Dan Kantor

Firefox Is Losing The Race To Chrome

Many people have asked me why I started developing ExtensionFM on Chrome before Firefox. Firefox has about 25% market share while Chrome has only 5%. Below are ten reasons why I believe Chrome is the better browser right now and easier to develop applications for.

Let me first say that I have had a love affair with Firefox for the past five years. I started using it in the summer of 2005 when I was, ironically enough, an intern at Microsoft. I want Mozilla to succeed. It is important to have a ‘non-biased’ company in the browser space. But right now, they are getting their butts kicked by Chrome (and its Webkit cousins).

Here are 10 reasons (with 1 bonus) why Chrome has surpassed Firefox.

1. Speed: Chrome renders pages faster than Firefox. On Mac it is even more noticeable.
2. Weight: Chrome uses a lot less memory and system resources than Firefox.
3. HTML5: Both Chrome and Firefox have implemented a bunch of HTML5 features. There are still many more to come. To this point however, each has implemented a different set of features. The set of features that Webkit has implemented are more important at this point - WebDatabase, WebSockets, etc.
4. CSS3: Related and equally important to HTML5 is CSS3. At this point Webkit has implemented a lot more of the spec, including multiple backgrounds and background gradients.
5. Extensions: Chrome extensions do not require a restart on install or when they update. Firefox’s do. Right now Firefox has more extensions. But all the good ones will come to Chrome. Chrome also makes it really easy for developers to package extensions for delivery in the gallery or on a third party site.
6. Video Support: As part of the HTML5 video element, browsers can now create a native video player that is controlled by Javascript (thus bypassing Flash). But this means very little if the video player does not support the leading codec - H.264. Chrome supports this, Firefox does not (b/c of licensing reasons).
7. Audio Support: Equal to the video element above, HTML5 introduced an audio element that is a native player controlled by Javascript. But as with video support, audio support is only as good as the codecs it ships to play back different formats of music. Unbelievably, Firefox does not ship a codec that supports MP3. Let me repeat that. Firefox does not support MP3. They only support the open source and far less used OGG format. Chrome of course supports MP3 (as well as OGG).
8. Startup: On both Mac and PC, Chrome starts up a lot faster than Firefox.
9. UI: Chrome has a very minimal look with only the basic “chrome” surrounding the web window. Firefox looks more bloated. Even Mozilla recognizes this. The next version looks a lot more like Chrome.
10. Threaded Tabs: When a tab in Chrome crashes, it does not freeze or crash the entire browser. This is because each tab runs in its own process. All Firefox tabs run in the same process. If one tab crashes, it brings down the entire browser.
11. Mobile (Bonus): Here is a list of companies that ship mobile devices with a Webkit browser: Apple, Google, Palm, RIM (coming), Nokia. Here is a list of companies that ship a mobile device with a Firefox browser: None.

Like I said in the beginning, I love Firefox and want them to succeed. But you can not ignore the 11 important facts I have listed above. Firefox is losing to Chrome (and its Webkit cousins). Mozilla knows this. I want Firefox to succeed and I believe that it can. The best part about Google (and Apple via Webkit) entering the browser market is that they have pushed the rate of innovation to never before seen heights. Let’s hope this continues for many years to come. Right now, however, I am choosing Chrome as the browser to develop for.