{"slug":"chrome-vs-safari","question":"Chrome vs Safari: It Depends on Use","answer":"It depends on the devices you actually use. Pick Safari when you stay on Apple devices and want Intelligent Tracking Prevention on by default, and pick Chrome when you also need Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, or Android. Safari extensions come from the App Store, and Chrome extensions come from the Chrome Web Store on desktop. Apple says Safari is up to 5 hours longer than Chrome for streaming video. That figure is Apple's August 2026 test, labelled as Apple's claim, not a separate lab result. Neither is better for everyone.","answer_curated":true,"verdict":"Best if you stay on Apple devices: Safari. Intelligent Tracking Prevention is on by default, and extensions come from the App Store.\n\nBest if you also use Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, or Android: Chrome. A Google Account syncs bookmarks and passwords, and desktop extensions come from the Chrome Web Store.\n\nNeither is better for everyone; it depends on the use.","keyDifferences":[{"label":"Who it is for","entityAValue":"Windows, Android, Linux, or ChromeOS too","entityBValue":"Apple devices, tracking prevention on by default","winner":"tie"},{"label":"Engine","entityAValue":"Chromium","entityBValue":"WebKit","winner":"tie"},{"label":"Platforms named by the vendor","entityAValue":"Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS, Android, iPhone, iPad","entityBValue":"Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch","winner":"tie"},{"label":"Tracking protection","entityAValue":"Incognito blocks third-party cookies by default","entityBValue":"Intelligent Tracking Prevention on by default","winner":"tie"},{"label":"Sync","entityAValue":"Google Account","entityBValue":"iCloud, including Keychain","winner":"tie"}],"winner":null,"confidence":"high","entities":[{"name":"Google Chrome","slug":"chrome","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/entity/chrome","alternativesUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/alternatives/chrome"},{"name":"Safari","slug":"safari","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/entity/safari","alternativesUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/alternatives/safari"}],"faqs":[{"question":"Is Safari more private than Chrome?","answer":"Safari turns more tracking protection on before you change a setting. Apple says Intelligent Tracking Prevention is on by default, hides your IP address from trackers, and that fingerprinting defense is on by default too. Apple says Safari blocks third-party cookies from tracking you by default. Its comparison chart marks Chrome as No on that row. That cell is Apple's chart, not Google's own statement. Chrome says third-party cookies are blocked by default in Incognito, and that regular browsing lets you choose Allow or Block. It does not say regular browsing blocks them by default. Chrome describes Safe Browsing, a Privacy Guide, and Enhanced Safe Browsing that you turn on. Those descriptions are not a scored privacy ranking."},{"question":"Is Safari better for battery life than Chrome?","answer":"Apple says Safari is up to 5 hours longer than Chrome for streaming video, and up to 18 hours of video streaming. Footnote 3 says Apple ran that test in August 2026 on a 15-inch MacBook Air with an M5 chip, prerelease Safari 27.0, and Chrome v151, streaming 1080p on battery. Apple also says Safari was 35% faster on average at loading frequently visited websites than Chrome, and footnote 2 ties that line to an Apple test of 12 websites on the same kind of Mac. Those hour and speed figures are Apple's tests. Google's Chrome page names Energy Saver and Memory Saver and does not publish an hour count against Safari."},{"question":"Can I use Chrome extensions in Safari?","answer":"Not as a Chrome Web Store install. Apple says you add extensions from the Safari category on the App Store, for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Apple says you then choose whether an extension can see your information for one day, for the current website, or always. Apple says you must turn a Safari extension on and grant it permission before it can read or change pages. Chrome says desktop extensions come from the Chrome Web Store. Chrome's Manifest V2 timeline, updated 9 September 2026, says those older extensions are disabled in Chrome 138 as of 24 July 2025 and stop working on Chrome 139 and later."}],"attribution":{"source":"A Versus B","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/chrome-vs-safari","license":"CC BY 4.0","citationFormat":"According to A Versus B (https://www.aversusb.net/compare/chrome-vs-safari), It depends on the devices you actually use. Pick Safari when you stay on Apple devices and want Intelligent Tracking Prevention on by default, and pick Chrome when you also need Windows, Linux, Chrome","dateModified":"2026-09-30T00:00:00.000Z"},"relatedQuestionsUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/faq/chrome-vs-safari","relatedComparisonsUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/related/chrome-vs-safari","knowledgeGraphUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/knowledge-graph/chrome-vs-safari"}