Most Linux users will be familiar with the Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox web browsers. As good as they are, these aren’t the only two browsers available. There are so many other browsers available for Linux, and it’s important to give them all at least a solid try. You’ll learn here about three alternative web browsers for Linux.
1. Opera
Opera Software’s browsers are used by some 350 million users to access the Internet from a wide range of platforms including PCs, smartphones and tablets. The native Linux version is primarily available as a Snap, which is probably the simplest way to install it.
Otherwise, you can go to the Downloads page and download a .deb or a .rpm file and let it open in your software center of choice, which will install the package for you.
Opera offers a range of interesting features, including Speed Dial, which lets you see your most visited sites on the new tab page, and Opera Link, which lets you store your bookmarks, Speed Dial sites and passwords so that you can access them on any of your computers and devices running Opera.
2. Brave
Brave is a fiercely privacy-focused browser that pulls no punches on performance, either. It’s based on Chrome, but it pulls out all of the tracking and syncing features in favor of privacy. It’s similar to Firefox in that there are advanced tracker blockers, but there’s also built-in ad blocking and the ability to open a private window using Tor, the browser that allows for complete anonymity when paired with a VPN.
To install Brave, simply go to the Downloads page and copy/paste the commands. It’s just adding a repository, importing GPG keys, and installing the browser. For my Fedora system, I used the following commands:
I like Brave’s methods over Opera’s because of the repository setup. That way, you get updates sent to you through the repository, so when you run an apt upgrade or a dnf update, you get the newest version of Brave.
3. Midori
Midori is a lightweight and fast web browser that tries to do as much as possible with limited resources. The features are relatively limited, much like the other popular WebKit browser Safari, but what it lacks in features it makes up for in sheer performance. You can install it on Linux via the Software Center or by using the command line:
You can also install Midori as a Snap or Flatpak:
Midori uses WebKit at its heart, the same HTML-rendering engine as Apple’s Safari browser, and many versions of Google Chrome. This means it is fully HTML5-compatible and passes the Acid3 browser test 100 percent. It has features like tabbed browsing, privacy browsing and the ability to restore recently-closed tabs. Interestingly, it uses DuckDuckGo as its default search engine; however, you can easily set Google or Yahoo as the default if you so desire.
If you have used other browsers on Linux, please share your experiences in the comments below. You may even prefer some other browsers that you probably have not heard of. If you struggle with a slow browser, check out these tips to speed up your browser.
John is a young technical professional with a passion for educating users on the best ways to use their technology. He holds technical certifications covering topics ranging from computer hardware to cybersecurity to Linux system administration.
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