Loads of Mac house owners use Google Chrome as their net browser, and personally, I don’t get it. For Apple followers, it looks like a complete disconnect to not use Safari vs. Chrome.
For starters, Apple markets its merchandise as privacy-forward and seamlessly built-in with one another. And the online browser is a vital part of your laptop, whether or not we’re speaking Mac, iPhone or iPad. You’ve gotten loads to achieve by utilizing Safari on all of your gadgets.
However take a look at the numbers: Apple’s net browser Safari solely captures 18% of the market, a distant second to Google’s Chrome. Right here’s my try to sway it the opposite method — the highest 5 causes I exploit Safari as an alternative of Chrome.
Safari vs. Chrome: 5 causes to make use of Apple’s net browser
You possibly can watch my listing within the following video:
Desk of contents: 5 causes to make use of Safari vs. Chrome
No. 1: Safari vs. Chrome: Reminiscence and efficiency
Chrome is a infamous energy drain and reminiscence hog. In case you have a MacBook Air with the bottom 8GB of reminiscence, your Mac might be affected by utilizing Chrome. The extra reminiscence Chrome takes up, the much less that’s out there for every little thing else in your laptop.
If one app is taking on an excessive amount of reminiscence, different apps get pushed out, and that may considerably decelerate your Mac. And it’s truly not simply the Chrome app itself — apps like Spotify, Discord and Slack are constructed on Chrome expertise, too. (We put collectively a submit on how one can swap these to Safari net apps if you happen to’re operating macOS Sonoma or later.)
As a result of Apple makes the browser and the pc, and now even the processor, they’re all designed to work higher collectively. The Safari workforce additionally sticks to a strict rule that any and all new options can solely make the browser run quicker, by no means slower. After 20 years of incremental enhancements, Apple’s inner testing reveals Safari hundreds pages as much as 50% quicker than Chrome.
No. 2: Safari means fewer advertisements and extra privateness
Picture: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
I exploit AdGuard for common net searching and Vinegar for YouTube, so I virtually by no means see advertisements. Google, an organization that makes a good portion of its income from promoting advertisements, finds this troubling.
Chrome’s extension system closely restricts advert blockers, and a YouTube experiment final 12 months blocked the video participant when advert blockers have been enabled. Moreover, in an effort to goal folks to promote these advertisements, Google tracks your each transfer on the web.
Safari, alternatively, retains your information completely personal and safe. Safari blocks cookies that monitor customers throughout the web and returns faux information wherever it could possibly to scale back machine fingerprinting. And better of all, these privateness options are all turned on by default.
Even higher, if you happen to pay for iCloud, you’ll be able to activate iCloud Non-public Relay, which successfully acts as a VPN for all of your searching inside Safari. And Safari’s new Cover Distracting Objects characteristic in macOS Sequoia and iOS/iPadOS 18 enables you to zap advertisements, popups and different annoying bits from net pages. They disappear in a satisfyingly animated cloud of digital mud.
No. 3: Sync every little thing throughout all of your Apple gadgets
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Safari syncs all your tabs utilizing iCloud. That hyperlink somebody despatched you in your iPad you’ll be able to’t discover? That vital web site you left open in your Mac? You possibly can convey all of it up out of your iPhone.
You possibly can even shut tabs from different gadgets, too. Excellent-click or long-tap on the tab and hit Shut Tab. So from my Mac, I can clear up the junk that builds up on my iPhone.
Be sure to have this seen in your New Tab web page — scroll down and faucet Edit, be certain that iCloud Tabs is turned on (and perhaps flip off a few of that different litter when you’re at it).
No. 4: Safari vs. Chrome: Straightforward tab group
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Safari affords some easy-to-use instruments to maintain your tabs organized, too. You possibly can simply create Safari Tab Teams for a venture or a pastime. From the tab overview, simply faucet the menu button, faucet New Tab Group and provides it a reputation. And nonetheless, all of the tabs you might have open right here will sync throughout all of your gadgets.
Plus, you should utilize totally different tab teams as totally different profiles when you have separate searching information for work and faculty. These tab teams can have totally different units of saved passwords and information from one another, so that you don’t need to juggle between signing out and in of various accounts on a regular basis.
No. 5: Use iCloud Keychain, Apple’s built-in password supervisor
iCloud Keychain is a seamless solution to handle your passwords. Chrome affords one thing related, however the passwords you save there’ll solely be in Chrome. iCloud Keychain works inside apps and syncs throughout all of your Apple gadgets.
It even works with two-factor authentication codes. It’ll generate and auto-fill codes for you.
Plus, iCloud Keychain works with passkeys, the completely password-free system that’s slowly beginning to catch on. You possibly can signal into your Apple Account, eBay, PayPal and GitHub utilizing Face ID or Contact ID.
Whereas Apple does make an extension for utilizing iCloud Keychain in Chrome, it’s solely enabled on Home windows, or Macs operating macOS Sonoma. And it have to be manually put in in an effort to override Chrome’s password supervisor.
Extra causes it is best to use Safari vs. Chrome
There’s rather more to Safari than meets the attention. Listed here are just a few of the latest how-tos we’ve written about our favourite net browser:
We initially printed this text on Safari vs. Chrome on August 12, 2023. We up to date it with the newest data on November 15, 2024 and August 4, 2025.
