Google Chrome is the most popular browser with 3 billion users — Microsoft Edge drastically falls behind

Google Chrome on Mac
(Image credit: Jeramey Lende/Shutterstock)

A new browser market share report has revealed Google Chrome is the most popular browser by far, with more than three billion internet users using the Chromium browser.

According to a recent Atlas VPN report (via TechRadar), there is a whopping total of 3,258,256,887 internet users using Chrome around the globe, with every other browser including Apple's Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge struggling to reach the one billion mark. 

(Image credit: atlasVPN)

As noted in the report, the findings are based on data from GlobalStats for April 2021, which was then converted into numbers that use InternetWorldStats' internet user metric to specific numbers.

Despite Google's popular browser running into issues including a recent bug that caused major problems for Windows 10 users, and coming under heavy fire for its ad-tracking tech, Chrome demolishes its competition by billions of users.

Apple's Safari browser takes the title of being the second most popular browser. With Apple's default web browser being the go-to for many iPhone, iPad and MacBook users, it doesn't come as a surprise it has accumulated 944,576,100 internet users — breezing past other browsers.

Surprisingly, the report shows that Mozilla Firefox took third place with 181,435,430 active users, beating Microsoft Edge with its 171,327,607 internet users. Edge receives constant updates to keep up with Chrome, recently receiving a speed boost and sleeping tabs that make it more efficient than ever. According to the data, internet users still prefer other browsers.

Mozilla Firefox is known for its emphasis on simplicity and privacy, with a recent Firefox 89 even making one of our writers abandon Chrome altogether. Along with its total cookie protection feature and improvements to its built-in "Content Blocking" function, Firefox may see an even greater surge in popularity.

Finally, there's a strong user base for Samsung Internet and Opera browsers, with 166,779,086 and 112,196,840 internet users, respectively. Samsung's line of Galaxy products, including its recent Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 and Samsung Galaxy S21 are expected to have played a big part in seeing the user base rise.

While Google Chrome may be deemed the most popular web browser, that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best for users to use. Check out Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge duke it out.

Darragh Murphy
Editor

Darragh Murphy is fascinated by all things bizarre, which usually leads to assorted coverage varying from washing machines designed for AirPods to the mischievous world of cyberattacks. Whether it's connecting Scar from The Lion King to two-factor authentication or turning his love for gadgets into a fabricated rap battle from 8 Mile, he believes there’s always a quirky spin to be made. With a Master’s degree in Magazine Journalism from The University of Sheffield, along with short stints at Kerrang! and Exposed Magazine, Darragh started his career writing about the tech industry at Time Out Dubai and ShortList Dubai, covering everything from the latest iPhone models and Huawei laptops to massive Esports events in the Middle East. Now, he can be found proudly diving into gaming, gadgets, and letting readers know the joys of docking stations for Laptop Mag.