Information about Comparison Of Web Browsers

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The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of web browsers. Please see the individual products' articles for further information.
Market share for September 2007[1]
Internet Explorer - 77.86%
Firefox - 14.88%
Safari - 5.07%
Opera - 0.87%
Netscape - 0.72%
Opera Mini - 0.39%
Other - 0.20%

Web browsers by year

Enlarge picture
A rough estimation of usage share by percent of layout engines/web browsers, see usage share of web browsers.
This is a table of personal computer web browsers by year of release of major version, in descending chronological order, with the approximate number of worldwide Internet users in millions. Note that Internet user data is related to the entire market, not the versions released in that year. The increased growth of the Internet in the 1990s and 2000s means that current browsers with small market shares, have more total users than the entire market early on. For example, 90% market share in 1997 would be roughly 60 million users, but by the start of 2007 9% market share would equate to over 90 million users.[2]

Year Web Browsers Internet
Users (in millions)[3]
''Pre-browser: HyperCard, Gopher
1991WorldWideWeb (Nexus)
1992ViolaWWW, Erwise, MidasWWW, MacWWW
1993Mosaic, Cello, Lynx (2.0)
1994IBM Web Explorer, Netscape Navigator, SlipKnot (1.0), MacWeb, IBrowse
1995Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator 2.0, OmniWeb, WebRouser,16
1996Arachne 1.0, Internet Explorer 3.0, Netscape Navigator 3.0, Opera (2.0), PowerBrowser, Cyberdog, Amaya (.9), AWeb, Voyager36
1997Internet Explorer 4.0, Netscape Navigator 4.0, Netscape Communicator (4.0), Opera (3.0)70
1998Internet Explorer 5.0, iCab147
1999Amaya 2.0, Mozilla (M3)248
2000Konqueror, Netscape 6, Opera 4, K-Meleon (.2)361
2001Internet Explorer 6, Galeon (1.0)513
2002Netscape 7, Mozilla (1.0), Phoenix (0.1)587
2003Opera 7, Safari (1.0), Epiphany (1.0)719
2004Firefox (1.0), Netscape Browser, OmniWeb 5.0817
2005Safari (2.0), Netscape Browser (8.0), Opera 8, Epiphany (1.8)
Amaya 9.0, AOL Explorer (1.0), Maxthon (1.0), Shiira (1.0),
1018
2006SeaMonkey (1.0), K-Meleon (1.0), Galeon (2.0), Camino (1.0)
Firefox (2.0), Avant 11, iCab 3, Opera 9, Internet Explorer 7
1093
2007Netscape Navigator (v.9)
BetaDillo, Links, Flock, Opera 9.5, ELinks, Safari (3.0)


See also microbrowser

General information

Basic general information about the browsers: creator/company, license/price etc.
Browser Creator Cost (USD) open source Software license Current layout engine
AmayaW3C, INRIAFreeYesW3C?
AOL ExplorerAmerica Online, IncFreeNoProprietaryTrident
ArachnexChaos Software/Arachne LabsFreeYesGPLProprietary
AvantAvant ForceFreeNoProprietaryTrident
CaminoThe Camino ProjectFreeYesMPL, MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-licenseGecko
DilloJorge Arellano Cid, Geerken, Rota, et al.FreeYesGPLGzilla
ELinksBaudis, Fonseca, et al.FreeYesGPL?
EpiphanyGNOMEFreeYesGPLGecko, WebKit
FlockFlock IncFreeYesGPL,MPL/LGPL tri-licenseGecko
GaleonMarco Pesenti GrittiFreeYesGPLGecko
IceWeaselGNUFreeYesGPL,MPL/LGPL tri-licenseGecko
iCabAlexander ClaussFree,
$29 (Pro)
NoProprietaryiCab
Internet ExplorerMicrosoft,
Spyglass
FreeNoProprietaryTrident
Internet Explorer for Mac (discontinued)MicrosoftFreeNoProprietaryTasman
K-MeleonDorian, KKO, et al.FreeYesGPLGecko
KonquerorKDEFreeYesGPLKHTML
LinksPatocka, et al.FreeYesGPL?
LynxMontulli, Grobe, Rezac, et al.FreeYesGPL
MaxthonMySoftFreeNoProprietaryTrident, Gecko
MosaicMarc Andreessen and Eric Bina, NCSAFree (non-commercial)NoProprietarybuilt-in
MozillaMozilla FoundationFreeYesMPL, MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-licenseGecko
Mozilla FirefoxMozilla FoundationFreeYesMPL, MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-licenseGecko
Netscape (v.6-7) [#endnote_NetscapeVersion †]Netscape Communications Corporation, AOLFreeNoProprietary, MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-licenseGecko
Netscape Browser (v.8) [#endnote_NetscapeVersion †]Mercurial Communications for AOLFreeNoProprietary, MPL, GPL/LGPL tri-licenseTrident, Gecko
Netscape Communicator (v.4) [#endnote_NetscapeVersion †]Netscape CommunicationsFreeNoProprietary?
Netscape Navigator (v.1-4, v.9[#endnote_NetscapeVersion †]Netscape Communications
(division of AOL)
FreeNoProprietary, MPL, GPL/LGPL tri-licenseGecko
OmniWebThe Omni Group$14.95NoProprietary, LGPLWebCore (KHTML)
OperaOpera SoftwareFreeNoProprietaryPresto
SafariApple Inc.FreeNoProprietary, LGPLWebCore (KHTML)
SeaMonkeySeaMonkey CouncilFreeYesMPL, MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-licenseGecko
ShiiraHappy Macintosh Developing TeamFreeYesBSDWebKit
WorldWideWeb (Later renamed Nexus)Tim Berners-LeeFreeYesPublic domainNeXTSTEP built-in
w3mAkinori ItoFreeYesMIT License?
Browser Creator Cost (USD) open source Software license Current layout engine
  • ^  There are four different products which all carry the name Netscape: Netscape versions 1 to 4, properly called Netscape Navigator, was a browser based on the original Netscape engine. Netscape 4 also was available as an Internet suite, properly called Netscape Communicator. Netscape 6 and 7 was a new Internet suite based on the Gecko engine and the Mozilla Application Suite user interface. Netscape 8, properly called Netscape Browser, is a new browser based on Firefox that can use both the Gecko (Firefox) and Trident (Internet Explorer) engines. Netscape resumed use of the Navigator name from Netscape Navigator 9.0 beta 1. See Netscape for more info.

Release history

A brief overview of the release history.
Browser First public release First stable release Latest stable release version date Latest testing release version date
Date Version Date Version
AmayaNovember 14, 19960.9November 14, 19960.9[ 9.55]  (July 10, 2007)[ none]  (n/a)
AOL ExplorerJune, 20051.0July, 20051.1[ 1.2]  (November, 2005)[ 1.5]  (March, 2006)
ArachneDecember 2, 19961.0 Beta 230 April, 19971.02[ 1.90;J1]  (August 14, 2006)[ n/a]  (?)
Avant????[ 11.0.46]  (October 6, 2006)[ none]  (n/a)
CaminoFebruary 13, 20020.1February 14, 20061.0[ 1.5.1]  (August 17, 2007)[ none]  (n/a)
DilloDecember, 19990.0.0December, 19990.0.0[ 0.8.6]  (April 26, 2006)[ none]  (n/a)
ELinksDecember, 2001?December, 2001?[ 0.11.3]  (April 15, 2007)[ none]  (n/a)
EpiphanyDecember 22, 20020.4September 8, 20031.0[ 2.18.3]  (1 July 2007)[ 2.19.5]  (9 July 2007)
FlockOctober 24, 20050.4.9--not yet released[ 0.9.0.2]  (August 2, 2007)
GaleonJune, 20000.6June, 20000.6[ 2.0.3]  (September 18, 2006)[ CVS]  (Current)
iCabFebruary 17, 1999Preview 1.0February 17, 1999Preview 1.0[ 3.0.3]  (August 18, 2006)[ none]  (n/a)
Internet ExplorerAugust, 19951.0August, 19951.0[ 7.0]  (October 16, 2006)[#endnote_PlatformIE †][ none]  (n/a)
Internet Explorer for MacJanuary 23, 19962.0bApril 23, 19962.0[ Discontinued]  (none)
K-MeleonNovember 26, 20000.2November 26, 20000.2[ 1.1.2]  (August 8, 2007)
KonquerorOctober, 2000?October, 2000?[ 3.5.7]  (May 22, 2007)[ none]  (n/a)
LinksNovember 24, 19990.8November 24, 19990.8[ 0.99]  (December 23, 2003)[ 2.1pre30]  (August 6, 2007)
LynxJuly, 1993?July, 1993?[ 2.8.6]  (October 11, 2006)[ none]  (n/a)
Maxthon?, 20020.1 (as MyIE2)September 8, 20051.0.0250[ 1.5.9 build 30]  (November 28, 2006)[ 2.0.2.2961]  (?)
MosaicApril 22, 19931.0April 22, 19931.0[ Unix: 2.6; Mac OS, Windows: 3.0]  (Mac OS, Unix: 1996; Windows: 1997)[ Unix: 2.7b5; Mac OS: 3.0b4]  (1996)
MozillaDecember 7, 1998"Preview"March 19, 1999M3[ 1.7.13]  (April 21, 2006)
Mozilla FirefoxSeptember 23, 20020.1September 23, 20020.1[ 2.0.0.6]  (July 30, 2007)[ 3.0a7]  (August 3, 2007)
NetscapeApril 5, 20006 Preview Release 1November 14, 20006.0[ 7.2]  (August 17, 2004)[ none]  (n/a)
Netscape BrowserNovember 30, 20040.5.6+May 19, 20058.0[ 8.1.3]  (April 2, 2007)[ 9.0b3]  (???)
Netscape CommunicatorJune, 19974.0June, 19974.0[ 4.8]  (August 22, 2002)[ none]  (n/a)
Netscape NavigatorOctober 13, 19940.9October 13, 19940.9[ 4.08]  (November 9, 1998)[ 9.0b3]  (August 16, 2007)
OmniWeb19940.5March 17, 19951.0[ 5.5.4]  (February 14, 2007)[ 5.6 sneaky peek 4 (v611)]  (June 27, 2007)
OperaSeptember, 19962.1b1December, 19962.1[ 9.23]  (August 15, 2007)[ 9.50 alpha]  (September 4, 2007)
SafariJanuary 7, 20030.8June 23, 20031.0[ 2.0.3 (417.8) (Mac OS X)]  (January 10, 2006)[#endnote_PlatformSafari †][ 3.0.3 (522.15.5)]  (July 31 2007)
SeaMonkeySeptember 15, 20051.0aJanuary 30, 20061.0[ 1.1.4]  (August 3, 2007)[ none]  (n/a)
Shiira????[ 2.2]  (July 16, 2007)[ none]  (n/a)
WorldWideWebDecember, 1990?February 26, 1991?[ 0.18]  (1994 ?)[ none]  (n/a)
w3m1995???[ 0.5.2]  (May 31, 2007)[ none]  (n/a)
Browser Date Version Date Version Latest stable release version date Latest testing release version date
First public release First stable release
  • ^  As of February 2007, at least Windows XP SP2 or Windows Server 2003 SP1 is required to install the latest version (v7) of Internet Explorer for Windows. Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 is the last version that supports Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0 SP6a, and Windows 2000. Internet Explorer 7 is bundled with Windows Vista.
  • ^  Safari is included with Mac OS X and the latest version is always available only from the OS install or OS updates.

Operating system support

The operating systems the browsers have been compiled to run on without emulation; for the given browser/OS combination, there are seven possibilities:
  • No indicates that it does not exist or was never released.
  • Partial indicates that while the browser works, it lacks important functionality or is extremely unstable compared to versions for other OSs (that is to say it has roughly alpha or pre-alpha quality). It is still being developed however.
  • Beta indicates that while a version of the browser is fully functional and has been released, it is still in development (e.g. for stability).
  • Yes indicates that the browser has been officially released in a fully functional, stable version.
  • Dropped indicates that the latest stable version of the browser does not work on the operating system, although an older version is available that does. The number in parentheses is the last known stable version which was officially released for that OS.
  • Terminated indicates that while the browser works (e.g. Internet Explorer for Mac), development has ceased and no new versions will be released; the number in parentheses is the last known stable version.
  • Included indicates that the browser comes pre-packaged as part of or has been integrated into the operating system.
Please note that the list is not exhaustive, but rather reflects the most common OSs today (e.g. Netscape Navigator was also developed for OS/2 at a time when Mac OS X did not yet exist) but does not include the growing appliance segment (e.g.the Opera browser has gained a leading role for use in mobile phones, smartphones, the Nintendo DS and Wii, and Personal Digital Assistants, and is also used in Interactive televisions).
Browser Windows Mac OS X Mac OS 9 Linux BSD Unix
Amaya YesYesNoYesYesYes
AOL Explorer YesYesNoNoNoNo
Avant YesNoNoNoNoNo
Camino NoYesNoNoNoNo
Dillo PartialYesNoYesYesYes
ELinks YesYesNoYesYesYes
Epiphany NoYesNoYesYesYes
Flock BetaBetaNoBetaBetaNo
Galeon NoYesNoYesYesYes
iCab NoYesYesNoNoNo
Internet Explorer (Trident) IncludedNoNoNoNoDropped (5.0)
Internet Explorer for Mac (Tasman) NoTerminated (5.2.3)Dropped (5.1.7)NoNoNo
K-Meleon YesNoNoNoNoNo
Konqueror NoYesNoYesYesYes
Links PartialYesNoYesYesYes
Lynx YesYesYesYesYesYes
Maxthon YesNoNoNoNoNo
Mosaic Terminated (3.0)NoTerminated (3.0)Dropped (2.6)Dropped (2.6)Dropped (2.6)
Mozilla Terminated (1.7.13)Terminated (1.7.13)Dropped (1.2.1)[4]Terminated (1.7.13)Terminated (1.7.13)Terminated (1.7.13)
Mozilla Firefox YesYesNoYesYesYes
Netscape Terminated (7.2)Terminated (7.2)Dropped (7.02)Terminated (7.2)Terminated (7.2)Terminated (7.2)
Netscape Browser YesNoNoNoNoNo
Netscape Communicator Terminated (4.80)NoTerminated (4.80)Terminated (4.80)Terminated (4.80)Terminated (4.80)
Netscape Navigator YesYesDroppedYesNoNo
OmniWeb NoYesNoNoNoNo
Opera YesYesDropped (6.03)YesYesYes
Safari BetaIncludedNoNoNoNo
SeaMonkey YesYesNoYesYesYes
Shiira NoYesNoNoNoNo
WorldWideWeb (NEXTSTEP only) NoNoNoNoNoNo
w3m YesYesNoYesYesYes
Browser Windows Mac OS X Mac OS 9 Linux BSD Unix


Further information: Operating system support of historical web browsers

Browser features

Information about what common browser features are implemented natively (without third-party add-ons).
Browser Bookmark managing Download managing Password managing Form managing Spell checking Search engine toolbar
Amaya NoNoYesNoYesNo
AOL Explorer YesNoNoYesNoYes
Avant YesNoYesYesNo [#endnote_IESpell †]Yes
Camino YesYesYesYesYesYes
Dillo PartialNoNoNoNoPartial
ELinks YesYesYes?NoNo
Epiphany YesYesYesNoYesYes
Flock YesYesYesYesYesYes
Galeon YesYesYesNoNoYes
iCab YesYesYesYesNoYes
Internet Explorer [#endnote_ActiveX †] YesNoYesYesNo [#endnote_IESpell †]Yes
Internet Explorer for Mac YesYesYesYesNoNo
K-Meleon YesNoYesYesNoYes
Konqueror YesYes [#endnote_KonqDownload †]YesYesYesYes
Links YesYesNoNoNoNo
Lynx YesNoNoNoNoNo
Maxthon [#endnote_ActiveX †] YesNoYesYesNo [#endnote_IESpell †]Yes
Mosaic YesNoNoNoNoNo
Mozilla YesYesYesYesYesYes
Mozilla Firefox YesYesYesYesYesYes
Netscape YesYesYesYesYesYes
Netscape Browser YesYesYesYes?Yes
Netscape Navigator YesYesYesYesYesYes
OmniWeb YesYesYesYesYesYes
Opera YesYesYesYes [#endnote_OpForm †]Yes [#endnote_OpSpell †]Yes
Safari YesYesYesYesYesYes
SeaMonkey YesYesYesYesYesYes
Shiira YesYesYesYesYesYes
WorldWideWeb YesNoNoNoYesNo
w3m YesNoNoNoNoNo
Browser Bookmark managing Download managing Password managing Form managing Spell checking Search engine toolbar
  • ^  Internet Explorer is the only browser to natively support the Component Object Model (popularly known as ActiveX). Most other browsers use the NPAPI plugin architecture. ActiveX is more powerful than NPAPI in terms of the control it affords over the browser, but it is specific to Windows whereas NPAPI is cross-platform. There is a third-party plugin that adds partial ActiveX support, that is available for certain older versions of Mozilla Suite, Mozilla Firefox and Netscape Navigator. The default settings in earlier versions of Internet Explorer allowed the automatic download, installation, and running of new ActiveX controls with minimal user intervention - this made it possible to use ActiveX on web pages to install viruses, spyware, etc. onto a user's computer.
  • ^  Spell checking can be added by installing an add-on like ieSpell.
  • ^  For the download manager kdenetwork needs to be installed.
  • ^  On Linux and Windows, Spell checking requires GNU Aspell to be installed.
  • ^  Opera can auto-complete forms with your personal information and website usernames.

Accessibility features

Information about what common accessibility features are implemented natively (without third-party add-ons).
Browser Tabbed browsing Pop-up blocking Incremental finding Ad filtering Page zooming [#endnote_PageZooming †]
Amaya YesN/A?NoYes
AOL Explorer YesYesNoNoYes
Avant YesYesNoYesYes
Camino YesYesYesYesNo
Dillo NoN/ANoNoNo
ELinks YesNoYesN/AN/A
Epiphany YesYesYesPartial [#endnote_EpiphanyAdBlock †]No
Flock YesYesYesYesNo
Galeon YesYesYesYesYes
iCab YesYesNoYesYes
Internet Explorer YesYesNo [#endnote_IEFind †]YesYes
Internet Explorer for Mac NoNoNoNoNo
K-Meleon YesYesYesPartial [#endnote_AdBlock †]Partial
Konqueror YesYesYesYesNo
Links NoYesNoYesNo
Lynx NoN/ANoN/AN/A
Maxthon YesYesYesYesYes
Mosaic NoN/ANoNoNo
Mozilla YesYesYesPartial [#endnote_AdBlock †]No
Mozilla Firefox YesYesYesPartial [#endnote_AdBlock †]No [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=4821]
Netscape YesYesYesPartial [#endnote_AdBlock †]No
Netscape Browser YesYesYesPartial [#endnote_AdBlock †]No
Netscape Navigator YesYesYesPartial [#endnote_AdBlock †]No
OmniWeb YesYesNoYesYes
Opera YesYesYesYes [#endnote_FilterINI †]Yes
Safari Yes [#endnote_MacTab †]Yes [#endnote_SafariPopupBlock †]YesYesYes [#endnote_iPhoneZoom †]
SeaMonkey YesYesYesPartial [#endnote_AdBlock †]No [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=4821]
Shiira YesYesNoNoYes
WorldWideWeb NoNoNoNoNo
w3m YesYesYesNoNo
Browser Tabbed browsing Pop-up blocking Incremental finding Ad filtering Page zooming [#endnote_PageZooming †]

Accessibility features (cont.)

Information about what common accessibility features are implemented natively (without third-party add-ons).
Browser HTML access key Tabbing navigation Spatial navigation Caret navigation Mouse gesture Text-to-speech Voice control
Amaya?Yes?YesNoNoNo
AOL Explorer YesYesNoNoNoNoNo
Avant YesYesNoNoYesNoNo
Camino YesYesNoYesNo [#endnote_MacGestures †]Yes [#endnote_MacSpeech †]No
Dillo YesNoNoNoNoNoNo
ELinks YesYesNoYesNoNoNo
Epiphany YesYesNoYesPartial [#endnote_EpiphanyGestures †]NoNo
Flock YesYesNoYesNoNoNo
Galeon?Yes?DisabledYesNoNo
iCab YesNoNoNoNoYes [#endnote_MacSpeech †]No
Internet Explorer YesYesNoNoNo [#endnote_IEGestures †]PartialNo
Internet Explorer for Mac YesYesNoNoNoNoNo
K-Meleon YesYesNoDisabledYesNoNo
Konqueror YesYesYesYesYes [#endnote_KonqGestures †]Yes [#endnote_KonqSpeech †]No
Links NoNoNoYesNoNoNo
Lynx?NoNo?NoNoNo
Maxthon Yes