Chrome vs. Safari on Mac: Why Google’s browser wins for me

Safari on the Mac feels a lot faster to use than Google Chrome. It is also more battery efficient and takes fewer resources. Yet, I prefer using Google Chrome on my MacBook.

Despite its faults, Google Chrome trumps Safari in many key aspects. There’s a reason why Google’s browser is the most popular choice worldwide.

Why I use Chrome instead of Safari on my Mac

Safari is my preferred browser when using an iPhone or iPad. But on my Mac, I stick to Google Chrome. As a writer, I heavily rely on a web browser for my work, accessing Google Drive and researching multiple articles at a time. I typically have around 10 or 20 tabs opened across multiple windows. So, a stable browser is important for my work, as an unwanted crash can lead to me losing a hours of work.

Safari on Mac offers certain advantages, but overall it is not as good as Google Chrome. Here’s why.

1. Vast library of extensions

One of Google Chrome’s strengths is its expansive library of extensions, which enable advanced functionality for specific uses. There are hundreds of thousands of Chrome extensions. Many of them can speed up your workflow or help with research work.

While Safari on Mac supports extensions, the selection remains relatively limited. Extensions for popular apps and services like 1Password, Todoist, Grammarly and Notion are available. However, if you rely on a specialized Chrome extension for research or other niche tasks, it’s unlikely to be available on Safari.

2. Chrome provides a more stable experience

Despite being a memory hog, one of the key reasons I prefer Google Chrome over Safari is stability. Apple’s browser tends to slow down or crash when dealing with heavy pages or websites with memory leaks. In comparison, Chrome easily handles such pages, rarely crashing.

I don’t remember when Google’s browser last crashed on my Mac because of a rouge website or tab, despite using at least six or seven extensions. Safari crashed on me multiple times in the last few months, and I lost all my work.

Another advantage of Chrome is that Google frequently updates it with new features and bug fixes. In comparison, Safari only receives a handful of updates throughout the year.

3. Deep Google integration

I rely heavily on Google services in my daily life. Gmail handles all my emails, while Google Drive helps me manage and work on office documents. I use Google Photos to back up all the photos and videos I capture and manage my ever-growing image library. For navigation directions, I prefer Google Maps to Apple Maps.

Since Chrome is a Google product, it neatly integrates with other Google services. I can log into Chrome with my Google account, instantly syncing all my history, bookmarks, open tabs and more from other devices. This also automatically signs me into YouTube, Google Search and other Google services.

I also enabled the Web & App Activity option, allowing Google to use my Chrome history to provide a personalized, superior experience in its other services.

Safari on Mac features iCloud Syncing, so my history, passwords and bookmarks from other devices are synced to a new device. However, it does not offer the same level of integration with Google services as Chrome.

4. Better compatibility

Google Chrome is the world’s most popular browser, with a market share of more than 60%. Thanks to its popularity, nearly all web developers and website owners optimize their online properties for Chrome. This means you are less likely to run into compatibility or rendering problems with websites.

That’s not the case with Safari. I frequently run into rendering problems with websites while using Apple’s web browser on my Mac. Admittedly, this only happens when visiting smaller, lesser-known sites. Still, this can hinder my web browsing experience and negatively affect my work.

Where Safari trumps Google Chrome on Mac

Google Chrome is not perfect, though. I still use Safari on my Mac in certain cases.

1. Battery efficient

All of Google Chrome’s benefits come at the price of battery life. The browser is not as efficient as Safari. Google Chrome can single-handedly reduce the battery life of my 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip by three or four hours.

When I’m traveling and know I’ll be away from a power source for an extended period, I switch to Safari because it is more efficient. It is much less resource-hungry and does not negatively impact my MacBook’s battery life as much as Chrome. This is despite Google rolling out multiple Chrome updates over the last few years to reduce its RAM and power usage. More recently, Google even introduced a feature in Chrome to shame resource-hogging tabs.

2. Privacy-friendly

Safari is a no-brainer if you value your privacy and don’t want any company to go through your browsing history and activity. It also provides a better cross-site tracking tool, preventing sites from logging your browsing behavior on other websites.

I prefer using Safari for sensitive work, where privacy is more critical than extensions and expansive features. Admittedly, I’d love for Google Chrome to take the same privacy-focused approach as Safari. But that’s unlikely to happen.

Safari even ships with a handy Distraction Control feature in macOS Sequoia and iOS 18, enabling you to hide unwanted elements from a webpage.

3. Superior Apple integration

Safari on macOS Sequoia feels much faster than Google Chrome. As a first-party Apple app, it also looks and behaves like a native app, unlike Chrome. Benchmarks might suggest Chrome is faster at loading websites, but Safari trumps Google’s browser in overall smoothness — at least on the Mac.

Another advantage of Safari is how neatly it integrates with Apple services like Apple Pay, iCloud Keychain and AirPlay. On Mac, you can authenticate payments on websites using Apple Pay in Safari using Touch ID. With macOS Sequoia, Apple expanded Apple Pay support to third-party browsers, though it is not yet widely implemented.

Similarly, native iCloud Keychain integration means quick access to all your saved login details. You also can use Face ID on your iPhone to authorize Apple Pay purchases. Likewise, Safari on Mac can autofill OTPs (one-time passcodes) that I receive on my iPhone.

However, these benefits only apply if you rely on Apple’s services. Since I depend more on Google services, these integrations do not benefit me much.

Chrome or Safari: The best Mac browser is the one that fits your needs

Both Google Chrome and Safari are great browsers. You can’t go wrong with either of them. However, Apple’s browser tends to struggle with heavy usage, often crashing or struggling with memory leaks. In comparison, Chrome handles such cases better, though this comes at the expense of battery life, resource usage and privacy.