Firefox vs LibreWolf (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 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Firefox grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
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 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
Pick LibreWolf if
- Fits if you want Firefox without telemetry and with tracking blocked from the start
- Works for people who don't mind adjusting settings to get a site working
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you stream from DRM services, because DRM is disabled by design
- Watch out: cookies are cleared on close, so sites will log you out each time
- Not for you if you want it on your phone, as there's no Android version
- Watch out: it's maintained by volunteers and takes no donations
How we grade them
| 3.8GPAFirefoxExcellent | 2.8GPALibreWolfGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | AFree and open source, and a program anyone can download and run. The FAQ says the project takes no donations. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | AThe whole browser is free, with uBlock Origin already installed. |
| Features | 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. | CNo telemetry, strict tracking protection, cookies cleared on close and fingerprint resistance. The gaps are written into the design: DRM is disabled, so DRM-protected video services won't play. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. The hardening settings can log you out or break pages until you adjust them, so expect some tweaking. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | CWindows, Mac and Linux only. The FAQ says no one currently provides an Android version. |
| Best for | a free browser that isn't built on Chromium | a privacy-hardened Firefox |
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: Firefox and LibreWolf. How we grade
Price against what you get
Firefox has no paid plan and scores 3.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. LibreWolf has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
Firefox scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other browsers on the chart, none scores higher than Firefox for less, and none scores higher than LibreWolf 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.
- Firefox also covers password manager.
- LibreWolf also covers ad and tracker blocking.
In commonFree planWindowsmacOSLinuxOpen sourceWeb browser
At a glance
| Firefox | LibreWolf | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free 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. | LibreWolf is free and open source. The FAQ says the project does not accept donations. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Mozilla Corporation | LibreWolf community |
| Price read from | firefox.com | librewolf.net |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
LibreWolf
- DRM is disabled by design, so DRM-protected video services will not play.
- Resist-fingerprinting and cookie clearing can log you out of sites or break some pages until you adjust the settings.
- The FAQ says no one currently provides an Android version.
- It is maintained by volunteers and takes no donations.
Key features
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.
LibreWolf
- No telemetry
- The project states that it removes telemetry, data collection and experiments from the Firefox base.
- uBlock Origin included
- uBlock Origin comes installed with custom default filter lists, alongside Firefox's tracking protection set to strict.
- Anti-fingerprinting defaults
- It turns on resist-fingerprinting, reports the language as en-US to sites and disables WebGL, a common fingerprinting source.
- Cookies cleared on close
- Cookies and site data are deleted when the browser closes by default, and Total Cookie Protection is enabled.
- Privacy-oriented search engines
- The default search list includes DuckDuckGo and Searx rather than Google.
- Follows Firefox releases
- It is built from the latest Firefox stable source, so security fixes arrive with Firefox's own.
Plans
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.
LibreWolf
Free$0
The full browser for Windows, macOS and Linux, with uBlock Origin included.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Firefox or LibreWolf?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Firefox and LibreWolf are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Firefox or LibreWolf?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Firefox and LibreWolf have a free plan.
Which platforms do Firefox and LibreWolf run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Firefox lists iOS and Android apps. Both list macOS, Windows and Linux apps. 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.