Firefox 95 vs. Chrome 97 Browser Performance On Linux

[smitty3268]

I've been using Firefox for years now and I haven't noticed any performance problems in actual use (except when trying Firefox on android).

Chrome is seriously fast in javascript benchmarks, but that's not very relevant to actual desktop web usage for most people. It's not like most people have their browser running at 100% cpu most of the time for anything, and if it did that you'd be pretty pissed.

So what ends up happening is that the action that happens when you press a button may take 8ms on Firefox, but only 5ms on Chrome. But nobody can notice that difference anyway, without a timer, so it doesn't really matter in actual use.

That's not to say that Chrome isn't doing good work on optimizing javascript, it's just that it doesn't make a ton of difference for most people.

I think what's much more noticeable is the time it takes to load pages, and unfortunately that's not a test that Michael runs.

[waxhead]

And here I am with my favourite browser SeaMonkey.... Which mostly works but it's dead slow on my core 2 duo machine. I am using chromium out of necessity for some sites, some things are too slow - but it's a damn good browser feature wise and it never crash. I wish people made website's again. These days is all about corporate lock in. And corporations tend to make websites that are more of a tech demo than anything even remotely useable.

[Vorpal]

Chrome is seriously fast in javascript benchmarks, but that's not very relevant to actual desktop web usage for most people. It's not like most people have their browser running at 100% cpu most of the time for anything, and if it did that you'd be pretty pissed.

So what ends up happening is that the action that happens when you press a button may take 8ms on Firefox, but only 5ms on Chrome. But nobody can notice that difference anyway, without a timer, so it doesn't really matter in actual use.

That's not to say that Chrome isn't doing good work on optimizing javascript, it's just that it doesn't make a ton of difference for most people.

Maybe it would be noticeable for browser based 3D games? I don't use those so I wouldn't know.

I think what's much more noticeable is the time it takes to load pages, and unfortunately that's not a test that Michael runs.

I haven't noticed this. Some pages are slow to load sure, but they are slow to load in both browsers. Take Epic Game store for example. Takes around 15 seconds to fully load after the first version of the page rendered. And there is a webcomic I read where the page is really laggy for about 10 seconds *after* rendering. Both of these behave the same regardless of browser.

The real time save when it comes to page loading is using an adblocker and tracker blocker. Noscript will help too, but expect to have to fiddle a bit to allow enough to get each site working properly.

[Vorpal]

And here I am with my favourite browser SeaMonkey.... Which mostly works but it's dead slow on my core 2 duo machine. I am using chromium out of necessity for some sites, some things are too slow - but it's a damn good browser feature wise and it never crash. I wish people made website's again. These days is all about corporate lock in. And corporations tend to make websites that are more of a tech demo than anything even remotely useable.

I'm curious: with such an old system which is fastest to use: Firefox or Chromium? On a modern desktop system it makes no difference that I can discern. On Android it absolutely does.

[Amano]

I use both every day (one at home and one at work) and I cannot tell an objective speed difference at all. Outside of synthetic tests Firefox seems subjectively to be the snappier one. But on different boxes it is hard to compare

[bug77]

The browser situation is sad:

- Google Chrome: fastest browser, but a total privacy threat
- Safari: macOS-only and feels like the next Internet Explorer
- Microsoft Edge: just as bad as Chrome regarding privacy
- Mozilla Firefox: usually slower and the company behind it has lost its manpower and focuses more on human support (read bullsh-) than making good software
- Chromium: Chrome without Google, but still has Google bits
- Brave: Chrome without Google, but has a few bugs here and there
- Falkon/surf/other minor browser: You are on your own (get flagged as spammer at least 2-3 times more, restrict yourself to "clean" websites, etc.)

Check out Vivaldi. It rocks.

That said, no RAM usage figures? At all?

[tildearrow]

I haven't noticed any bugs with Brave on Android (as tildearrow suggested above), but maybe that is just on desktop?

Issues I experienced with Brave on Linux:
- Sometimes crashes (1-2% of the time) during startup
- If your timezone is Etc/* then Brave will not recognize it properly and use UTC time instead
- Sometimes context menus in Electron apps go away on the next click

Issues I experienced with Brave on Android:
- Unable to disable "No internet connection" banner at the top (this is actually a Chrome issue but it should be possible to disable it)
- Some crashes here and there

[GI_Jack]

This test is almost entirely worthless. When was the last time your web browser left you wanting more performance? Firefox runs fine, even on weak hardware.

A better test would be CPU/RAM consumption for various tasks, especially on weaker hardware.

[tildearrow]

If you could actually browse properly on Chrome, these would matter. Unfortunately,Chrome is one of the least featured browsers out there.
You can have the fastest empty racing car, if it is unfit for common roads (because you freeze to death while driving, do not have windshield wipers for the rain, etc...), nobody actually cares because it's fast at doing nothing useful. It's easy to be fast when you have lightened your car to a point it's no longer useful. In the end, you do the things that matter much faster with other browsers, and with a whole different level of comfort.

These benchmarks should compare Firefox with other browsers. I mean serious browsers.

If you're talking about a light car, check out surf. It's like driving sitting on the engine attached to one wheel.

[Mez']

If you're talking about a light car, check out surf. It's like driving sitting on the engine attached to one wheel.

And now my eyes are bleeding. 🤢