Skip to main content

More people are using Chrome on desktops lately, and less of everything else

people using chrome desktops lately less everything else internet explorer
More people used Google Chrome on their desktops in September than they did in the month prior to that. At the same time, Chrome’s primary competition in the space, which consists of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera, all saw decreased usage. That’s according to Net Marketshare’s latest stats.

As of last month, Google Chrome’s desktop browser share stands at 21.19 percent. That’s up from 19.61 percent in August, which is an increase of almost 1.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Internet Explorer’s share fell slightly from 58.46 percent in August, to 58.37 percent last month, which is still a supremely dominant figure.

Firefox usage on the desktop dropped by over a full percentage point, from 15.23 percent in August, to 14.18 percent last month. What may be holding Firefox back from wider use is the issue surrounding how much memory it sucks up on PCs. Mozilla has an entire support page dedicated to Firefox’s propensity for heavy memory usage, along with a guide on how to reduce its RAM consumption.

Safari is a distant fourth in this race, owning 5.01 percent of the desktop browser pie. That’s down from 5.32 percent in August. Opera, meanwhile, is even further behind, holding 0.86 percent of the market as of September, tumbling from 0.96 percent in August.

So why does Internet Explorer dwarf the competition, according to these numbers? That’s likely due to the fact that IE is the default Web browser that ships with every Windows PC. Sure, you can install another browser, but if the one your system comes with is good enough, why bother?

Editors' Recommendations

Konrad Krawczyk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…
How to mute a tab in your browser
microsoft edge chromium to roll out automatically soon chrome

When you’re surfing the web, nothing can be more annoying than a browser tab suddenly deciding it needs to be heard. Whether a site has an auto-playing video or a repeating sound effect, it’s possible to silence that pesky tab and relinquish your weary eardrums. Here’s a look at how to mute a tab across today's popular web browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Microsoft Edge.

Not sure which web browser to use? Check out the best web browsers for your computer. If you’re privacy-conscious, we also have the best browsers for your digital safety.
Mute a tab in Google Chrome

Read more
Microsoft’s Edge browser is now more popular than Firefox, gaining on Chrome
microsoft edge second most popular web browser

Microsoft's new Edge browser has some serious upward momentum. According to new data from the firm NetMarketshare, Microsoft Edge is now the second-most popular web browser in the world, surpassing Mozilla Firefox and gaining on Google Chrome, the overwhelming leader.

Roughly three months after the redesigned version launched, the data reveals that Edge now holds a 7.59% of a sampled total market share worldwide. That marks roughly a 0.21% increase between February and March, according to Techradar.

Read more
I finally switched from Chrome to Mozilla Firefox — and you should too
mozilla firefox chrome review comparison 2020 mozillafirefoxcomentillustration

I have been in an on-and-off relationship with Mozilla Firefox for the past five years. Every time I’d get ecstatic over a major new Firefox update -- hoping to, at long last, break free from the hegemony of Google Chrome -- my hopes would be crushed as soon as I began browsing the web like I normally do.

Firefox's performance would fall noticeably short and struggle to keep up with my workflow, sending me scurrying back to Google Chrome after a few minutes of poking around. No matter how compelling the rest of Mozilla’s offerings were, they could never convince me to hit that "Yes" button whenever Firefox asked whether I’d like to set it as my default browser. Catching up to Chrome almost started to seem like a far-fetched goal for Firefox -- until recently.

Read more