Browsers

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Browsers page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 9, 2026.

Web browsers and workspace apps built around how you work.

Before you choose, here are 8 things to know about browsers, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 16 browsers

   16 of them are free or have a free plan. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $7.08 a month in the middle

   From $2.50 (Brave) to $16.67 (Shift), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: Brave, Vivaldi and Firefox

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   9 of 16 have iPhone and Android apps

   0 run in a web browser and 14 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 3.1

   9 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is Brave, at 3.8.

6. 6

   Best free option: Brave

   Brave has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.8. Open-source browser that blocks ads and trackers by default.

7. 7

   16 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 16 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

8. 8

   1 price changes in the past year

   That's how many price moves we've recorded for browsers in twelve months. Prices change, so check the maker's page before you pay.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three browsers we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   3.6GPA

   Google Chrome

   Free

   For: Most people

   Chrome is free to download on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android. Signing in with a Google Account syncs bookmarks, saved passwords, payment info and open tabs between devices, Google Password Manager and passkeys are built in, and extensions come from the Chrome Web Store. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 from about 3.9 million ratings. Know the limits: its listing shows no built-in ad or tracker blocker, Enhanced Safe Browsing sends browsing data to Google, and Gemini in Chrome needs an eligible account in a supported country, with auto browse limited to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the U.S.

   The Google Chrome Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   3.8GPA

   Brave

   Free plan · from $3.00/mo

   For: People who want ads and trackers blocked by default

   Brave is a free, open-source browser built on Chromium for Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android. Its Shields block third-party ads, trackers, fingerprinting and cookie consent notices by default, Chrome Web Store extensions work, and the Leo AI assistant summarizes pages with no account. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 from about 660,000 ratings. It is second because that is about a sixth as many ratings as Chrome's, and the browser also comes with News, Rewards, a paid VPN and a crypto Wallet: Brave Origin, the version without those or Leo, is a $59.99 one-time purchase on every system except Linux. The VPN is $9.99 a month and Leo AI premium $14.99, each its own subscription.

   The Brave Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   3.8GPA

   Firefox

   Free

   For: People who want an open-source browser not built on Chromium

   Firefox is free with no paid tier, open source, and runs on Mozilla's own Gecko engine, not Chromium, on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android. It blocks known trackers by default, keeps each site's cookies separate, and its AI features can be turned off entirely. On desktop, a built-in VPN covers up to 50 GB of browser traffic a month at no cost. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.6 from about 218,000 ratings. It is third because its listing shows tracker blocking but no ad blocker, where Brave blocks both by default, and its app has about a third as many ratings as Brave's. The built-in VPN has not reached the phone apps, and the homepage shows ads unless you turn them off.

   The Firefox Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, Brave, Vivaldi and Firefox give the most for the money among browsers: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $7.08 a month across the 8 that charge, from $2.50 (Brave) to $16.67 (Shift). 7 more cost nothing at all.

7 of the 15 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 4 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded browsers, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
Brave	B	A	A	A	A	3.8
Firefox	A	A	A	B	A	3.8
Vivaldi	A	A	A	A	B	3.8
Google Chrome	A	A	B	B	A	3.6
Microsoft Edge	A	A	B	A	B	3.6
Opera	B	A	A	A	B	3.6
Arc	A	A	C	A	B	3.4
Safari	A	A	B	B	C	3.2
Orion	A	A	B	C	C	3.0
DuckDuckGo Browser	C	A	C	B	B	2.8
Zen Browser	A	A	C	C	C	2.8
Comet	C	C	C	A	B	2.6

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where browsers land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 16

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every browser we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1BraveFree plan · from $3.00/mo3.8
2. 2FirefoxFree3.8
3. 3VivaldiFree3.8
4. 4Google ChromeFree3.6
5. 5Microsoft EdgeFree3.6
6. 6OperaFree plan · from $4/mo3.6
7. 7ArcFree3.4
8. 8SafariFree3.2
9. 9OrionFree plan · from $5/mo3.0
10. 10DuckDuckGo BrowserFree plan · from $9.99/mo2.8
11. 11Zen BrowserFree2.8
12. 12CometFree plan · from $20.002.6
13. 13RamboxFree plan · from $7.00/mo2.4
14. 14WaveboxFree plan · from $8.33/mo2.2
15. 15DiaFree plan · from $10/mo2.0
16. 16ShiftFree plan · from $19.99/mo2.0

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 3,189

  tools graded

• 94

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries