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Most “browsers” being marketed out there are based off of Google’s Chromium project. They are effectively re-skins of it (simplifying a little). Examples include Brave, Vivaldi, Opera I believe.
Firefox is completely separate and independent from this ecosystem (which is also why there’s a separate extension store for Firefox).
The third and last major (>a couple % market share) engine is WebKit, which is the basis of Apple’s Safari.
There’s tons of cool stuff out there, but it’s either niche (platform/use case), unstable to use, and/or both. Examples: Servo, Ladybird, Orion
To sum it up, if you’re a normal, average user:
- If you have exclusively Apple devices, probably try Safari (for the synchronization & battery efficiency)
- If not, Firefox!
- If you need it because of some really messed up development/compatibility issues, the last resort is ungoogled/de-googled Chromium
While on the topic, here’s some cool browser extensions:
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Consent-O-Matic (auto-deny cookie banners)
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StopTheMadness / StopTheMadness Pro (macOS only)
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Bitwarden or the browser extension of another, different password manager you (hopefully) already use
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YouTube-specific extensions, if you use the platform
- SponsorBlock for YouTube (Firefox link)
- Stop AutoPlay Next for YouTube (Firefox link)
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(optional) Privacy-heavy focus. Caution: Having these extensions may lead to some sites breaking – they are not necessary for most people.
- Privacy Badger
- CanvasBlocker (Firefox)
- Cookie AutoDelete (Firefox)
- AdNauseam advertisement & tracking blocker/obfuscator – if you use decide to use this, probably deactivate the others including uBlock Origin
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(optional) Dark Reader
Edit: fixed a link
Those were talking since purchase, which was further out than last year I think