Microsoft Edge vs Chrome : Core Differences
As Microsoft Edge is the third most popular browser among
desktop users globally, it has garnered quite a bit of attention this year. No
wonder people compare it to Chrome, the undisputed leader in the browser
market. However, the growing popularity of Edge has led to the search for
Microsoft Edge versus Chrome to look out for.
Table of contents
Microsoft Edge vs. Google Chrome - why the question in the
first place?
Microsoft Edge vs Chrome: Feature Comparison
Is Microsoft Edge better than Chrome?
Microsoft Edge vs. Google Chrome - why the question in the
first place?
In March 2020, Edge languished with a global market share of
0.57%, but it jumped to 8.03% a year later. This dramatic rise in popularity
raises questions about why so many people suddenly decide to use Edge.
Source: statistics counter
To be fair, Microsoft has been pushing Edge a lot more in
May 2020. As part of the Windows update, the browser has become uninstallable.
In addition, the pandemic and the associated transition to remote work have led
to an increase in purchases of new devices for home offices. There is
speculation that newer Windows devices with the Edge browser enabled may have
led to more widespread use of the browser.
In addition, Microsoft is constantly releasing updates to
improve the browser experience, especially through improved integration for
Windows and Chrome users.
However, Edge has certain features that deserve a closer
look and provide some completeness to the "new Microsoft Edge vs
Chrome" question.
Microsoft Edge vs Chrome: Feature Comparison
Let's break it down in terms of specific indicators.
Speed
When tested on WebXPRT 3, Chrome and Edge passed six
real-world tests, specifically testing the performance of HTML5 and JavaScript
browsers. Edge narrowly won by 76 points to Chrome's 73. This was mainly due to
Edge winning the OCR Scan and Encrypt Notes tests.
Website speed often varies across browsers. Run website
speed tests on real browsers and devices with BrowserStack SpeedLab. Check how
fast the site loads in real conditions.
Resource consumption
While both browsers are fairly fast, Edge may have a slight advantage in this regard. Based on a test that loaded six pages in each browser, Edge used 665MB of RAM and Chrome used 1.4GB. This would be essential for systems running with limited memory.
Extensions
Based on its Chromium-based architecture, Edge has been able
to provide extensive support for extensions. In fact, the Microsoft Store
extension catalog is growing impressively. Also, if an Edge user wants to
download an extension that is only available from the Chrome Web Store, they
can download and add it to Edge in a couple of easy steps.
However, despite these improvements, Edge extensions still
face some compatibility issues and are less user-friendly than Chrome
extensions. Chrome still has the advantage in this case.
Do you know the difference between Chrome and Chromium?
Characteristics
Since both browsers are based on the same browser engine
(Chromium), there is not much difference in features with their desktop
versions. Edge comes with a "read aloud" feature that reads any
selected text, but the feature isn't great for languages other than English.
On mobile devices, however, Edge has a few cool features that stand out.
The floating video feature allows users to reduce the size
of the video being played and place it on the screen when it switches to
another tan or window.
The news protection feature evaluates the media that users
visit and notifies them of the authenticity of the website.
The sync feature allows users to sync their data across
devices through their Microsoft account. While the data currently only includes
bookmarked pages, settings, passwords, and form data, Microsoft is in the
process of allowing users to sync open tabs, extensions, and browser history.
However, Chrome is better integrated with widely used tools
such as Google Docs and Google Translate (much better than Microsoft's Bing
Translate). Chrome's sync mechanism is also much more complex and fills in all
the gaps left by Edge.