Brave vs Chrome – Which one’s better and faster?

Brave vs Chrome – A small introduction 

When Brave browser joined the market, many viewed it as a significant threat to Google Chrome. The browser is safe, fast, secure and crypto friendly – which Chrome isn’t so much. According to developers, Brave is trying to fix the internet. They introduced a system that block ads and ad trackers by default, eliminating the need of ad block extensions. These capabilities make Brave a candidate for mass adoption .Due to the unusual model by Brave, many viewed the browser as the next Chrome. Chrome is feature packed with fun extensions. The browser keeps your digital life organized across multiple devices.  By November 2018, Chrome enjoyed a market share of over 50%. By October 2018, Brave browser surpassed the four million active user mark.  According to Netmarketshare, Chromium – the engine that Brave’s build on – have 0.15% market domination. Clearly, there are more browsers under Chromium – so that puts Brave under the 0.1% mark.

The future of Brave is bright though. By January 2019, Brave Browser passed 5.5 million active users. The speed of the browser increased with 22% since 2018 and the Android app passed 10 million downloads. The earnings of the publishers increased 7 times in 2018 and there are now over 28,000 verified publishers that are supporting Brave – including a lot of Youtube channels and Twitch streamers. Here is a comparison between the two browsers that have been projected to fight for dominance in the market.

Brave was created by Brendan Eich, the creator of JavaScript programming language and the co-founder of Mozilla project, Mozilla Foundation and basically Mozilla’s Firefox. He created Brave because Microsoft Edge, Chrome and Firefox were too focused on speed tests and traditional advertising and not focusing on users. That’s what Brendan Eich made different and neither Chrome and Firefox thought of it.

Even thought Brave is build on Chromium, the company behind it is  Brave software. Meaning that its not actually a chrome browser, but a completely new one with better perks made by the Brave team. Download Brave and test for yourself. As a Chrome browser user, it took me 3 days to change Brave to my default browser.

Security

The Brave browser is natively secure with ad blocking, and  HTTPS Everywhere. Most users tend to trust Brave because it does not require third-party extensions to guarantee browsing security. A Brave user is allowed to chose what data to delete at the end of a browsing session. That is derived from blocking fingerprinting attempts and scripts from loading.  Users have numerous ways to customize their browsing experience to be secure. Brave does not also support many third-party add-ons. Extra extensions might be annoying to some users. This capability ensures that no malicious extensions compromise the user’s security. This is also an issue on the other hand, as some extensions are really useful for day-to-day activities. On the other hand, Google Chrome takes the lead on browser security. Google automatically updates Chrome to the latest version for users to enjoy improved security updates. Chrome also frequently scans for any malicious downloads. Google Chrome also enjoys one of the highest browser scope security test scores. They’ve been has been calling on hackers to detect vulnerabilities in Chrome so that its engineers can improve in case of any loopholes. Its browser security is undisputed. Brave Browser have a lot to work on the security part, but they’re on the right path for now. From the security’s point of view, we think that Brave still has a lot to do. Between brave vs chrome, we’d chose Chrome on this part as it offer a safer environment for browsing – but still, its extensions can be hurtful. Below we’ll explain why Brave is also a good choice if you want to get rid of the extensions.

Another point of view on security

But, if we think about the Google Chrome’s in-built password manager and how easily you can save those externally – we can’t say that your data is really that secured there. Same with your history or bookmarks. This huge flaw by Google is something that doesn’t happen on Brave. In fact, if you want an password autocomplete – you can install 1Password  – that works on Brave, Vivaldi, Opera and the best thing is that you don’t need to trust a browser with all your data.

Even though both Brave and Vivaldi are Chrome rivals built on the Chromium engine – they are gaining new users on a daily basis. And Chrome doesn’t really like that. The problem with Vivaldi right now is that the browser is still having a few issues. Plus, it lacks a decent mobile application. The Chromium engine allows Brave to have a better security than Chrome on the extensions part.

Scammers are building extensions to access certain information from the larger audience. And most of them – they build it for Chrome. Chrome is where the large audience here – so they don’t bother making it available for Chromium. This way, only good and trusted apps reach there. Apps that are probably verified prior by Google and their team. But, careful on this one – as once you install an extension, there are some privileges that you offer them. One of them might be to ” read and change all your data on the websites you visit” or others.

The fact that Brave users can now install chrome extensions is a double edged sword, as the security is also in the hands of the user and it depends on whatever chrome extensions he picks to install.  Any of the password managers  chrome extensions should be picked very careful, as some of them can be scams. Be sure to double check the web store and verify their reviews, the number of users, how long does the company operate and so on. Or, the simple way – don’t use any password managers. Privacy

Brave has some unique feature to guarantee confidentiality while browsing. The default ad blocker inhibits tracking of your online activities. Also, the ability, to secure unencrypted sites with HTTPS enhances privacy while browsing. In the next upgrade, Brave is expected to release private tabs similar to Chrome’s incognito. The tabs will use Tor to prevent any unsecured connection.

The use of Basic Attention token (BAT) ensures users anonymously support their favorite websites. When it comes to privacy, there are some points of concern with Google Chrome. Chrome provides pop-up blocker extensions alongside with the ability of users to send a “Do Not Track” request along with the browser traffic.

However, we cannot ignore the fact Google makes millions through knowing a user’s activity online. Google Chrome provides features to beat this system. At the same Chrome is used to learn more about a user and later to monetize the details. Chrome also supports a wide range of extensions that enhance your privacy information. Additionally, we can’t tell what is hidden in the Chrome code because it is a closed source browser.

To beat this problem, Google released an opens sourced Chrome version. We tend to believe that on the privacy part, Brave browser clearly wins – as their model is better for someone focused on privacy. Moreover, the team is currently working into a Tor integration and opened an research office in London to see the possible implementations of SpeedReader and AdGraph.

At thig point, Brave browser became my default browser.

Cryptocurrency Friendly

Brave browser supports cryptocurrencies with an inbuilt Basic Attention Token (BAT) wallet. The wallet can be loaded using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Users can use the wallet to donate to their favorite websites or for other types of transactions. Under Brave’s business model, users get paid in BAT for viewing ads from the Brave ad network. The model’s not live, yet, but it plans to be this year. Google Chrome does not support cryptocurrencies natively. However, it supports cryptocurrency related extensions. Recently, Google announced that it was banning all crypto mining extensions on Chrome. According to Google, there was a rise in the number of malicious extensions in the web store. The malicious extensions were using computer resources without the consent of the user. Even though Google is not so crypto friendly, there are a lot of extensions that works on Google Chrome regarding cryptocurrencies – such as Metamask. Brave Browser however is mostly used by people that are in a technical field or cares deeply about their privacy.

Ads and Ad Blocking

If you don’t like ads, you are safe with Brave browser. The brave browser has an inbuilt ad and tracker blocker. The blocker inhibits trackers from learning more about a user for monetization purposes. As seen earlier, the default ad block enhances Brave’s browsing speed.  It is important to note that Brave does not block ads that occur in search results. With Google Chrome, you can install ad block extension in you loathe ads. However, ad blockers on Google Chrome are not 100% reliable. For extensions like Adblock Plus, you can see adverts due to a partnership with Google. Additionally, Google Chrome is only blocking ads that do not adhere to the Better Ads Standards.

Same goes for Youtube, which have more ads than never. Brave’s model regarding ads and the fact that they don’t collect data for monetization purposes clearly wins this part. Moreover, Google Chrome announced that in the future – they will not offer support for adblockers. So what does this means? Basically, certain adblockers won’t work anymore. A lot of ads would start to appear and Google won’t do nothing to stop this. Because that’s how they make a lot of money. Brave has a better model on this one and certainly one that fits users better for the long term. On this part, its easy to see who’s the winner between brave vs chrome.

Blocking ads and trackers

While Chrome relies on traditional advertising, ad tracking, google ads and who knows – knowing your personal info and whatever you want, maybe? – Brave block ads. Brave is known for blocking 3rdparty ads, blocking ads and trackers and basically creating a new way of online advertising.

With Brave browser – your personal info is your own and that’s the reason why I’ve picked Brave browser in the first place. Compared to Chrome, they cannot sell my personal info – as they don’t have it.  Ad tracking with Brave is only available if you chose to be, and users can choose if they want that or not. Google ads on the other side, they make their money from online advertising and users personal info.

As someone focused on privacy, I download Brave as a test. I was basically searching for a browser not to sell my personal info, to pass certain speed tests and to have a dark mode ( which Brave have since its 1.4.0 version). Brave’s initiative of focusing on user and not on profit made them a successful company that can fight with Microsoft edge, chrome and Firefox. Their program where users can see ads is called Brave rewards

Brave rewards

So, what exactly are brave rewards and how does it work?

If you download brave and test it out – you’ll see that Brave has multiple options such as:

A) blocking ads and trackers and not seeing any ad at all

B) Viewing Brave ads

Wait, hold on. Are they the same as Mozilla’s Firefox or Apple’s Safari?
Yes and no. The thing that makes Brave browser different is the genius mind of Brendan Eich who thought that users can choose if they want ads or not. Focusing on user, creating a different way of advertising. Compared to Chrome’s traditional advertising, Brave ads actually rewards the user for seeing ads.

Yes, brave block ads – but they can also reward you if you pick to watch them. Another thing that Brave implemented is: users pay websites. Like Twitch or any other streaming platform – users can set up a monthly donation or a one time one to the website that they like surfing. The fact that users pay websites whenever they want using BAT was a game changer for Brave browser.

Of course, you won’t make a fortune by seeing ads. A normal USA user earns between $100 and $200 per year from Brave browser. But how do they afford it?

Brave distribute Brave rewards in BAT – their cryptocurrency. Whenever an advertiser purchases Brave ads – a portion of it goes to the company and one goes to the user. For each user that sees an ad, Brave needs to buy BAT and send it to him as a reward. Of course, that’s paid from the profit obtained from advertisers. But still, its a nice way to reward brave users and focusing on user and not on profit made a difference. This is a bit like traditional advertising, but you get paid if you want to see ads. Easy as that. But this picture explains it better

RAM Usage

Brave is built on Chromium, so it uses a bit of memory.  But not as much as Chrome. Chrome is known to eat up a lot of memory. The browser splits each tab, plugin and extension into its own process. The RAM usage is higher because Google Chrome duplicates some tasks for every tab. The Brave Software solved a bit of this problem and improved the Brave browser.

However, this functionality makes things convenient. Furthermore, the Chrome pre-rendering feature also uses a lot of memory. Some extensions can leak memory which ends up uncleaned. Over time it causes high RAM usage. From the RAM usage’s point of view, Brave might be better. Another point for it in the brave vs chrome comparison. In the Firefox vs Brave duel for RAM usage, Brave won as well.

Speed

The Brave browser is fast. The browser’s impressive speeds are due to lack of default lack of third party ads. It means that we have less content to be downloaded before a webs page is accessed. Brave is also developed on the Chromium system to enhance performance based on speed. Contrary to popular belief, Brave is not eight times faster than Google Chrome. Brave is faster, but it trails Chrome when it comes to rendering speed.

Even if Brave might be a bit slow on certain websites, the team is working hard to make Brave the fastest browser there is. Another factor is that Brave certainly loads some websites faster than Chrome. According to a research made by their team, the brave browser is close to 8 times more faster than Chrome. But that might be a bit exaggerated. The browser is faster on some websites because the ads are blocked. And example can be saw in the video below:

Speed tests lately show a massive improvement in Brave’s speed. Its way better than Microsoft Edge one and perhaps the same with the Mozilla’s Firefox one.

Conclusion

Brave is an exciting project. The browser is gaining popularity due to its ability to address privacy and security concerns. Additionally, it can provide an avenue for monetization.

Blocking 3rdparty ads, having a beautiful designed dark mode and being made by Brave software team are all amazing perks for Brave. Brave is built by people, for people. You can see ads, don’t see it at all, or support your favorite website. With Brave, the ball is in your field.

However, there is still a lot of ironing to be done. On the hand, Chrome still dominates the market. Chrome supports a majority of websites that usually crash on other browsers.

Chrome’s wide range of extensions enhances the browsing experience, but might hurt privacy. It all depends on what the user wants. Speed, a lot of extensions and casual browsing? Google Chrome. Crypto friendly browser, decent speed and Privacy? Brave Browser.

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