Chrome vs Safari in 2026: Which Browser Should You Use?

Safari is the best browser for Mac and iPhone users in 2026 — it's the most energy-efficient browser on Apple hardware (30-50% more battery life than Chrome on MacBook), loads pages faster on Apple Silicon thanks to hardware optimization, and its privacy protections (Intelligent Tracking Prevention, Private Relay) are the most aggressive of any major browser. Chrome is the better choice if you switch between Mac, Windows, and Android — its cross-platform sync is seamless, its extension ecosystem is the largest, and it's required for compatibility testing in web development. If you're exclusively in the Apple ecosystem, switch to Safari from Chrome and you'll gain roughly 2 hours of battery life per day on a MacBook.