According to data published by Statcounter, as, the market for desktop web browsers turned around in March Microsoft Edge overtook Safari become the world’s second largest market share. Meanwhile, Chrome is still leading by a long way and Firefox can’t get out of the pit.

You already know that browsers are one of the most important groups of software on any personal computer. We use them daily for web access (and other features) and for its promoters they are the key to increasing their revenue through a huge internet advertising pie.

Web browsers, quota in March

Market share data from consultants is not a “word of God” and they can vary quite a bit depending on who publishes them, depending on the methodology used. Netmarketshare was one of the most reliable and most used, but unfortunately we were left without its statistics. With regard to the above, we comment on the Statcounter data, which at least help us evaluate trends.

Google Chrome. Unstoppable because it has surpassed Internet Explorer, it remains at the forefront of the segment with a huge gap. In addition, Google’s influence on the Internet is even greater than that of Chrome, because it is also responsible for Chromium, an open source project on which other browsers are based and thus control dominant technologies. The share above 67% in March confirms that it is unattainable for the rest. There is no indication that the situation will change in the short term.

Microsoft Edge. The Redmond company managed to make its best browser thanks to the use of Chromia. A controversial decision to recognize a competitor’s strengths (and increase its strength), but within the quota works. This month and for the first time, Edge overtook Safari in second place, approaching a 10% stake. As we said, this is a development of guarantees that does not require Microsoft to use tricks in Windows that are disrespectful to users in order to improve its use, although this undoubtedly helps.

apple-safari. Those from Cupertino have a huge impact on almost everything they touch, but this is not the case with web browsers. It is very difficult to see Windows or Linux users using Safari and its market share is limited to its use on the Mac. In fact, its market share is virtually copies of their personal computers, at 9.57% in March.

Mozilla Firefox. The only open source development among the big ones is still in decline, with a market share below its quality and what it represents in terms of privacy. With the first two (Chrome and Edge) using Chromium, Firefox will find it very difficult to return. Although its share of 7.57% is still current and it maintains a group of loyalists who do not intend to lose, it has fallen a lot in the last year and the trend is negative.

Opera. “The first of the rest” in web browsers, where we can also find Vivaldi or Brave. They are all interesting, but they are still in a specific niche and it will be difficult for them to gain market share. The share variations of Opera are minimal and in March it occupied 2.81%.

We’ll leave it there. Until NetMarketShare returns, we will not have reliable data on the share of web browsers or operating systems, although Statcounter data helps us track this trend. This is on desktops, because the presence of Edge and Firefox in mobility is practically negligible and Safari Mobile has a high share thanks to the presence of iPhone and iPad. What does not change is the dominance of Chrome on all platforms.