Browsers may not seem like complicated pieces of software but the fast and accurate translation of web data into attractive visual representations that we refer to as ‘websites’ is a difficult task. These ‘windows to the web’ are often built in different ways and this has a significant impact on the energy they consume while in use.
Overall performance
The website Greenspector has published a study showing where and how modern web browsers use energy. The overall rankings convey some surprising findings with the lesser-known Vivaldi browser performing best, followed by two equally rare browsers Firefox Preview and DuckDuckGo – both mainly suited for mobile devices. The well known browser Chrome, built by Google, sits in the centre of the overall rankings, beside Opera. Much further down the rankings we see Edge (which is built on the V8 engine) and then last place goes to Firefox. We should note that the Safari browser was not included in this study.
Energy usage
In order to work out which browser is most carbon efficient we need to look directly at energy consumption rankings. In the ‘Overall Energy Consumption’ list from Greenspector we find browsers in a slightly different order. Ecosia (mobile-only), Opera, and Vivaldi browsers perform best in this category. These are followed by Chrome , which again does well but not well enough to be placed in the top five. Edge built by Microsoft is to be found, well, near the edge again between the herd of well-performing browsers and the few that consume much more energy. The worst-performing browser for energy consumption is Firefox, which consumes about twice as much energy while browsing as Vivaldi and Opera.
Our conclusion
Everyone has their browser preferences, but why not try out one of the better-performing browsers and give your carbon footprint a wee improvement? We will certainly be giving Vivaldi and Opera another look.