In a recent survey where we were to be limited to just one mobile app, the Internet browsers won first preference over others. These humble software applications are usually taken for granted despite their immense contribution in making the Internet come alive.

Considering that they provide a free service, how do these browsers even make money? Typically, we might assume it’s only“ad money,” but that is just one part of the overall revenue mix. This article will examine a few popular browsers and their unique approaches to revenue.

• Mozilla Firefox
• Google Chrome
• Safari
• Brave
• Microsoft Edge
• Opera
• UC Browser
• Which Web Browser is The Safest
• 10 Other Alternatives Web Browsers
• Is There a Better Browser Than Google Chrome?
• Mozilla Corporation
• Mozilla Foundation
• How does Mozilla make Money?
• How do Browsers make Money?

Mozilla Firefox

It will not surprise anyone that Mozilla Foundation does not operate as a non-profit anymore. According to one of its financial statement, the company earned $562 million in 2017. Out of this, 96 percent. or $539 million, came through search engine royalties.

Once again, Mozilla signed up with Google as its default search engine in Firefox Quantum. Although they will not disclose the exact revenue share, it is safe to assume that this deal is very important to them.

Read Also: How Does Google Get Profit by Search Engine

One might think Google practically owns Mozilla Firefox amid a possibility that it may not renew the deal in November 2020. But with Firefox users searching the web more than 100 billion times a year, it is unlikely that Google will pull the rug out from under them.

However, that doesn’t stop Google from harassing Firefox users, seeing that both browsers are still competing in the same market. In one of the examples, as this tweet shows, a user noted that Google Flights was blocked on the Firefox Android app.

In all fairness, Mozilla has tie-ups with Yandex in Russia and Baidu in China, which are more important than Google in these countries. It is also trying to diversify with Firefox Pockets and user-centric advertising and even selling ad impressions.

Google Chrome

Examining Google Chrome’s revenue is much harder since Google doesn’t list the revenue and expenses for all of its services. This means that while Google claims the browser is “an exceptionally profitable product,” the public isn’t able to verify this information.

Let’s assume, though, that the browser is profitable. How does it make money? The simple answer is the same as Mozilla Firefox. Google receives money from advertisers but, instead of paying out search royalties to other browsers, the money is transferred to the Chrome part of Google.

Google has indirect ways of making money. For starters, when people use Google Chrome, they are more likely to use a related service—Gmail, Google Apps, Google Docs, etc.—which, in turn, leads to even more usage as the company’s products are highly integrated with each other. Each time a product is used, page views go up and ad revenue increases.

Secondly, Google’s AdSense program is really interested in your data. Chrome tracks user data and uses it to improve its AdSense program. With more data, each user’s marketing profile can be better understood and ads can be better targeted to potential customers. By promising more effective ads, AdSense is able to charge a higher price for advertising than its competitors

Safari

Similar to the Firefox revenue model, Safari earns royalties from search engines, especially Google. Except, in Safari’s case, they have a greater leverage than Firefox considering that Google recently paid them $12 billion to keep using it as a default search engine.

Thanks to the hundreds of millions of iPhone and Mac users, Apple can continue to make a good deal with Google year after year, which makes Safari the richest browser after Chrome.

Brave

The Brave browser prides itself as private, secure and fast. With ad blockers and zero log policies, it is a wonderful browser to use. However, they have to earn money, too. For this, they use cryptocurrency, which they call Basic Attention Tokens (BAT).

Just like Microsoft Rewards, a user gets paid BAT units for using the service. They also have tie-ups with HTC Exodus, the first blockchain phone. Brave works with verified publishers on YouTube and Twitch as a secondary revenue source.

Microsoft Edge

Similar to Google Adwords, Microsoft Edge’s primary revenue comes from the Bing search engine. However, at a 4 percent market share, which is not likely to increase anytime soon, it is having a harder time catching up with Chrome.

Moreover, Bing ad revenue fell 7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, which means the era of stagnation is far from over. Even as Microsoft finds it impossible to beat Google at its own game, its only hope is to continue to reward users with gifts and coupons for using Bing and Edge.

Opera

One of the more modest browsers in terms of reach, Opera seems to have perfected the knowledge of how to leverage a browser profitably. With 182 million active users globally, Opera is witnessing year-on-year revenue growths of 28 to 34 percent.

While it does share Firefox’s revenue model of partnering with search engines (Yandex in Russia, Baidu in China, Google everywhere else), there are other techniques that deserve a mention.

For one, Opera has licensing deals with many websites such as Booking.com and Ebay. It also has device-level agreements with smartphone companies such as Oppo and Xiaomi, in which Opera is the main browser in the dock. It is also venturing into artificial intelligence-driven content discovery technologies.

You will notice that each browser has its own income strategies with all of them very different from the next, although some have similarities.

UC Browser

UC browser come with a default search engine(Bing). Do you think they chose this specific search engine to be their default one just because they love it?

UC browser cut deals with search engines in order to in exchange of money, the search engines will have a chance to be used by one of the users of the web browser. That way both the web browsers and the search engines make money.

So every search engine that came by default in the web browser already installed is a search engine that already cut a deal with the browser’s company or partnership.

UC browser has partnership with Microsoft’s Bing. Apart from these there are ad revenues from ads and ad based news on their UC news section. They are sponsors also and it also earns from promotions of films and music

Which Web Browser is The Safest

Enterprise cybersecurity is a holistic system that involves employing security practices at every level of use. This includes picking out the most secure application for web browsing. Consider the security features of these popular web browsers when picking yours.

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge, Windows’ current default browser, is an improvement over its predecessor Internet Explorer (IE). Edge was developed with Windows 10 integration and IE end-of-life in mind, resulting in a powerful and more efficient browser that has Cortana (Windows’ answer to Alexa and Siri) integration and Microsoft Store extensions.

Edge’s main advantage is that it is Windows 10 computers’ native browser, which means it should integrate more seamlessly with the Windows OS ecosystem in terms of power usage and data security. Its built-in security features, called the Code Integrity Guard (CIG) and the Arbitrary Code Guard (ACG), prevent malicious codes from loading into a computer’s memory.

Safari

Safari is a graphical web browser developed by Apple for its iOS, iPad OS, and macOS. The current iteration is Safari 13, which was released alongside macOS Mojave and macOS High Sierra in September 2019.

Safari 13 is highly secure, as it utilizes Safari 12’s baseline security features such as Automatic Strong Passwords and Intelligent Tracking Prevention 2.0.

These features are augmented by a built-in password strength analyzer, FIDO02 USB security key authentication support, “Sign in with Apple” support, Apple Pay capabilities, and increased speed and encryption. Its main drawback, however, is that it is only available on Apple devices, with full capabilities found only on MacBooks and Macs.

Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation. It is widely available across platforms, even on Unix and Unix-like operating systems such as FreeBSD, OpenBSD, illuminos, and Solaris Unix.

Because of Firefox’s open-source development platform, it can be quite unsecure to use on publicly accessible computers. For personal and single-user business devices, however, Firefox is relatively safe, especially once all security features are activated and tweaked to your needs.

Some key features are its “Do not track” privacy feature, phishing and malware blocking features, the Noscript Anti-XSS add-on (so you can determine which sites are allowed to execute scripts), the Noscript Anti-Clickjacking add-on (a detector that reveals invisible, malicious links and buttons), and its renowned pop-up ad blocker.

Firefox is also unique in that Mozilla has a bug bounty program, which offers a financial reward to anyone who can identify gaps and holes in Firefox code, so that it can be patched and improved as urgently as possible.

Mozilla also promises no legal action against anyone who complies in good faith under its Bug Bounty program, including any claim under the DMCA for circumventing technological measures.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. It is the default browser for Google’s line of laptops and Google Chromebooks. Chrome utilizes a process allocation model to sandbox tabs. “Sandboxing” is a security mechanism for separating running programs to keep software vulnerabilities from spreading.

Chrome also regularly updates two sets of blacklists, one for phishing and one for malware, which it uses to warn users of potentially harmful sites. It also touts site isolation and predictive phishing protection features that receive regular and critical updates every six weeks and within 24 hours of a known threat, respectively.

Being aware of how your web browser stacks up against its competitors is only half the battle. WannaCry spread to uninfected systems through a gap in the Windows security framework, and most other ransomware infections prey on human error. What your business needs is a comprehensive security audit. For more information, call us today.

10 Other Alternatives Web Browsers

Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera dominate the world’s desktop browser market. Whichever statistics you check (NetMarketshare, StatCounter’s GlobalStats or W3Counter), you’ll notice that they often contradict each other in declaring which browser is leading the race.

However, no matter which method is used to determine usage share, all sources agree that those five browsers do not own 100% of the world’s desktop browser usage.

They may be the most popular, but they are not the only options available for accessing the Internet. So, what about the remaining share? Which browsers occupy the remaining space? Let’s find out

1. Maxthon

• Operating system(s): Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android, iOS, Windows Phone
• Rendering engine(s): Trident, Blink
• Key feature(s): cross-platform, own ecosystem

Maxthon is a popular Chinese browser available for desktop and mobile platforms. It incorporates two rendering engines and packs an abundance of features, including split-screen view, a built-in proxy manager, ad-blocking and moderate acceleration of downloads.

By logging in with Maxthon Passport (analogous to a Google Account), all of your settings, tabs, extensions and passwords are synced across multiple devices.

Maxthon’s UI is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s a fresh interface for managing tabs, extensions and all of the added functionality. However, most of the extra features are available via yet another sidebar, which might be an annoyance for some users.

The RSS reader, downloads manager, note-taking app and games are not the most necessary extensions, but they can be uninstalled. Maxthon has its own extensions service, but you’re not likely to find a lot of your favorite Chrome or Firefox plugins.

Despite all of the rough edges, Maxthon is a powerful yet resource-light browser. You can monitor resource consumption in a customizable toolbar at the bottom of the window, which is a nice touch.

For cross-platform use, Maxthon is certainly a great option. It’s smooth and fast, but filled with features and extensions that not everyone might want. This leads us to an interesting alternative.

2. TORCH

• Operating system(s): Windows
• Rendering engine(s): Blink
• Key feature: multimedia-oriented

Torch aims to be a powerful media-consumption center, rather than a straightforward browser. It is Chromium-based, heavily restyled, with some added functionality.

The tab page boasts a customizable, minimalist yet stylish design, while the toolbar sports shortcuts to all media features available in the browser. The Torch Music app is a shortcut to the web app of the same name, a music-streaming service with many popular artists and albums.

However, all of the music comes from YouTube; hence, the rather low sound quality. Torch Games is a Flash games collection that helps you kill time at work. The Facelift tool (a Facebook theme changer) and the share button make it a convenient tool for social-networking fans.

Torch’s downloads manager delivers files somewhat faster than Chrome, but it often has bugs and crashes. Torch can also download torrents and magnet links, which are handled not in the downloads manager but in a separate tab.

The feature to play videos in the browser while they are being downloaded, while not yet completed, is an interesting alternative to watching videos online. Videos can be downloaded from streaming services such as YouTube, Vimeo, Daily Motion, etc.

3. MxNitro

• Operating system(s): Windows
• Rendering engine(s): Blink
• Key feature(s): minimalist, fast

MxNitro is a different take on Maxthon. With speed the focus, this browser is like a stripped-down version of Maxthon, with almost nothing except basic functionality. MxNitro is minimalist, lightweight and speedy. It’s fast to install and ready for browsing immediately — no need to tinker with the settings because none are available.

There are no extensions, no cloud syncing and no downloads manager. The sole purpose of MxNitro is to enable you to browse the web with no clutter, distraction or resource drain. It’s not perfect yet. The developers are improving the browser, promising to make it available on other platforms and to integrate ad-blocking.

The biggest problem with MxNitro is the absence of a convenient bookmarks manager or speed dial. There is a quick launch menu with some predefined websites, but users can’t customize it. MxNitro might be the perfect solution for people on old PCs or with low demands.

4. Baidu Browser

• Operating system(s): Windows, Android, Windows Phone
• Rendering engine(s): Blink
• Key feature(s): video downloader, social media integration

Baidu browser is a Chinese offering oriented around social media and downloads. It supports Chrome extensions, and Facebook and WhatsApp extensions are preinstalled (but can be deleted). Baidu is based on Chromium but has separate URL and search boxes, reminiscent of Firefox. Browser skins can be swapped, and the speed-dial panel with preinstalled bookmarks can be customized.

Baidu has an integrated BitTorrent client, with an option to limit the downloads thread so that it doesn’t interfere with other downloads or the buffering of online videos. There is also a capture tool and an online video downloader, which is the most convenient function of Baidu.

This is a rare example of a browser that lets you choose the quality of video to download and has a separate button for downloading MP3 audio. Online video can also be given a separate window, allowing users watch it without having to keep a tab open for YouTube.

Unlike UC Browser, Baidu isn’t much different from Chrome, although it tries to be. Its fast startup time, advanced YouTube functionality and downloading tricks make it useful for media consumption.

5. Epic

• Operating system(s): Windows, Mac OS X
• Rendering engine(s): Blink
• Key feature: security and privacy

Epic is the only privacy-oriented browser on this list. That’s mainly due to the more regular updates of the Chromium engine compared to other popular browsers in this field (for example, WhiteHat Aviator and Comodo Dragon). It’s usually several versions behind Chrome, but that’s better than the alternatives.

Epic is designed for a secure browsing experience out of the box. You could argue that users can add a bunch of extensions to Chrome and get the same effect, but not every user knows how to do that or knows what exactly needs to be blocked.

Epic is basically Chrome with no strings attached to Google: No data gets sent or collected, trackers are blocked, AdBlock comes preinstalled, and a convenient one-click proxy switcher will hide your IP address. Users also have a measure of control over what to block. When you click the umbrella icon, Epic visualizes what services are tracking you and shows toggles for add-ons, data encryption, ad-blocking and notifications.

6. GreenBrowser

• Operating system(s): Windows
• Rendering engine(s): Trident
• Key feature: enhanced Internet Explorer experience

GreenBrowser is based on Internet Explorer. There’s nothing fancy about it: The experience is pretty basic, the design reminiscent of Internet Explorer 8, and there is almost no advance functionality or plugins to compete with Chrome’s. However, GreenBrowser still gets updates, performance is good, pages load quickly, and the user has everything they need for simple web browsing.

Nevertheless, GreenBrowser integrates many useful features: ad-blocking, speed-dial, drag-and-drop options, mouse gestures and a “boss” button to quickly hide the browser. A nice touch is the clock in the browser’s bottom taskbar, which makes full-screen mode a little more convenient. This is how Internet Explorer should have looked and functioned years ago. If MxNitro is a little raw for you, try GreenBrowser.

7. PirateBrowser

• Operating system(s): Windows
• Rendering engine(s): Gecko
• Key feature: integrated Tor client

PirateBrowser is a project developed by the Pirate Bay team and whose main purpose is to overcome governmental restrictions on certain websites. It basically consists of Firefox, Portable Edition + Vidalia + the FoxyProxy add-on. Vidalia is a user-friendly GUI for the Tor anonymity network, which reroutes your Internet traffic. Once you launch PirateBrowser (which doesn’t require installation), Vidalia automatically connects you to the Tor network, launching Firefox thereafter.

FoxyProxy switches the user’s Internet connection across multiple URL proxy servers. PirateBrowser won’t give you absolute anonymity on the Internet, but it’s a great starter kit for circumventing online censorship.

8. Tungsten

• Operating system(s): Windows
• Rendering engine(s): Blink, Trident
• Key feature: built-in file manager

At a first glance, Tungsten seems like nothing special. It’s a minimalist Blink and Trident browser with typical performance. It supports Chrome extensions, and its design is similar to Internet Explorer 10’s. The interesting part is that Tungsten is not only for the web, but also a browser for your local files and apps.

Software such as Clover creates a tabbed browsing experience for Windows Explorer. Tungsten turns this idea upside down. The browser opens Windows Explorer inside a tab, so you can navigate your folders, open files and launch programs. While not revolutionary, it’s nice to find a feature that comes close to the ChromeOS concept of doing everything in the browser.

9. SlimBrowser

• Operating system(s): Windows
• Rendering engine(s): Trident
• Key feature(s): lightweight, fast

SlimBrowser is an improved version of Internet Explorer. The lightweight installer delivers a full-featured and fast browser with a customizable taskbar. Built in is a YouTube downloader, a weather forecast widget, ad-blocking, Facebook support, a form filler, a popup blocker and a lot of other nice details.

SlimBrowser has a downloads manager, although not as powerful as the ones in Chromium-based alternatives. It might be not much, but for the fans of Internet Explorer, SlimBrowser probably works better than it. And, as advertised, it launches and loads pages much faster.

Lunascape

• Operating system(s): Windows, Android, iOS
• Rendering engine(s): Trident, Gecko, WebKit
• Key feature: multiple rendering engines

Lunascape is a simple cross-platform web browser that takes advantage of its three rendering engines. This feature is backed up by a cascading view of web pages. With it, you can display one or several websites in the browser without having to open a separate window.

The highlighted search lets you search a selected term from multiple sources. Lunascape also has a ticker that displays new headlines from selected sources in the toolbar. This functionality can be expanded with a number of Internet Explorer and Firefox add-ons, as well as by some Lunascape exclusives.

While the browser doesn’t look modern, performance and resource consumption are good. Lunascape’s trump card — the ability to open a website with any rendering engine — will be useful for compatibility.

The combination of new features and familiar workflow makes alternative browsers a convenient way to transform your web-surfing experience. Most people will be well off choosing an alternative browser based on their current favorite. That way, they’ll be able to get the most out of new features without having to adapt to a new environment.

The best part is that you don’t need to make a full switch. You can select a browser that boosts performance or introduces functionality that your main browser lacks and use it for that purpose only. Eventually, you might even forget that you’re not using Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer. Also, not everyone needs the full power of Chrome or the customization of Firefox. Less is more, and sometimes all you need is a fast and reliable way to access a search engine.

Is There a Better Browser Than Google Chrome?

Here are a few alternatives to Chrome to try out.

Closest to Chrome: Opera

Opera is a popular alternative to Chrome because it uses the same source code and feels and functions similarly. It’s a bit faster than Chrome and several extensions that are designed for Chrome work with Opera, too. Opera doesn’t track your online movements quite as Chrome does, so it’s better for privacy, but it also doesn’t have webpage blocking listed among its security or privacy settings. You can use add-ons to accomplish this, and most Chrome extensions work with Opera

Open source: Brave

Brave is an open-source browser, which means you can add code yourself and customize the tools available. The base browser is pretty bare, which means there aren’t many standard features included, but it also makes this browser impressively fast at navigating to and loading web pages. Because it’s built on the Chromium code, Brave looks and functions similar to Chrome.

Malware protection: Avast Secure Browser

This browser is fast, automatically transfers your bookmarks, history, and settings from Chrome, and comes with the Avast internet security browser extension already installed.

Read Also: How Does a Search Engine Site Earn Money

It earns high scores for stopping malicious files from downloading to your computer and stops you from accidentally accessing phishing schemes and webpages harboring malicious files. Avast Secure Browser comes with its pop-up blocker already enabled and a link to its free antivirus program.

Window’s solution: Microsoft Edge

For Windows 10 users, your desktop came with access to Microsoft Edge. Edge has a clean look and is easy to navigate. It taps into Windows Defender to help ensure your computer doesn’t become infected, plus it loads webpages quickly.

One neat feature is Notes, which lets you highlight passages on any website and save it for you to read later. Edge, unfortunately, doesn’t work with older versions of Windows.

Non-Chromium option: Firefox

If you’re ready to give up on Chromium altogether, Firefox is the obvious answer. This browser is very secure and after several upgrades is much more user-friendly. It bookmarks pages, stacks tabs and will resume the last pages you had open the last time you had the browser open.

Firefox is also one of the best at both stopping malicious downloads and blocking dangerous websites with just its default security settings enabled. Changing these settings gives you more privacy and security.

VPN browser: Tor Browser

The Onion Routing, or Tor Browser, is a good way to navigate the web without being detected. Unlike a privacy browser, Tor truely blocks your identity, by shielding your IP address while you are online. Instead, anything trying to track you will be shown a random IP address set up by Tor.

This browser automatically blocks trackers, ads, and cookies so they can’t figuring out who you are, capture browser histories or follow you around the web. This helps cut down on targeted ads.

Old school IE: Maxthon

For Internet Explorer enthusiasts, Maxthon is worth considering. This browser looks and works like IE, built using the same base code, but it’s still supported with new updates. It’s compatbile with older versions of Windows and Windows 10.

It reaches older sites that haven’t been updated to recognize or support Microsoft Edge. Maxthon has a drag-and-drop feature that lets you grab content from a page and drop it into an IM or email message.

From the above information, you will notice that Opera is the closest browser we found to Google Chrome, and popular among users, but Vivaldi, which also is built using Chromium source code, is more customizable and faster, which is why it wins over other browsers.

Vivaldi makes great use of sidebars to keep this browser less cluttered, and while you can pin icons to your the Vivaldi homepage, it keeps news, weather and other widgets out of the way until you’re ready to add them.

This browser has stacked tabbed browsing, and comes with Bing as its featured, integrated search engine. There are several privacy settings within Vivaldi, including privacy browsing, which cuts down on the internet trackers, ads and cookies that can capture your browser history.

Like Chrome, you can create an account and have access to a Vivaldi email address, though you can also use your Google One account, including Drive and Gmail, from within this browser.

Most Chrome extensions work well with Vivaldi, and there is some syncing abilities so you can access saved websites and files from other desktops. Vivaldi also now offers a mobile version on Android to sync your settings, too, just like Opera.

If you’d like to make a clean break from all Chromium-based browsers all together, Firefox is the top choice. With recent updates, Firefox has become more user friendly and more fast in navigating and loading websites.

It supports most of the same extensions offered through Chrome and, in our own web browser tests, Firefox came out on top as the most secure. It recognized and blocked more malicious downloads, dangerous websites and phishing schemes than any other browser.

Mozilla Corporation

The Mozilla Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation that coordinates and integrates the development of Internet-related applications such as the Firefox web browser, by a global community of open-source developers, some of whom are employed by the corporation itself. The corporation also distributes and promotes these products.

Unlike the non-profit Mozilla Foundation, and the Mozilla open-source project, founded by the now-defunct Netscape Communications Corporation, the Mozilla Corporation is a taxable entity. The Mozilla Corporation reinvests all of its profits back into the Mozilla projects. The Mozilla Corporation’s stated aim is to work towards the Mozilla Foundation’s public benefit to “promote choice and innovation on the Internet.”

A MozillaZine article explained:

The Mozilla Foundation will ultimately control the activities of the Mozilla Corporation and will retain its 100 percent ownership of the new subsidiary. Any profits made by the Mozilla Corporation will be invested back into the Mozilla project. There will be no shareholders, no stock options will be issued and no dividends will be paid. The Mozilla Corporation will not be floating on the stock market and it will be impossible for any company to take over or buy a stake in the subsidiary. The Mozilla Foundation will continue to own the Mozilla trademarks and other intellectual property and will license them to the Mozilla Corporation. The Foundation will also continue to govern the source code repository and control who is allowed to check-in.

Mozilla Foundation

The Mozilla Foundation is an American not-for-profit organization that exists to support and collectively lead the open-source Mozilla project. Founded in July 2003, the organization sets the policies that govern development, operates key infrastructure, and controls Mozilla trademarks and copyrights.

It owns a taxable subsidiary: the Mozilla Corporation, which employs many Mozilla developers and coordinates releases of the Mozilla Firefox web browser and Mozilla Thunderbird email client. The Mozilla Foundation was founded by the Netscape-affiliated Mozilla Organization. The organization is currently based in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View, California, United States.

The Mozilla Foundation describes itself as “a non-profit organization that promotes openness, innovation and participation on the Internet.” The Mozilla Foundation is guided by the Mozilla Manifesto, which lists 10 principles that Mozilla believes “are critical for the Internet to continue to benefit the public good as well as commercial aspects of life.”

How does Mozilla make Money?

Most of Mozilla Corporation’s revenues come from royalties earned through Firefox web browser search partnerships and distribution deals. According to StatCounter back in 2008 Mozilla Firefox controlled over 26% of the browser market. Today, due to the market dominance of Google Chrome and Safari, Mozilla has less than 5% in market share.

The majority of Mozilla Corporation’s revenue is from royalties earned through Firefox web browser search partnerships and distribution deals. Precisely 94% of Mozilla revenues came through royalties received by search engines to be featured on its Mozilla Firefox browser.

In 2017, Google closed a deal with Mozilla to be the primary search engine, by putting an end to a previous deal with Yahoo. As reported by Bloomberg, Firefox’s default search engine will be Google in the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. 

Previous to the Yahoo deal Googe was already the default search engine for Firefox until Yahoo promised over $300 million a year of royalties to Mozilla, which made it go with it. That might have caught by surprise Yahoo, which as pointed out on Bloomberg, by Charles Stewart, a spokesman for Verizon’s digital advertising business, Oath. 

How do Browsers make Money?

There are many browsers available today, but the names that stand out and dominate the market are counted on the fingers. Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Apple Safari, among other names besides Safari exclusive to Apple devices, the rest of the browsers are free and downloadable for easy use by users. .

The browser is basically like a window for users to access the internet, so why is such an important software freely released by companies? They are simply free, but they still make money, generating revenue for developers.

The first thing we think of, “advertising money”, is just a part. What is left? Let’s find out a bit.

Mozilla Firefox

We all know the owner of the Firefox browser, the Mozilla Foundation is a non-profit organization. But they are not really profitable, looking at the financial statements revealed here, we can see the company earned 562 million USD in 2017. 96% of this number, about 539 million USD is through something called copyright search engines (search engine royalties).

Mozilla has signed an agreement with Google to make Google search the default search engine on Firefox Quantum. While we don’t know the exact amount of revenue sharing between them, this deal is definitely important for Mozilla.

It looks like Google is gaining the upper hand in this deal because they have Google Chrome browser overwhelming Firefox in market share, so they probably won’t renew the new deal in November 2020. But Firefox users search the web more than 100 billion times a year, which ensures the ability to keep Google searching with Firefox even though Google may not want it.

However, that does not prevent Google from “playing tricks” with Firefox users, because obviously, both are still competing in the same market. Typically, a few users reported that the Google Flights website was blocked on Firefox for Android.

To be fair, Mozilla is not a medium, in markets where Google search is not popular, they partner with local search engines like Yandex in Russia and Yahoo in China to earn revenue. They are also trying to diversify their revenue stream with the Firefox Pocket service, user-focused ads and even ad sales.

Safari

Similar to the Firefox model, Safari also makes money from search engine copyrights, especially from Google. But in Safari’s case, this royalty rate is on a different level from Firefox, about $ 12 billion in the most recent deal revealed by Fortune. With hundreds of millions of iPhone, iPad and Mac users, Apple will continue to have sweet deals with Google for many more years, so Safari can be said to be the second richest browser in the world after Chrome.

Microsoft Edge

Similar to the Google Adwords keyword advertising service, Edge’s main revenue comes from the Bing search engine. However, with only about 4% of Bing’s market share, it’s hard for Edge to catch up to Chrome in terms of making money. In addition, advertising revenue from Bing dropped 7% in the fourth quarter of 2018, meaning that revenue from Edge is still very stagnant.

Hope to beat Google is almost impossible, but Microsoft still does not give up by paying users for gifts and vouchers when using Bing and Edge.

Opera

This is a modest browser in terms of accessibility, but when it comes to making use of the browser to make money, Opera is not weak. With 182 million active users globally, Opera is witnessing an annual revenue growth of between 28 and 34%. While still using the revenue sharing model with search engines like Yandex in Russia, Baidu in China, Google elsewhere, Opera has some other unique ways to make money.

Opera has licensing agreements with sites like Booking.com and Ebay to encourage users to use these services. There are also deals with smartphone companies like Oppo and Xiaomi to use Opera as the main browser on their phones. They are also venturing into investing in AI-based content discovery technologies to attract more users.

Brave

Brave browser focuses on privacy, safety and speed. With an integrated ad blocker plus a policy of not saving user history, it makes it a great browser to use.

But Brave must also make money. However, unlike other browsers, Brave uses cryptocurrencies, which they call Basic Notification Tokens ( Basic Attention Tokens ). As with the Microsoft rewards reward, users will receive BAT when they use the services that Brave links.

They also partner with HTC to use the HTC Exodus, the world’s first blockchain phone. In addition, Brave works with certified publishers on YouTube and Twitch as a secondary revenue source.

Google Chrome

Chrome should not be on this list because it is completely at a different level from the above names in terms of monetization. With the advantage of being the offspring of the world’s leading advertising company, accounting for the largest market share in the browser market, Chrome is quickly a means for Google to effectively earn advertising revenue.

Because the ad revenue is so huge, Chrome does not need to apply other ways like the above browsers to earn more revenue.

These are the ways in which popular browsers now generate revenue, each with a different monetization strategy and different ways. This contributes to help them maintain their existence, creating diversity for the browser market.

Finally

Most of the web browsers earn revenue from advertisements and search engines.

Search Engine pays the browser to feature their search engine on it.

Web Browsers is the best way to earn revenue from app development. Web Browsers earn the most of the money transacted on the internet.