Microsoft Edge vs Safari for Mac: You Should Switch

A while ago, Microsoft Edge was just the default Windows 10 web browser. After abandoning the old EdgeHTML engine in favor of Chromium, it’s finally starting to gain some serious traction. And quite surprisingly, Microsoft Edge is now available on Mac as well. But how does it stack up against Apple’s own native Safari browser for macOS?

Safari works like a charm on Mac, with great performance and battery life. But being based on the Chromium engine gives Microsoft Edge the advantage of getting into unconventional territory. Google Chrome uses the same browser engine, so adopting Chromium guarantees Edge’s greater web compatibility.

I’ve used Microsoft Edge with Safari since it came to Mac. Here is my take on how Microsoft Edge performs against Safari on Mac.

user interface

Microsoft Edge doesn’t try to do anything special compared to Chromium alternatives like Opera or Vivaldi. But the UI just works. The default tabs provide a convenient search bar and quick links to your favorite sites. You get a pretty annoying news feed, but it’s something you can quickly turn off.

The browser has a slightly larger-than-average address bar, which makes searching Omnibox very easy. The stylish profile icon also allows you to easily manage, create and use multiple profiles. At the same time, the Edge menu provides instant access to browser settings, extensions, progressive web apps, and other features.

However, Microsoft Edge feels rather cumbersome and rough. Animations and transitions sound irritating, and I’ve often experienced input lag when navigating the UI. However, these issues are not serious enough to harm your browsing experience. After a while you don’t even realize it.

Safari, on the other hand, feels smooth and polished, near perfect. But the little tab strip and address bar aren’t exactly meant for a great user experience. The fact that when you want to configure the browser you have to use the confusing menu bars seems pretty outdated.

Yield

Performance-wise, it’s nearly impossible to beat Safari on Mac. After all, Apple knows its hardware and software best. But Microsoft Edge isn’t lagging behind with its new Chromium engine. In my experience, Microsoft’s browser performs almost on par with Safari.

Also, Microsoft Edge has technically better compatibility with websites once again thanks to the Chromium engine integration. So, if you’re having trouble accessing a site in Safari, you can almost guarantee it will load in Edge without a hitch.

But what about battery life? Like any native macOS app, Safari excels in this department. But Chromium has improved its efficiency on the Mac over the years. So, don’t expect any common battery drain issues with Edge.

Privacy protection

Safari provides native protection against third-party cookies that monitor your browsing activity on websites. You can also speed things up with content blocking extensions that are very helpful in blocking more web trackers while improving page load times.

Microsoft Edge doesn’t let you down when it comes to protecting your privacy, either. The browser comes with an integrated content blocking module called Tracking Prevention. It offers three different levels of protection (Basic, Balanced and Strict), ranging from blocking tracking cookies, malicious scripts and personalized ads.

Extension Support

Beginning with version 13 of Safari for macOS, Apple has completely dropped support for legacy extensions, which despite privacy concerns (at least in my opinion) is a terrible move. Therefore, the current crop of ‘supported extensions’ is minimal.

Also, most compatible extensions require a fee to work in the first place. As a power user, I find Safari a hard sell on Mac now.

But the new Microsoft Edge offers an impressive and growing library of extensions. Just go to the Microsoft Edge Add-ons store. You can find loads of plugins that can dramatically increase your productivity, improve your shopping or social media experience, and more.

To make things even better, Microsoft Edge lets you install extensions designed for other Chromium browsers like Google Chrome.

Data Sync

While Safari is great at syncing bookmarks and passwords to your iPhone and iPad via iCloud, the browser is not available outside of the Apple ecosystem. Therefore, it is often impossible to access your data on other platforms. The most you can do on Windows is to sync your Safari bookmarks with Chrome or Firefox. And yes, you better forget about Android completely.

Microsoft Edge for Mac, on the other hand, is truly cross-platform. You can easily access your browsing data (bookmarks, passwords, extensions, etc.) not only on iPhone and iPad, but also on Windows and Android. Sure, you need a Microsoft Account to sync your Edge browsing data, but creating one is incredibly easy.

Choose Your Weapon Wisely

Microsoft Edge is shaping up to be an awesome web browser on the Mac, with unique features like Collections that are starting to set it apart from the countless Chromium clones. It also gets frequent updates and feature revisions, something Safari sorely lacks.

Both browsers offer robust privacy-related features, so the transition is entirely dependent on what else you prefer. If you like an easy-to-use user interface, a library of extensions that allow for endless possibilities, or the ability to sync your data across multiple platforms, Microsoft Edge is worth a try.

For those who don’t stray far from the Apple ecosystem, who like Safari’s performance and battery life, or pure stability and reliability, it’s better to stick with the Mac’s native web browser.

Next: Decided to use Microsoft Edge on your Mac? Check the next link to easily transfer your browsing data from other browsers to Microsoft Edge on your Mac.