There are 5.19 billion internet users worldwide. On average, they spend 6 hours and 40 minutes on the internet. Understanding how these users interact with the internet and the medium they use can help you reach them.
The most obvious way of connecting to the internet is through a browser, specifically on the desktop. Your website can show up differently based on the browser, so it can be beneficial to know the most popular browsers and their usage.
An overview of the browser market share in 2024 can give you ideas on how to optimize for users of each browser type.
Browser Market Share 2023 -2024
Source: Statcounter
As of September 2023, Google Chrome has a market share of 63.47%, making it the most popular browser worldwide. While the browser market share changes from one month to another, Chrome’s total market share remains firmly above 60% throughout the year.
So was the case for 2022, when the browser market share for Google Chrome in December 2022 was 64.68%. In fact, the top 4 most popular browsers remain the same as last year- Google Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox in the following order.
Safari has a market share of 19.88%, while the market share of Microsoft Edge and Firefox is at 5.3% and 3.04%, respectively. As such, while there is a good amount of distance between Google Chrome and Safari, the browsers are still closer in share than Safari and Edge.
The giant market share of Safari also points towards a hefty number of iOS and MacOS users in the world. While Google Chrome is available in almost all operating systems, this is not the case for Safari, which is Apple-exclusive.
Compared to 2022, Opera has reestablished itself as the more popular browser over Samsung Internet, winning with 2.9% over 2.3%. However, Samsung Internet is actually doing better than Opera since it’s strictly a mobile and tablet browser specifically meant for Android.
A more in-depth look into browser distribution by device and country can give you a firmer understanding of user behavior.
Web Browser Market Share 2023 -2024
Source: Statcounter
Google Chrome is the most used web browser, controlling 64.31% of the desktop market. Safari is close behind at 12.46%.
When it comes to desktop browser share, Edge is closer to Safari than expected at 10.64%. Firefox is at 6.15% and Opera is at 4.08%. An unexpected entry in the desktop picture is 360 Safe at 0.62%.
Then, the unexpected global desktop market share entry of 360 Safe is easy to grasp if you note it’s developed by Qihoo. The browser is popular in China, which means lots of people are using it, even while the rest of the world is unfamiliar with it.
The more expected, Google Chrome is downloaded by 60% of internet users to their laptop or computer whether they regularly use it or not. In fact, they do have to use it regularly.
Google Chrome isn’t the most popular browser simply because it’s fast or user-friendly. The browser also connects directly to the most popular search engine – Google – and offers quicker access to YouTube, Drive, Google Meet, and other office essentials.
You can directly hop on to Gmail from Google Chrome, which is the most used email service in the world, with 1.5 billion active users.
Conversely, Safari is pretty much the go-to for anyone with an Apple device. It’s super fast on it, allows private browsing, and blocks cookies.
Microsoft edge market share 2023 -2024
The 10.64% market share of Microsoft Edge on desktops can be explained by its status as the default browser on Windows laptops. When you search on the in-built Windows search bar, it naturally takes you to results on the Edge browser.
According to Microsoft’s own claim, it’s also supposedly 112% faster than Chrome. Which brings us to Firefox, the most popular alternative for Chrome users and often preferred over Edge.
However, you won’t find Edge inside the top mobile browser list worldwide. Even on the Google Play Store, the mobile version only has over 50 million downloads, while Chrome has over 10 billion downloads.
The primary reasons Firefox users like the browser seem to fall into the following category:
- It’s customizable
- Browser history is longer than 90 days
- No extension is required to block autoplay
- Offers more privacy than Chrome.
Firefox is another browser which is not used on the mobile browser enough, though it has more downloads than Edge at 100 million.
Mobile Browser Market Share 2023-2024
Source: Statcounter
Except for the first two names, the mobile browser market share is completely different from desktop distribution. Google Chrome, as usual, gets 63.71% of the mobile traffic. Safari’s share is significantly higher on mobile, accounting for 25.84%.
The stats flip from the third name, with Samsung Internet taking 4.37% of mobile browser market share. Considering there are 1.82 billion Samsung smartphone users in the world, it’s self-explanatory.
Unfortunately, if you are not a Samsung user or even if you are, this might be your first time learning the name of the default browser. Many new Samsung users end up switching to Chrome even before trying out Samsung Internet.
Often, it’s the familiarity of Chrome after using it on other Android phones for years.
Samsung Internet has facilities like:
- Password-protected secret browsing mode
- Anti-tracker
- Video assistant.
Even so, Chrome remains the undisputable browser even in mobile market share. A huge part of it might have to do with cross-platform bookmarking options. If you bookmark something on your mobile Chrome browser, you can access it on any other device you have Chrome installed on.
This is also true for mobile Safari users, who can expect the same bookmark and reading list to show up on the Mac version of the browser or on the iPad.
Cross-platform ease is a definite consideration for most internet users, which means your website also has to be optimized for each platform.
Browser Market Share By Country 2023 -2024
Source: Similarweb
According to Similarweb, Safari is the most used browser on the mobile in North America. 63.62% of US and 52% of Canadians are Safari mobile browser users, which is given since 54.32% of North America own an iPhone.
Australia also has an overwhelming number of mobile Safari users at 56.56%, along with Saudi Arabia at 60.04%, and Sweden at 53.76%. The neighbor country, Norway, also has 50.56% Safari mobile users.
Chrome is pretty much the default mobile browser for all the other parts of the world, including South America, where 86.01% of Peruvians are Chrome mobile browser users.
Browser Market Share in India 2023 -2024
Source: Similarweb
We see a similar distribution of the mobile Chrome browser in India at 89.02%. In fact, Safari is the third most used browser in India across all platforms at 2.58%.
It’s a startlingly small share, with the distribution of Chrome browsers at 87.91%. The second most popular browser in India is Opera, at 3.5%.
A new name shows up here – UC Browser – which wins over Firefox and Edge at 2.21%. However, UC Browser is not available on the desktop. And so, when it comes to desktop browser market share in India, Edge and Firefox are at second and third positions, with 4.95% and 4.5%, respectively.
Safari owns 1.46% of the desktop Indian market, which indicates there are more iPhone or tablet users in India than Mac users. Additionally, Internet Explorer is still holding on to India at 0.12%.
And so, when you look at the mobile browser distribution in India, Opera is at 4.11%, Safari is at 2.86%, and UC browser is at 2.84%. UC browser was also the most popular mobile browser in India and Indonesia for a short while, even though it was developed by Alibaba Group.
In line with the country’s use of Android phones in general, Samsung Internet also has 1.13% of users in India. A browser which should get a special mention is KaiOS, which has 0.57% of the mobile share in India.
This is a browser for mobiles with keypads or your brick phones. It is modeled after the Firefox OS, which is open-source.
Browser Market Share in South Korea
Source: Korea Herald
Not entirely shocking, Chrome is the most used browser across all platforms in South Korea at 53.81%. However, when it comes to the second most used browser, it is Samsung Internet at 15.52%.
South Korea is the nation that built Samsung, so it being the top choice of South Koreans is no coincidence. Considering 69% of South Koreans own a Samsung smartphone, there should have been more distance from Safari, which is the third most popular browser at 15.14%.
Although, 60% of South Koreans aged 18 to 29 have overwhelmingly turned to the iPhone in recent times, which explains why Safari’s distribution is more equal. South Koreans over the age of 40 all own Samsung and use either Chrome or Samsung Internet.
The older generation likely have more Samsung Internet user as, the language support and familiarity factor is greater.
In fact, when it comes to mobile browser share in South Korea, Chrome has 40.63% of users, while Samsung Internet has 25.85% of users.
- The mobile browser market in South Korea for Safari is at 23.08%.
- Opera and Firefox have the lowest share at 0.41% and 0.23%, respectively.
- Whale Browser is the fourth most used mobile browser in South Korea at 9.04%.
It is also the fourth most used browser in South Korea across all platforms at 7.68%.
If you are wondering why you have never heard of the Whale Browser, it is because it was developed by Naver, a company with a valuation of $4.5 billion in the country. It is considered the strongest brand in South Korea, though Samsung is the most valued brand.
The browser is available in Korean and English and was released only in December 2016. The browser wasn’t available for mobile until 2018. It is a testament to Naver as a brand how quickly the browser managed to rise and would compete with Safari and Samsung Internet soon if it maintains the momentum.
Browser Market Share in China
Source: Statcounter
China is one of the few places where the desktop market share for Google Chrome is less than 50% at 36.65%. The next big desktop browser is Edge at 21.35% and 360 Safe at 19.13%.
QQ Browser, which is owned by another giant similar to Alibaba Group for 360 Safe, has 9.16% of the desktop market share. Close behind are Safari and Firefox at 3.59%.
A lot of the preference for the browsers comes down to its compatibility with the Chinese language. Both 360 Safe and QQ Browser operate with a more nuanced understanding of the language, which helps users while changing settings.
However, part of the reason 360 Safe is more used than QQ Browser might have to do with the worldwide availability of 360 Safe. Meanwhile, QQ Browser is restricted to China, with a direct connection to the QQ messaging app, which receives $45 million yearly downloads.
As for Safari, Mac users have grown in China in recent years, holding 15% of the desktop device market. Of course, using a Mac doesn’t correlate with using Safari, but it does increase the chance for those who don’t care about browsers much.
Compared to Mac users, iPhone users are more readily noticeable in China, accounting for 24% of iPhone sales worldwide. Which is reflected in the 20.15% mobile market share of Safari, making it the second most used browser.
Chrome wins favor by 55.25%, probably being used in Android and iPhone devices. UC Browser is the third most popular mobile browser at 12.55%, even though a startingly small percentage use the desktop version in China.
A huge pull of the browser is its data-saving interface, which appeals to India and Indonesia as well. You will benefit from making your website ultra-fast, regardless of which browser the user accesses it from.
Browser Market Share in Russia
Source: Statcounter
When it comes to browser market share, either language, preferred search engine, or commonly used device influences people’s decisions. Russia is no different, with Yandex Browser getting 22.34% of the market share after Chrome at 52.51%.
Since Yandex is a popular search engine in Russia, it makes sense users prefer a browser from the same company. You can think of Yandex as Russia’s Google.
Although, when it comes to tablet and mobile market share, Yandex Browser loses to Safari, which owns 21.41% and 35.16% of the market for these devices. Considering Apple owns 34% of Russia’s device market, this is expected.
Firefox only gets 5.56% of the desktop market and 0.64% of the mobile browser market. But according to Firefox’s own data, Russians log the second most hours on the browser, spending 5.5 hours daily, respectively.
Browser Market Share in the USA
Source: Statcounter
The USA, predictably, uses Chrome the most, which gets a market share of 53.22% across all platforms. However, Chrome’s rule is only limited to desktops at 59.87%.
Even then, Safari is second at 20.15%. But Safari owns the mobile and tablet market share in the USA completely at 51.54% and 38.71%, respectively. This isn’t surprising by any means, as 135.97 million people in the US own an iPhone, amounting to almost 90% of the country’s population.
At the third place for browser market share is Samsung Internet at 3.28% on the mobile and the Android browser at 25.8% on the tablet. This would make the USA one of the country with the highest amount of Android browser user, which is the default browser you get on any non-Samsung or non-Apple phone.
Browser Usage Statistics 2023 -2024
The global web browser market has a forecast of $1 trillion by 2032. However, almost 60% of it is carried by Google, a company with a valuation of $1.7 trillion.
There is no other browser which seamlessly integrates with every app. The browser can take you to the business page, shopping page, Google Sheets, Google News, etc., with two clicks.
Google, specifically, wins over Edge by offering its version of Microsoft Office suite in the form of Google Docs and Google Slides, but making it online. Yet, these tools still offer offline savings.
And so, Google Chrome’s popularity isn’t only the result of the search engine but its fusion with all other services.
Meanwhile, Safar’s market share seems to come mostly from its status as the default Apple device. While the browser can be as intuitive as Google Chrome, there is a learning curve users have to get through first. Safari is also unavailable for Windows and Android, limiting its use all over the world.
Microsoft Edge, which only has 5.3% of the global market share, is still used by 262 million people, as well. This indicates an overlap of browser users. In fact, there is a possibility a user might be working with Safari and Chrome on the same device, depending on whichever is convenient.
Final Thoughts
It’s a given you should test your website for Chrome and Safari on mobile, desktop, and tablet. However, this does not mean you should ignore Edge, Firefox, or UC Browser.
Each one of these has a particular market, often influenced by the region. This is more the case for monolingual countries such as China, Russia, and South Korea, where they have specific browsers.
If you plan to expand your business to any of these regions or you already have, you should optimize for the browser and the default search engine for these browsers.
FAQ
What are the 5 most popular web browsers?
The five most popular browsers for the past 5 years have been consistently Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox. Samsung Internet and Opera changing spots to take fifth place every year.
What is the most popular browser in the world?
Google Chrome is the most popular browser in the world, with a market share of 63% across all platforms globally and over 10 billion downloads on the Play Store. As of September 2023, Google Chrome has 3.2 billion internet users.
What is the most popular web browser in the world?
Google Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world, with a 64.27% market share. Safari is the second most popular web browser, with 576 million internet users.