In December 2024, Microsoft's Edge browser had a market share of 13.34 percent in the United States. Edge was first publicly released in July 2015, with the consumer release of Windows 10. However, Chrome held a majority of the market share, with almost 66 percent in the same month. What are web browsers? A web browser is a software application for visualizing websites, documents and data. The most popular current browsers are Google Chrome, Apple’s Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox. Historically one of the large players in the segment, Internet Explorer has unfortunately lost its tight grip on the web browser market.As shown by the graph at hand, Google Chrome has been the most popular browser in the United States since December 2013. In other countries, Google Chrome has also taken up a dominating role. In the European browser market, Chrome and Safari have established strong market positions with 61 and 11.4 percent, respectively. On a worldwide scale, Chrome provided a share of around 64 percent in the global web browser market as of December 2021.

As of December 2024, Google’s Chrome accounted for 65.82 percent of the global web browser market share. Firefox and Internet Explorer have experienced massively reduced market share in recent years as Chrome’s influence has expanded, and new competitors have entered the market. How are web browsers changing? In the UK, smartphones have overtaken traditional desktop computers as the most popular way to access the internet. Tech giants such as Samsung and Apple have used their smartphone hardware as a platform to encourage the use of their mobile web browsers. Each iPhone comes pre-loaded with Apple’s Safari set as its default internet browser, and consumers have become increasingly comfortable with the platform without having to seek it out themselves specifically. Google’s role in the web Throughout the years, Google has become increasingly vertically integrated at many levels of the tech industry. Already controlling the world’s most used search engine, the company also owns the world’s most popular web browser (Google Chrome), the world’s most popular email service (Gmail), the world’s most popular GPS mapping service (Google Maps), and has recently branched out into hardware itself, with its line of smartphones and wearable devices.

As of August 2024, the Google Chrome browser accounted for over 65 percent of the global market for internet browsers. Apple’s Safari browser was the second most popular internet browser around the world, accounting for about 18.6 percent of market share. Apart from these two, no other browser controlled more than five percent of the overall market share. Internet use With billions of people around the world having some form of access to the technology, around half of the world’s population can be classified as internet users. In countries like Japan, the United Kingdom, and Germany, a big majority of citizens access the internet on a daily basis, whether it be for work or personal entertainment. In the United States, the average adult spends hours per day online, once again showing the large importance of internet in peoples’ daily lives. Web browsers Web browsers serve as the platform through which users from across the globe access the contents of the internet. With the help of a web browser, users can access a huge variety of content including entertainment sites, social media, and online shopping retailers. In recent years, social media sites such as Facebook have become some of the most popular sites, with users determined to keep up-to-date with the digital presence of their friends, families, and favorite celebrities.

As of October 2024, Google Chrome had the largest market share in the United States, with over 54 percent, followed by Apple's Safari, with 31 percent. Furthermore, Microsoft's Edge browser had a United States market share of 7 percent. The new Microsoft Edge was based on Chromium and was released in January 2020. Web browsers Web browsers serve as the application software through which users from across the globe access the contents of the World Wide Web. Browsers are available on a range of devices: desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and consoles. Given the popularity of smartphones, mobile devices have become the primary way to access the internet, overtaking PCs. Google Chrome has been the most popular web browser worldwide in the past decade, holding almost two-thirds of the market in 2023. Safari followed, occupying around 19 percent of the market. Safari turns 20 years old Safari is a web browser developed by Apple and first launched in January 2003. With regular updates, Safari is integrated into iOS, macOS, and iPadOS, the operating systems of iPhones, Macs, and iPads. Thanks to the popularity of Apple devices worldwide, Safari is used as a web browser at different rations in the United States and in many European countries. For instance, Safari held over 29 percent of the UK internet browser market in August 2022 but only 11 percent of the German web browser market in November 2022.

As of December 2024, Google Chrome accounted for around 66 percent of the global desktop internet browser market share. Around half of the world’s population uses the internet on a regular basis, and web browsers serve as the channel through which users from across the globe access the internet each day.  What are people using their web browsers for?   With the help of a web browser, users can access a huge variety of content including entertainment sites, social media, and online shopping retailers. In recent years, social media sites such as Facebook have become some of the most frequently visited sites in the world, with users determined to keep up to date with the digital presence of their friends, families, and favorite celebrities. Privacy concerns   Web browsers provide users with an integral digital service, but recent data leaks have alerted users to the pitfalls of putting too much personal data online. A great number of people are becoming aware of and concerned about their online privacy, meaning that web browser developers must prove themselves capable of protecting information if they hope to receive the continued loyalty of their users.

In March 2025, the Google Chrome browser was the leader in the mobile internet browser market, with a share of 66.75 percent. As the runner-up, Apple’s Safari had a market share of around 23 percent. Other contenders in the field include Samsung Internet and Opera. Browser market Around half of the world’s population uses the internet regularly, and web browsers serve as the channel through which users from across the globe access the internet each day. As in the mobile browser market, Chrome is also the dominant figure in the overall web browser market. In December 2024, Chrome for Android and Chrome occupied the top two spots in the global web browser market. Chrome’s dominance is the most prominent in the desktop browser market: in 2024, Google’s popular browser accounted for nearly 67 percent of the market, miles ahead of its competitors. Google Chrome Released in 2008 by Google, Chrome has become one of the tech giant's most successful products over the years, together with their search engine Google Search, mobile operating system Android, e-mail service Gmail, etc. The success of Chrome has led to the expansion of the brand name into the company's other products such as Chrome OS, Chromecast, and Chromebook.

The Chrome web browser from Google is the most popular browser in the United Kingdom (UK) as of 2023, holding a 50 percent share of the market. Safari is Chrome’s nearest rival, holding a 32 percent share of the market, ahead of the 9 percent held by third place Edge. Chrome & Safari popular across all formats Chrome is the clear leader with regard to desktop browsers, holding 59.65 percent of the market share. Safari was the most popular browser, ahead of Chrome, on both mobile and tablet devices. Much of Chrome’s growth appears to have come at the expense of Internet Explorer (IE). Chrome overtook IE for the first time in December 2012, and since that time, has risen considerably while IE’s market share has plummeted. Chrome on top worldwide    Chrome sits comfortably on top of the global market, with two versions of the browser holding down the top two positions. Demonstrating the increasing importance of mobile web browsers to suppliers, consumers and advertisers, Chrome for Android actually took the top position, with 35.27 percent of the market.

In December 2024, Google Chrome was the most popular mobile internet browser in the United States, with a market share of over 48 percent. Apple’s Safari came as a close second, with around 45.98 percent of market share. U.S. browser market Considering Apple iPhone’s high user rate in the United States, it is no wonder that Safari, the browser pre-installed on every iPhone, is also widely used. When it comes to the overall browser market, however, Safari’s leading status gets lost: Chrome is the number one internet browser in the United States with a market share of about 52 percent, while Safari trails as a second with around 32 percent share. Safari lags even further behind in the desktop browser market, with only around 18 percent share. This correlates to Apple’s standing in the PC market: ranked as number four in the market as of the third quarter of 2021, Apple’s Mac computers enjoy a relatively niche yet loyal user group. With a nearly 60 percent share, Chrome is the dominating figure in the U.S. desktop browser market.

As of March 2025, Google Chrome accounted for around 53 percent of overall internet browser market share in the United States. Seemingly the only competitor that could challenge Google Chrome’s position at the top of the U.S. market is Apple’s Safari browser, which accounted for an additional 32 percent of the market share at that time. No other web browsers reached even ten percent market share. Web browsers Web browsers serve as the vehicle through which users gain access to the World Wide Web. They allow users from around the world to access a huge variety of content including everything from entertainment sites, to social media, to online shopping. In recent years, social media sites such as Facebook have become some of the most frequently visited sites in the world, as users seek to keep up to date with the digital presence of their friends, families, and favorite celebrities. Types of browser Web browsers, and internet access in general, were initially only available to desktop computers, but as technology has advanced, browsers are becoming standard features of smartphones, TVs, and other consumer electronic devices. Today, Chrome for Android and Safari for iPhone rank among the most widely user web browsers in the world alongside their desktop counterparts.

Chrome has over the past decade overtaken IE and Firefox to become the most widely used internet browser (desktop, tablet, mobile and console) in Europe. It's market share reached about 60 percent in 2024. IE's decline in the browser market in Europe is dramatic: from more than 46 percent in 2009 to just over 0.1 percent in 2024.

Chrome has become the most used web browser in China. As of January 2025, the browser accounted for almost 46.14 percent of the total web traffic in the Chinese market, streaking ahead of the pack including Safari and Edge.

What is the browser usage like in Belgium? Google Chrome was the most used internet browser in Belgium in December 2024 with a market share of over 54 percent. This ranking consists of mobile, desktop, tablet as well as console browsers. This might explain the entries for some specific browsers, like Apple’s Safari (which is a desktop browser but comes pre-installed on iPhones) or Samsung Internet. The smartphone penetration in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium) was at 93 percent in 2020. Internet access in Belgium is on the up… In 2020, roughly 91 percent of Belgian households had access to the Internet. This was the exact same as the European average of 91 percent. Compared to other European countries, Belgium used to be considered below average when it comes to Internet access at home. This value increased in 2018, however, and has been increasing steadily in recent years. … as well as mobile Internet use. Communication and entertainment are popular ways for Belgians to spend time on the Internet. Facebook and Facebook Messenger ranked among the most cited apps that were used every day in Belgium in 2017. This is much the same for teenagers from Flanders, although they also mention Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube as their preferred smartphone apps.

In March 2025, the most widely used internet browser (desktop, mobile, tablet, and console) in Asia was Chrome. Its market share was around 71 percent during that time in 2025. Safari was the closest internet browser to Chrome, with a mere 14 percent of the market in Asia.

In March 2024, Google Chrome accounted for almost 63 percent of the market for mobile internet browsers in France. Apple's Safari browser followed, with a 27 percent market share, while Samsung Internet ranked third with a market share of approximately 5.5 percent.

In 2025, Google Chrome was the most used browser in Puerto Rico, concentrating around 47 percent of the internet traffic. Second place was held by Apple's Safari, with a market share of 38 percent. Moreover, Microsoft Edge ranked third with 7 percent of the market share.

As of 2023, Google Chrome was the most popular internet browser in Canada, controlling over half of the overall market with about 50 percent. The company's major competitor is Apple’s Safari browser which accounts for an additional 33 percent of the market share. The market’s distant third tier of competitors include Firefox, Edge and Samsung Internet, each of which account for between three and seven percent of the overall market.

Web broswers

Since its initial release in 2008, Google Chrome has become the most popular web browser in the world by a significant margin. While Safari is certainly a legitimate competitor in the U.S. market due to the massive popularity of Apple devices, Chrome’s worldwide market share is close to 64 percent, placing the product in a league of its own. In addition, Google browser products account for three of the top five most widely used browser versions in the world, with Chrome for Android, Chrome 91.0, and Chrome 90.0 all making the list.

Shift towards mobile

Smartphones have overtaken traditional desktop computers as the most popular way to access the internet in many parts of the world, and tech giants such as Samsung and Apple have used their smartphone hardware as a platform to encourage the use of their mobile web browsers. Each iPhone comes pre-loaded with Apple’s Safari set as its default internet browser, meaning that consumers have become increasingly comfortable with the platform without having to specifically seek it out themselves.

In 2021, there were an estimated 3.2 billion internet users worldwide using Chrome as their main browser. Whereas the second most popular internet browser worldwide was Safari with a little over 576 million users, highlighting the drastic difference between the number of internet users for Chrome and Safari.

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, Google was the most popular internet browser in South Korea with a market share of around 54 percent. Following were Samsung Internet and Apple's Safari with a market share of around 15 and 12 percent respectively.

In 2024, Chrome had a majority of the market share of web browsers in Portugal with almost 68 percent. Ranked second was Safari with a market share of 13.62 percent, followed by Edge which had about eight percent.

Chrome had the largest share in the web browser market in Poland in 2023. Opera recorded over 11 percent market share, and Safari reached over 10 percent of the web browser market. The web browser market in Poland The number of people using the Internet in Poland is steadily growing. In 2023, Poland recorded 30 million internet users. Almost 60 percent of them used the internet through smartphones, and nearly every second Pole used desktop computers for this purpose. Google Chrome browsers are the most popular among Polish internet users. In 2023, nearly 58 percent of Poles used Chrome browser on desktop devices, and almost 76 percent used it on mobile devices. Operating systems and applications for mobile devices in Poland The most popular operating system on mobile devices in Poland in 2022 was Android. Phones with Android operating system have been the most common choice of phone users for several years. This system, supported by Google, allows access to commonly used services such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, or YouTube. In 2023, as many as five applications in the top ten most popular mobile apps were owned by Google. In addition to Google applications, YouTube, Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp were also very popular.