacy and web anonymity, the browser comes with a Tor mode built in (saving you from installing separate software), and Brave offers a VPN service. The related, privacy-first Brave Search recently gained a limited Bing-like AI chat capability, Summarizer.

Colibri has a truly different take on the web browser: It has no tabs! You need to sign up for a free account with an email to use it, however. Minimalists should appreciate Colibri's pared-down interface, which dispenses with all the doodads and whirligigs in today's leading browsers. It shows just six buttons at the top (in order): Back, Forward, Reload, Add to Links, Web Search, and Toggle View.

When you log in, your saved feeds, links, and lists appear. Instead of opening sites in new tabs, you get a choice of a new window or replacing the current window's contents. The Toggle view shows your pinned site links in tiles for easy access. Colibri blocks ads, malicious hosts, and third-party trackers, but don't expect extensions or other extras. If less is more for you, then Colibri is your browser. The HTML5Test website reports that Colibri has a high level of website compatibility, but the EFF's Cover Your Tracks tool reports that it doesn't protect you from tracking, so caveat emptor.

Maxthon is loaded with features, and one of my favorites is its Resource Sniffer. It lets you find and download pictures, videos, music, and other files that are part of the web page you're visiting. Another standout option, Split Screen, is still missing in Chrome and Firefox, but you can find it now in Brave and Edge. Maxthon also has a password saver, screenshot capabilities, and synced notes. Like Opera, Maxthon has a customizable left button rail for favorites, notes, RSS feeds, and so forth. I also like the built-in screenshot tool and a Night Mode that turns web pages black with white text to save your eyes during late-night web reading.

Maxthon's documentation claims it doesn't do any tracking of your browsing. You have the option to install a free VPN called BrightVPN at installation. Unlike the proxy built into Opera, this one is a full VPN, cloaking all internet traffic to your device. Finally, Maxthon boasts a built-in blockchain wallet option for Web3 compatibility; you can also find this in Brave and Opera and add it as an extension in just about any other browser.

Opera has been an alternative browser since before several of the current leaders in the category existed. Its developers are responsible for introducing many standard features we now take for granted, including built-in search, pop-up blockers, page zooming, and tabs. Not all of Opera’s novel developments have passed the test of time, which says something about its willingness to try the unconventional. For example, Opera formerly let you use it as a server so that you could host chat rooms or photo galleries and access them from anywhere.

Opera was one of the first browsers with ad blocking, a cryptocurrency wallet, and an integrated (and very good) VPN. Though ad blocking isn’t on by default, you can get it by checking the option called “Block ads and surf the web up to three times faster.” The Opera Flow feature takes syncing between mobile and desktop to a new level. The latest? Opera now includes Aria AI, which can not only generate text and images, but also perform agentic things like controlling your browser tab layout. Like many alternatives, Opera runs on top of the Chromium code base, so you’re unlikely to run into site incompatibilities. It's also one of the few browsers here that runs on linux in addition to all major commercial desktop and mobile OSes.

Tor is more than a browser; it’s a complete privacy software stack. Tor traffic is not only encrypted, but also forwarded to multiple nodes, with each successively encrypting it again. At the end, your traffic is inside multiple layers, like those of an onion. Hence the name Tor, which stands for the onion router. Private Tor sites even use the .onion extension. Those sites make up what's known colloquially as the dark web.

The browser itself is based on Firefox, with some privacy extensions and settings locked, so standard websites display just fine inside this private browsing space. The big downside is that all the encryption and routing slow down your browsing considerably. Despite that, Tor is the ultimate tool for people in repressive countries who need to circumvent internet filtering or those who simply demand anonymity and privacy. For even more of that, you can set it up so that the ISP doesn't know you're using it by using a bridge relay or by running it in Tails, a portable OS you run from a USB key.

Coming from one of the creators of the Opera browser, the Chromium-based Vivaldi has customization galore and attracts passionate fans. It's one of a few browsers that doesn't partner with Google for search and hasn't incorporated AI features. You can toggle and tweak every aspect of it via the deepest Settings pages I've seen in any browser. Like Opera, Vivaldi makes use of mouse gestures; a side rail of buttons for your downloads, favorites, history, and notes; tab previews; and a tile-based start page.

Standout features include clutter-free printing, an Image Properties view complete with a histogram, and a split-screen view. One of my favorite Vivaldi tricks is that the browser window changes color to match the site you’re on (e.g., red for PCMag.com). Vivaldi now includes an email client as well as a Proton VPN integration (though you need both a Vivaldi account and a Proton account for this). In another great example of stretching the concept of a browser, Vivaldi lets you control Philips Hue smart bulbs based on the browser's color pattern. I'm also a fan of the cool and unique pause button at the bottom of the browser that temporarily saves you from doomscrolling.