A lightweight web browser is a web browser that sacrifices some of the features of a mainstream web browser in order to reduce the consumption of system resources, and especially to minimize the memory footprint.[1][2][3]

The tables below compare notable lightweight web browsers. Several of them use a common layout engine, but each has a unique combination of features and a potential niche. The minimal user interface in surf, for example, does not have tabs,[4] whereas xombrero can be driven with vi-like keyboard commands.[5]

Four of the browsers compared—Lynx, w3m, Links, and ELinks—are designed for text mode, and can function in a terminal emulator. Eww is limited to working within Emacs. Links 2 has both a text-based user interface and a graphical user interface. w3m is, in addition to being a web browser, also a terminal pager.[6]

Overview

Browser Developers Status Engine Programming languages License Latest release
Version Date
AroraBenjamin C. Meyer et al.[7]DiscontinuedQtWebKit[8]C++GPL-2.0-or-later0.11.0[9] Edit this on Wikidata2010-09-27
DilloJorge Arellano Cid et al.ActiveDilloC, C++GPL-3.0-or-later3.0.5[10] Edit this on Wikidata2015-06-30
ELinksPetr Baudiš, Jonas Fonseca, et al.ActiveLinksC, C++GPL-2.0-only0.16.1.1[11] Edit this on Wikidata2023-05-01
EwwLars Magne IngebrigtsenActiveGNU Emacs librariesEmacs LispGPL-3.0-or-later
Falkon (QupZilla)David RoscaActiveQtWebKit / Qt WebEngineC++GPL-3.0-or-later23.08.3[12] Edit this on Wikidata2023-11-09
hv3Dan Kennedy & teamDiscontinuedTkhtmlTclGPL
K-MeleonChristophe Thibault et al.ActiveGecko / Goanna (fork)C++GPL76.4.7[13] Edit this on Wikidata2023-04-07
LinksMikuláš Patočka, Twibright Labs, et al.ActiveLinksCGPL-2.0-or-later2.29[14] Edit this on Wikidata2023-03-21
LynxLou Montulli, Thomas Dickey, et al.Activelibwww derivativeC (ISO C)GPL-2.0-only2.8.9rel.1[15] Edit this on Wikidata2018-07-08
NetSurfJohn-Mark Bell, Michael Drake, et al.[16]ActiveNetSurfC (ANSI C)GPL-2.0-only3.10[17] Edit this on Wikidata2020-05-24
Otter BrowserMichał Dutkiewicz[18]ActiveQtWebKit / Qt WebEngineC++GPL-3.0-or-later1.0.03[19] Edit this on Wikidata2022-02-22
QtWebLogicWare; LSoft Technologies[20]UnmaintainedQtWebKitC++GPL-2.0-or-later3.8.5[21] Edit this on Wikidata2013-09-09
qutebrowserFlorian Bruhin et al.Active [22]QtWebKit / Qt WebEngine[23]Python3GPL-3.0-or-later3.1.0[24] Edit this on Wikidata2023-12-08
rekonqAndrea Diamantini et al.DiscontinuedQtWebKit[8]C++GPLv32.4.2[25] Edit this on Wikidata2014-01-12
surfChristoph Lohmann et al.ActiveWebKitGTKCMIT2.1[26] Edit this on Wikidata2021-05-08
uzblDieter Plaetinck et al.DiscontinuedWebKitGTKC, PythonGPL-3.0-only0.9.1[27] Edit this on Wikidata2016-10-27
w3mAkinori Ito et al.Unmaintainedw3mCMIT0.5.3[28] Edit this on Wikidata2011-01-15
WebPositiveAndrea Anzani, Ryan Leavengood, et al.ActiveHaikuWebkitC++MIT1.3-alpha[29] Edit this on Wikidata2021-08-01
xombreroMarco Peerboom et al.DiscontinuedWebKitGTKC, JavaScriptISC1.6.4[30] Edit this on Wikidata2015-02-17

Operating system support

Browser BSD Haiku Linux macOS OpenIndiana OS/2 QNX RISC OS Windows Android
AroraYesYesYesYesYes[31]YesNoNoYes
DilloYesNoYesYesYes[32]NoNoYes[32]Cygwin[32][33]
ELinksYes[34]?Yes[34]Yes[34]Yes[34]Yes[34]No[34]Dropped[34]?
Falkon (QupZilla)Dropped[35][36]Yes[35][36]Yes[35][36]Dropped[35][36]NoDropped[35][36]NoNoYes[35][36]
K-MeleonWineNoWine[37]WineNoNoNoNoYes
LinksUnofficialNoYesUnofficial?YesNoNoYes
LynxYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes[38][39]Yes
NetSurfYes[40]Yes[41]Yes[40]Yes[40]Yes[40]No?Yes[42]Yes[43]
Otter BrowserYes[44]Unofficial[45]Yes[44]Yes[44]NoNoNoNoYes
QtWebYesUnofficial[46]YesYesUnofficial[lower-roman 1]NoNoNoYes
qutebrowserYes?YesYes????Yes
rekonqYesNoYesNoUnofficial[lower-roman 1]NoNoNoInactive[lower-roman 2]
surfYesNoYes????NoNo
uzbl??YesYes?????
w3mUnofficialUnofficialYesUnofficialUnofficialInactiveNoNoCygwin
WebPositiveNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
xombreroYesNoYesYesYesNoNoNoYes
Notes
  1. 1 2 Must be built from source code; requires a compatible version of Qt.
  2. ↑ rekonq v1.1 for Windows was published in September 2012. As of June 2014, it is the only published version for Windows.[47]

Features

Test scores reflect the version of the browser engine in use. Generally, a lower score indicates an older version of the browser engine.

Image formats Advanced Test scores Plug-in APIs
Browser GIF, JPEG, PNG WebP JavaScript Frames Acid3 HTML5test Netscape Pepper
AroraYesNoYesYes100/100[lower-roman 1]359/550[48]No[lower-roman 2]No
DilloYesNoNoPartial—[lower-roman 3]—[lower-roman 3]NoNo
ELinksNoNoPartial[lower-roman 4]Partial—[lower-roman 3]—[lower-roman 3]NoNo
Falkon (QupZilla)YesYesYesYes100/100[lower-roman 1]497/550[50]PartialPartial
K-MeleonYesNoYesYes100/100[lower-roman 1]416/555[51]Partial[52]No
LinksYes[lower-roman 5]YesNo[lower-roman 6]Partial—[lower-roman 3]—[lower-roman 3]NoNo
LynxNoNoNoPartial—[lower-roman 3]—[lower-roman 3]NoNo
NetSurfYes[54]YesPartial[55]Yes—[lower-roman 3]—[lower-roman 3]No[56]No
Otter BrowserYesYesYesYes100/100370/550[57]YesNo
QtWebYesNoYesYes100/100[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 7]234/550[58]No[lower-roman 2]No
qutebrowserYesYesYesYes99/100521/550NoNo
rekonqYesNoYesYes100/100[lower-roman 1]385/555[59]No[lower-roman 2]Partial[60]
surfYesYes[lower-roman 8]YesYes100/100[lower-roman 1]385/500[62]Yes?
uzblYesYesYesYes98/100461/500Yes?
w3mYes[63]NoNo[64]Yes—[lower-roman 3]—[lower-roman 3]NoNo
WebPositiveYesNoYesYes98/100[lower-roman 1]358/500[65]NoNo
xombreroYesYes[lower-roman 8]YesYes100/100385/500[66]Yes?
Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Some tests take too much time to complete.
  2. 1 2 3 NPAPI is ported to QtWebKit, but is not implemented in this browser.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 The test requires JavaScript, which is not sufficiently supported by this browser.
  4. ↑ ELinks implements Mozilla's SpiderMonkey JavaScript engine.[49]
  5. ↑ Only Links 2 supports graphics.
  6. ↑ JavaScript support was removed in 2007 (in release 2.1pre29).[53]
  7. ↑ The final state does not match the reference rendering.
  8. 1 2 WebP is supported via the WebKitGTK browser engine.[61]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Arora, Himanshu (6 November 2013). "5 lesser-known browsers: Free, lightweight and low-maintenance". Computerworld. International Data Group. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Klimkiewicz, Kamil (18 January 2003). "Lightweight Web Browsers". Freecode. Dice Holdings. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Arimbra, Krishnan (16 July 2013). "Memory usage of the browsers – Lightest browser". Geekiest.Net. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "surf". Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Peereboom, Marco; Hill, David; et al. (1 March 2012). "xombrero wiki § Quick-Start Tutorial". Conformal Systems. Archived from the original on 28 September 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Ito, Akinori. "w3m". w3m.sourceforge.net. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  7. ↑ Meyer, Benjamin (2 October 2009). "Arora 0.10.0!". Arora Development. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  8. 1 2 Poulain, Benjamin; et al. (10 May 2010). "Applications Using QtWebKit". Qt Wiki. Qt Project Hosting. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "Release 0.11.0". 27 September 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  10. ↑ "ChangeLog". 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "v0.16.1.1". 1 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  12. ↑ "Falkon - KDE Applications".
  13. ↑ "K-Meleon 76.4.7 on Goanna 3.5.0". 7 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "ChangeLog".
  15. ↑ "Lynx2.8.9". Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  16. ↑ "The NetSurf Developers". netsurf-browser.org. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "NetSurf 3.10 released". 24 May 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  18. ↑ "Otter Browser". otter-browser.org. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  19. ↑ "Releases v1.0.03".
  20. ↑ "About QtWeb". QtWeb.NET. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  21. ↑ "Qt Web Browser".
  22. ↑ "qutebrowser/qutebrowser". GitHub. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  23. ↑ "qutebrowser - ArchWiki". wiki.archlinux.org. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  24. ↑ "Release 3.1.0". 8 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  25. ↑ "rekonq 2.4.2". 12 January 2014.
  26. ↑ "surf".
  27. ↑ "Release 0.9.1". 27 October 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  28. ↑ "w3m Files".
  29. ↑ "WebPositive: update version to 1.3". 1 August 2021.
  30. ↑ "XOMBRERO_1_6_4". Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  31. ↑ "Spec Files Extra Repository". OpenIndiana Wiki. 2011. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  32. 1 2 3 "Dillo Web Browser Compatibility". Dillo.org. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  33. ↑ Vibber, Kelson (28 April 2005). "Installing Dillo on Cygwin". Hyperborea. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Qupzilla - Lightweight multiplatform browser: Download". Qupzilla.com. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Download - Falkon". falkon.org. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  36. ↑ "UKmeleon: Unofficial K-Meleon Distributions". kmeleonbrowser.org. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
  37. ↑ "Nettle". nettle.sourceforge.net. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  38. ↑ "New Telnet Client and Web Browser for RISC OS". My RISC OS. 2 September 2001. Archived from the original on 22 May 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  39. 1 2 3 4 "NetSurf | GTK Downloads". netsurf-browser.org. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  40. ↑ "NetSurf | BeOS Downloads". netsurf-browser.org. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  41. ↑ "NetSurf | RISC OS Downloads". netsurf-browser.org. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  42. ↑ "NetSurf | Windows Downloads". netsurf-browser.org. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  43. 1 2 3 "OtterBrowser/otter-browser". GitHub. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  44. ↑ "Otter browser: new recipe by miqlas · Pull Request #1006 · haikuports/haikuports". GitHub. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  45. ↑ "QtWeb - Web Browser". Haikuware. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 30 August 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  46. ↑ Papp, Laszlo (24 September 2012). "Randa: Rekonq installer for Windows". KDE (Laszlo Papp's blog). Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  47. ↑ "HTML5test results for: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.21 (KHTML, like Gecko) Arora/0.11.0 Safari/537.21". HTML5test.com. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  48. ↑ Inge Bolso, Erik (8 March 2005). "2005 Text Mode Browser Roundup". Linux Journal. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  49. ↑ "HTML5test results for: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) QupZilla/2.1.99 Safari/537.36". HTML5test.com. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  50. ↑ "HTML5test - How well does your browser support HTML5?". html5test.com. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  51. ↑ "ThirdPartyPlugins". kmeleonbrowser.org. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  52. ↑ "Links user documentation". Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  53. ↑ Auza, Jun (27 June 2009). "5 Free and Open Source Web Browsers That You May Have Never Heard Of". Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  54. ↑ "User Information".
  55. ↑ "0001896: NPAPI plugin support". NetSurf Bug Report System. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  56. ↑ "HTML5test results for: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/602.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Otter/0.9.91". HTML5test.com. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  57. ↑ "HTML5test results for: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux; en-GB) AppleWebKit/534.34 (KHTML, like Gecko) QtWeb Internet Browser/3.8.5". HTML5test.com. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  58. ↑ "HTML5test results for: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.21 (KHTML, like Gecko) rekonq/2.4.2 Safari/537.21". HTML5test.com. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  59. ↑ Howell, Dean (22 May 2013). "ReKonq Gaining Chrome Extension Support, Still Sponsored By Blue Systems". The Powerbase. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  60. ↑ Jáquez, Víctor (31 December 2013). "Boosting WebKitGTK+ compilation for armhf with icecream". Herostratus’ legacy. Igalia. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  61. ↑ "HTML5test results for: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Unix; en-US) AppleWebKit/537.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/24.0.1295.0 Safari/537.15 Surf/0.6". HTML5test.com. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  62. ↑ Hoffman, Chris (23 January 2012). "How to Browse From the Linux Terminal With W3M". How-To Geek. How-To Geek, LLC. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  63. ↑ "w3m man page". GitHub. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  64. ↑ "HTML5test results for: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Haiku R1 x86) AppleWebKit/606.1.4 (KHTML, like Gecko) WebPositive/1.2 Version/11.1 Safari/606.1.4". HTML5test.com. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  65. ↑ "HTML5test results for: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/538.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/538.15 Version/6.0". HTML5test.com. Retrieved 28 July 2014.

Further reading

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