Nowadays most of our work has shifted from installing software to using them online right in our browsers. Therefore, you need a powerful enough PC to run things fluidly to save you from that hairsplitting hindrance to productivity. But if you don’t have that PC, the right thing to do is to change the browser you’re working on. Luckily, there are tons of them out there. So, here’s what browser uses the least RAM?
Answer: The browser that uses the least RAM is the one we’ve all been ignoring – Microsoft Edge.
You may want to keep it ignored and that’s why I’ve curated a list of the popular browsers based on their memory-hogging needs.
The long answer: Let’s see how the browsers perform in our 10 tabs test.
What Browser Is Lightest On Memory And CPU?
Following are some of the browsers that use the least RAM. I have ranked them on the basis of RAM usage from low to high.
1. Microsoft Edge
Remember Internet Explorer, which is, to be honest, more of a relic now than a browser? That browser served us well until we had to ditch it for something better and faster – Google Chrome. However, these days, donning an entirely new skin with entirely new features that do not hog a lot of memory, the Microsoft Edge sits smugly on the top.
It’s been built on Chrome’s Chromium engine but still, its efficacy shoots off the roof when it comes to using less memory. We could partly thank its lighter skin and better optimization with Windows, which is its parent OS.
In our 10 tabs test, it took around 800MB of RAM. Trust me, as you read, this is by far the least amount of RAM any browser uses to get your things done.
In order to see how much RAM is consumed, I opened 10 tabs on the Microsoft Edge simultaneously and it consumed only 800MB, which is fair enough for a low specs laptop to handle.
2. Opera Browser
When Chrome didn’t rule the world, it was Opera that had it all. It was present on our phones, on our desktops, and things were quite good. Even still, it seems as if the browser’s been made to run on pre-dated systems because it really does! So, if you have a PC with low specs, you should definitely try this one.
In our 10 tab test, it used about 900MBs. This is still better than the popular browsers you use, as you’d read later.
One thing I love about Opera is its clean UI. There’s not a lot going on and you can find your settings and bookmarks without sneaking around a lot. It also has built-in features to regulate how much internet you use. That is another plus point for people with low-end PCs.
In order to see how much RAM is consumed, I opened 10 tabs on the Opera simultaneously and it consumed only 900MB which is fair enough for a mid-range laptop to handle.
3. Firefox
Mozilla Firefox needs no introduction. It is by far the largest contender of Google Chrome. It has been around for quite some time trying to spread its roots slowly into the market. When we think about Mozilla, there’s always the smarter, more efficient browser in our minds, not to mention, the most reliable since the creators are always talking about how the browser’s all about your privacy.
However, if we look at our 10 tabs test, the scenario isn’t quite different from Chrome. This browser hogs around 965MBs of RAM when 10 tabs are left running.
In order to see how much RAM is consumed, I opened 10 tabs on the Firefox simultaneously and it consumed only 956MB. It is almost near to the RAM consumed by Opera.
4. Google Chrome
Well, this comes as a no surprise. Chrome is notorious for taking up more RAM real estate than currently any other browser. The reason for this is pretty simple: Chrome is more than a browser. It is a productivity behemoth but only if you have the right components firing up that kind of performance.
By that I mean, your PC should have at least 1GB or 2GB RAM at the ready when you wanna run 10 tabs. If that isn’t a lot more than Firefox, you’ll be surprised to know that the memory consumption increases non-linearly as you go on and open more tabs.
What that means is that if we divide the total RAM into 10 tabs to get a basic per-tab memory threshold, it won’t apply on the 11th tab. That may be more or less than the threshold.
As you may know already, this famously interrupts other programs running in the background. You may even see your PC shut down or restart on its own. The crashes become frequent as the use increases. Maybe that’s why you’re reading this article.
In order to see how much RAM is consumed, I opened 10 tabs on Google Chrome simultaneously and it consumed only 1GB, which is the highest.
Frequently Asked Questions – What Browser Uses The Least RAM?
Does Less Memory Usage Mean Better Browsers?
I should want to address this burning question. A browser using less RAM doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s better than the one that uses more.
Take the example of Chrome vs. Edge.
Which Uses Less RAM Chrome Or Edge?
Obviously Edge. As I mentioned above, the Edge uses 800Mb of RAM when you open 10 tabs. As compared to this, Chrome uses 1GB or even 2GBs.
Which Browser Is Faster?
Given the right conditions such as more RAM, CPU power, and all of that, Chrome definitely outperforms Edge in many ways. One, it has tons of extensions to increase your productivity. Second, it has more users, which means Google will always keep it stable. There’s very little chance of bailing on them.
So, as you can see, using less RAM doesn’t make a browser THE BEST. There are multiple factors at play.
However, since you’ve limitations in the RAM department, you may want to use Edge. It will still perform many functions.
What Browser Uses The Least RAM? Conclusion
In my test and thus, the list, Microsoft Edge is the clear winner. It uses only 800MB of RAM when you open 10 tabs. Other browsers go from 900MB to 1GB. So, when it comes to choosing a browser that will weigh less on your RAM, choose Edge.
