In June, we published a guide comparing the performance of popular browsers available on Windows. The article allows you to determine which browser offers the best performance and compare its strengths and weaknesses with the competition. It’s time to focus on energy efficiency, another important aspect of modern scanners. After all, what’s the point of using a fast browser if it’s going to drain your laptop’s battery in a few hours?

Four browsers entered the competition: Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Vivaldi. Our test machine is a relatively inexpensive HP laptop with the following specifications:

We tried to find the most energy-efficient browser by running two tests: looping a 1080p YouTube video and refreshing two “heavy” websites every 60 seconds (constant refresh with caching). For extra effort to simulate how the average user browses the web, we enabled sync across all four browsers, added a few extensions, and disabled ad blockers.

the important thing : Results may vary slightly depending on software and hardware configuration.

Test 1 – YouTube at 1080p

Surprisingly, Chrome showed the best power efficiency while playing YouTube, lasting 6 hours 57 minutes. Vivaldi finished second with almost the same time of 6 hours 56 minutes.

While Microsoft Edge uses Chromium like Chrome and Vivaldi, it showed significantly worse battery performance when playing YouTube at 5 hours 59 minutes. The one hour difference is a significant blow for Edge, and it may force users to consider other browsers to get the best battery life for media consumption. Being able to watch one or two more episodes of your favorite show is no joke.

With all that said, Edge didn’t give up so easily. Microsoft’s browser has a built-in productivity mode that reduces CPU usage to save battery life. This helped Edge gain an extra 25 minutes and proved that Productivity Mode wasn’t just a marketing gimmick. 25 minutes may not seem impressive, but overall it’s a good result.

Finally, Firefox finished with 5 hours and 27 minutes of YouTube playback, proving once again that developers optimize their websites and services primarily for Chromium-based browsers. Unfortunately, in addition to lower performance, Firefox users have to deal with lower energy efficiency.

note : Firefox chose AV1 while Chrome, Edge, and Vivaldi used the VP9 codec.

Test 2 – “Internet surfing simulator”

Vivaldi took first place with a solid 6 hours 27 minutes (spoiler: it didn’t last long). Unlike the previous test, Chrome took second place with 5 hours and 48 minutes. Edge came in at 5 hours 31 minutes, while Firefox came in last with just 4 hours and 43 minutes.

Then Microsoft Edge rolled out the placeholder template for productivity mode. The scanner has significantly increased battery life and gained over an extra hour. The performance mode allowed Edge to beat the competition and finish first, 8 minutes ahead of Vivaldi. Pretty impressive result.

Solution

vivaldi If you need a browser that offers consistent battery life compared to its competitors and doesn’t require power saving modes to be enabled, it may be your best bet. Also, Vivaldi is a privacy-focused browser that doesn’t use Google’s data analytics probes or conflicting APIs.

Average overall performance Chromium Another proof of why it is the most popular browser. Chrome offers best-in-class performance and compatibility along with satisfactory battery life. You can’t fault Chrome, but you can improve battery life in Vivaldi without sacrificing compatibility.

Microsoft Edge It surprised us in a negative way, but it paid off with a productivity regimen. However, users should be aware that using performance mode results in slightly lower performance, which is noticeable on certain websites.

Related FirefoxIf you want a browser with the best battery life, you should probably look elsewhere. Firefox is a good browser on its own, but it can’t keep up with the Chromium alternatives and excellent power efficiency.