Falkon vs Firefox (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Firefox: it is third in our ranking of browsers, and it grades higher too, 3.8 against 2.8.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Firefox grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Firefox
Free, open-source browser from Mozilla with tracker blocking built in
Free
Which one is for you
Pick Falkon if
- Fits if you run a KDE Plasma desktop and want a browser that follows its theme
- Makes sense if you want an ad blocker on from the first launch
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Windows or macOS, since the download page lists only Linux
- Not for you if you want the newest web features at once: it follows QtWebEngine, not Chrome or Firefox
- Tight if you want frequent updates: releases arrive with KDE Gear about three times a year
- Too light for phones: no mobile version is listed
Pick Firefox if
- Fits if you want trackers blocked from day one without touching a setting
- Works for people who hop between Windows, Mac, Linux and a phone
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want the VPN on your phone, as the built-in one is desktop only for now
- Tight if you'd keep the VPN on all day, since it's capped at 50 GB a month and covers the browser only
- Pricey if you want a whole-device VPN, as Mozilla's separate service is $9.99 a month or $59.88 a year
- Watch out: the homepage shows ads to fund development until you switch them off
- Not for you if you're on Windows 8.1 or macOS 10.14 or older, which need Firefox ESR
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAFalkonGood | 3.8GPAFirefoxExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and open source, with no paid plan. KDE takes donations. That is below this category's $7 cheapest quarter. | AFree, with no paid tier at all. Mozilla sells a separate VPN service at $59.88 a year, but the browser is whole without it and nothing in it is held back for payers. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe whole browser, ad blocker and password manager included, installs from distribution packages, Snap or Flatpak at no cost. | AFree outright, with tracker blocking, end-to-end encrypted sync, the PDF editor, translation, and a VPN for 50 GB a month on the desktop. The Mozilla account sync needs is free, and the homepage ads can be switched off. |
| Features | CAd blocker, password manager, themes, extensions, bookmarks and history. Web compatibility follows QtWebEngine rather than Chrome or Firefox releases. | AIt covers the job on its own Gecko engine rather than Chromium. Known trackers blocked by default, each site's cookies kept apart, tab groups and vertical tabs, a sidebar where you pick ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Copilot, reader mode, PDF filling and signing, translation done on your machine. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record. You install it from your distribution and use it, with nothing to set up. | B4.65 from about 218,000 App Store ratings, below the 4.8 at the top of this category. Nothing needs configuring: blocking is on from the start and the shield in the address bar shows what it caught. |
| Platforms and integrations | DThe download page lists Linux only. No Windows or macOS installer is shown, and no phone version. | AAll five: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iPhone, with bookmarks, history, passwords and tabs synced end-to-end encrypted, and Send Tab to throw a page at another device. Only the built-in VPN is missing from the phone apps. |
| Best for | a light KDE browser on Linux | a free browser that isn't built on Chromium |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Falkon and Firefox. How we grade
Price against what you get
Falkon has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Firefox has no paid plan and scores 3.7.
Firefox scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other browsers on the chart, none scores higher than Falkon for less, and none scores higher than Firefox for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Firefox is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Falkon also covers ad and tracker blocking.
In commonFree planLinuxOpen sourcePassword managerWeb browser
At a glance
| Falkon | Firefox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Falkon is free and open source. KDE accepts donations but the site lists no paid plan. | The browser is free with no paid tier. The built-in VPN is free for up to 50 GB of browser traffic per month, and sync uses a free Mozilla account. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | KDE | Mozilla Corporation |
| Price read from | falkon.org | firefox.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Falkon
- The download page lists Linux only (distribution packages, Snap and Flatpak); no Windows or macOS installer is shown there.
- It uses QtWebEngine, so web compatibility follows that engine rather than Firefox or Chrome releases.
- Falkon releases arrive with KDE Gear, about three times a year.
- The about page says the project was started for educational purposes.
Firefox
- The built-in VPN is capped at 50 GB per month and protects browser traffic only. Mozilla's paid VPN service costs $59.88 per year or $9.99 per month, plus tax.
- Firefox shows optional ads on its homepage to fund development. They can be turned off.
- The built-in VPN has not reached Firefox for Android or iOS; Mozilla's roadmap lists VPN on mobile as upcoming work.
- Windows 8.1 and below and macOS 10.14 and below are no longer supported by the standard release; they need Firefox ESR.
Key features
Falkon
- Ad blocker on by default
- A built-in AdBlock plugin is enabled by default, and the 25.04 release notes mention fixes and new features for it.
- Password manager
- Falkon ships with a password manager and lets you tighten privacy and security settings further.
- Theming and extensions
- Themes change how the browser looks, and the site has an extensions page, including a Greasemonkey-style plugin mentioned in release notes.
- Plasma integration
- The site says Falkon integrates inside Plasma and follows Plasma theming preferences.
- Standard browser features
- Bookmarks, history and tabs are included, with bookmarks and history also shown in the sidebar.
Firefox
- Tracking and cookie protection
- Enhanced Tracking Protection blocks known trackers by default, and Total Cookie Protection keeps each site's cookies separate. The shield icon in the address bar shows what was blocked.
- Built-in VPN
- A VPN toggle in the desktop toolbar routes browser traffic through a proxy server to hide the IP address, free for up to 50 GB per month. It covers the browser only, not other apps on the device.
- Tab groups, vertical tabs and sidebar
- Tabs can be grouped and color coded or stacked vertically, and a customizable sidebar gives one-click access to bookmarks, history, synced tabs and other tools.
- AI chatbots in the sidebar
- The sidebar can host a third-party assistant such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude or Mistral Chat. AI features are optional and can be turned off entirely.
- Sync with a Mozilla account
- Bookmarks, history, saved passwords and open tabs sync across desktop and mobile with end-to-end encryption, and Send Tab pushes a page from one device to another.
- Reader mode, PDF editor and translation
- Reader mode strips clutter from articles, a built-in editor fills, signs and annotates PDFs, and pages are translated in the browser without sharing the data with anyone else.
Plans
Falkon
Free$0
The full browser, with its ad blocker and password manager, installed from distribution packages, Snap or Flatpak.
Firefox
Free$0
The full browser on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, including tracker blocking, sync and, on desktop, the built-in VPN up to 50 GB a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Falkon or Firefox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Falkon and Firefox are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Falkon or Firefox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Falkon and Firefox have a free plan.
Which platforms do Falkon and Firefox run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Firefox lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a Linux app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.