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Ask HN: Firefox v. Chrome

I've been a firefoxer for quite a bit, but the blogosphere seems to give props to Chrome...thoughts? Should I make the switch?

mcav 18y ago
Chrome, if you can deal without the extensions (for now). Chrome's faster, more stable, and uses Webkit. But I'm biased.
awad 18y ago
Chrome. I can't wait for a [fully functioning] Chrome for Mac. It's speed reminds me of Firefox when it first came out. I miss those days.
- ryan-allen 18y ago
  Safari 4 Beta closely compares with Chrome on Window's speeds. I've been using it for weeks every day and had no problems with it. It's way quicker than Firefox, that's for sure, try it!
  - joshwprinceton 18y ago
    does safari work as well for PCs as it does for macs?
    - unalone 18y ago
      I've heard very good things about it on PC. Safari 3 PC was tripe; 4 seems to be much better.
- skolor 18y ago
  I started using Chrome when it first came out, and was just blown away by the speed. After a while I drifted back to Firefox because I needed Greasemonkey for work, but still would use Chrome occasionally. One thing of note: If you ever have more than 10-ish tabs open, Chrome is the way to go. The speed of Chrome just blows Firefox away, especially if you load a lot of things all at once.
tokenadult 18y ago
Oddly, Chrome does a worse job of displaying Gmail in my set-up (Windoze) than Firefox. I'm not at all sure why. I can't see my Gmail contacts list at all in Chrome, unless I switch to "older version," while in Firefox I only need to switch to the older version of Gmail to EDIT the Gmail contacts list. (The Gmail contacts list is still largely a broken mess compared to any installed-on-Windows email client I have ever used to keep a contacts list for group emails.) I still mostly prefer to use Firefox, because email is my primary application.
- Ennis 18y ago
  That's odd I use Gmail contacts every day and I've never had a problem on Chrome or Firefox. The old gContacts was finicky but ever since the version with merge, it's been A.O.K.
vaksel 18y ago
I'll continue using firefox, until they release adblock for chrome.
- jvangorp 18y ago
  AdSweep has an extension for Chrome. I was waiting for ad-blocking in Chrome before switching over, and AdSweep seems to do the trick. http://www.adsweep.org http://www.adsweep.org
known 18y ago
Chrome is better for ASP.Net sites.
- jonursenbach 18y ago
  That doesn't make any sense. Do you have any evidence supporting this?
algerbee 18y ago
On my system Chrome is only fractionally faster, if at all. What it does is present an incredibly more fluid feel with the way the tabs gently slide out at the edge of your vision, and the fonts seem to be more carefully rendered. Also, when you see the web pages in Chrome you see them with all the ads intact. The pages are designed for ads so they have a more aesthetic impact with a greater variety of detail, color and incident. (On the other hand, it has loaded the page ads and all as fast as Firefox with ads blocked.) Overall it seems to me that 70-75% of the sense of Chrome being better is subliminal, the effect of a better aesthetic impression.
decadentcactus 18y ago
I use Firefox because I'm pretty entrenched in it now, and I know my way around it a bit better (obviously). The extensions mostly keep me though. Chrome is easily a better built and designed browser (maybe because it's newer) and if they could give us extensions I'd have to seriously thing getting used to the UI, and using it.
ashleyw 18y ago
I was an avid Firefox user for years, but one thing which always annoyed me is it becomes a complete resource hog. So I ended up switching to Safari upon the first beta of 4. I hated it at first, I love it now — nice and light, fast as hell, and has Webkit awesomeness! I can't wait for a decent build of Chrome on OSX though, should be fun; <3 the idea of one process for each tab!
radu_floricica 18y ago
I like the simplicity/extra screen space of Chrome. It's like browsing Firefox in full screen (which I never actually did). No toolbars, extra security (even because it's still new and not very popular), and great startup speed. Overall I think it's the bias towards usability in favor of facilities that does it. Even the speed is a symptom of this.

I've been a firefoxer for quite a bit, but the blogosphere seems to give props to Chrome...thoughts? Should I make the switch?

mcav 18y ago

Chrome, if you can deal without the extensions (for now). Chrome's faster, more stable, and uses Webkit. But I'm biased.

awad 18y ago

Chrome. I can't wait for a [fully functioning] Chrome for Mac. It's speed reminds me of Firefox when it first came out. I miss those days.

ryan-allen 18y ago
Safari 4 Beta closely compares with Chrome on Window's speeds. I've been using it for weeks every day and had no problems with it. It's way quicker than Firefox, that's for sure, try it!
- joshwprinceton 18y ago
  does safari work as well for PCs as it does for macs?
  - unalone 18y ago
    I've heard very good things about it on PC. Safari 3 PC was tripe; 4 seems to be much better.
skolor 18y ago
I started using Chrome when it first came out, and was just blown away by the speed. After a while I drifted back to Firefox because I needed Greasemonkey for work, but still would use Chrome occasionally. One thing of note: If you ever have more than 10-ish tabs open, Chrome is the way to go. The speed of Chrome just blows Firefox away, especially if you load a lot of things all at once.

tokenadult 18y ago

Oddly, Chrome does a worse job of displaying Gmail in my set-up (Windoze) than Firefox. I'm not at all sure why. I can't see my Gmail contacts list at all in Chrome, unless I switch to "older version," while in Firefox I only need to switch to the older version of Gmail to EDIT the Gmail contacts list. (The Gmail contacts list is still largely a broken mess compared to any installed-on-Windows email client I have ever used to keep a contacts list for group emails.) I still mostly prefer to use Firefox, because email is my primary application.

Ennis 18y ago
That's odd I use Gmail contacts every day and I've never had a problem on Chrome or Firefox. The old gContacts was finicky but ever since the version with merge, it's been A.O.K.

vaksel 18y ago

I'll continue using firefox, until they release adblock for chrome.

jvangorp 18y ago
AdSweep has an extension for Chrome. I was waiting for ad-blocking in Chrome before switching over, and AdSweep seems to do the trick. http://www.adsweep.org http://www.adsweep.org

known 18y ago

Chrome is better for ASP.Net sites.

jonursenbach 18y ago
That doesn't make any sense. Do you have any evidence supporting this?

algerbee 18y ago

On my system Chrome is only fractionally faster, if at all. What it does is present an incredibly more fluid feel with the way the tabs gently slide out at the edge of your vision, and the fonts seem to be more carefully rendered. Also, when you see the web pages in Chrome you see them with all the ads intact. The pages are designed for ads so they have a more aesthetic impact with a greater variety of detail, color and incident. (On the other hand, it has loaded the page ads and all as fast as Firefox with ads blocked.) Overall it seems to me that 70-75% of the sense of Chrome being better is subliminal, the effect of a better aesthetic impression.

decadentcactus 18y ago

I use Firefox because I'm pretty entrenched in it now, and I know my way around it a bit better (obviously). The extensions mostly keep me though. Chrome is easily a better built and designed browser (maybe because it's newer) and if they could give us extensions I'd have to seriously thing getting used to the UI, and using it.

ashleyw 18y ago

I was an avid Firefox user for years, but one thing which always annoyed me is it becomes a complete resource hog. So I ended up switching to Safari upon the first beta of 4. I hated it at first, I love it now — nice and light, fast as hell, and has Webkit awesomeness! I can't wait for a decent build of Chrome on OSX though, should be fun; <3 the idea of one process for each tab!

radu_floricica 18y ago

I like the simplicity/extra screen space of Chrome. It's like browsing Firefox in full screen (which I never actually did). No toolbars, extra security (even because it's still new and not very popular), and great startup speed. Overall I think it's the bias towards usability in favor of facilities that does it. Even the speed is a symptom of this.