Alternatives to Mozilla Firefox for all platforms with any license

  • Vivaldi

    A browser for our friends. Fast, feature rich and highly customizable that puts the users first.

    • The side tab function is very efficient. RemovedUser • Jul 2019 • 6 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Vivaldi is like opera minus vpn One thing i dont like is download tab become hard to read download panel Guest • May 2019 • 1 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Vivaldi is a pretty fast browser, however, it's not a good alternative to Firefox. More than anything Vivaldi is a worse version of Opera Browser. The settings and appearance are good but also limited. 6/10 would recommend. Guest • Jul 2019 • 7 agrees and 15 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Fast. Great tab management. Very customizable. Faster than Firefox. Great history management. Users should give a try. Guest • Jun 2018 • 3 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Does not contain options to sync browser settings, bookmarks, extensions, passwords, etc. between devices. Guest • Sep 2018 • 3 agrees and 14 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Vivaldi is fast, has a native note taking service and sidebar. Chrome extensions work flawlessly. Excellent browser. Guest • Jan 2017 • 15 agrees and 9 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Dangerous web browser that allows governments to get all your private info and hands it over to them at all times for any reason, no matter how pointless the reason is. Guest • Apr 2018 • 6 agrees and 13 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Best open source browser that uses the Blink rendering engine possum • Feb 2018 • 0 agrees and 8 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Fast, efficient, and has useful features for productivity. CBagley • Nov 2017 • 4 agrees and 6 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Does not adapt aromatically to the high contrast environment (windows - ease of access) thus is impossible for people with vision problems to work with the browser unless someone customize Vivaldi for them. Guest • Aug 2017 • 1 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Vivaldi is clearly inferior to Firefox. Comes nowhere near the same quality Guest • Oct 2017 • 7 agrees and 14 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Vivaldi is amazing, it just features everything I like in Firefox, with the speed of the webkit engine ! It accepts chrome extensions. The synchronization support should be added soon. It is better than Chrome for sure. If it was open-source, it would be better than Firefox as well. loxaxs • Apr 2017 • 6 agrees and 9 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Fast, customizable, lightweight and is not made by a company that sell ads and spy your online behavior like Google. Guest • Apr 2017 • 1 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Vivaldi cares about users privacy and user experience while on the web. It doesn't have the bloat that comes with Chrome, and the slowness that comes with Firefox. Guest • Dec 2016 • 1 agrees and 12 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Mac Windows Linux Android

    Customizable UI customization Group tabs Tab Stacking ... Mouse gestures Based on Blink engine Built-in Note Taker Built-in themes Capture web pages Google Chrome Extensions Web Browsers Based on Chromium Configurable Support for Keyboard Shortcuts Night mode/Dark Theme Opera-like Privacy focused Reading mode Resume interrupted downloads Split-screen view Support for Chrome extensions Sync between devices Tab Control Tab preview Tabbed browsing Tabbed interface Support for Themes Web panels Add a feature

    Vivaldi icon

  • Pale Moon

    Pale Moon is an Open Source, Goanna-based web browser available for Microsoft Windows and Linux focusing on efficiency and ease of use. Pale Moon offers you a...

    • Fast browser. Simple preferences setup. Clean install with no hidden junk in my registry or secret files like chrome and mozilla-firefox. My backup browser is Waterfox. i run on win7 x64. Guest • Aug 2019 • 1 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • less bloatware. not control by big company. Guest • May 2019 • 1 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • When Firefox become more and more bloated Pale Moon is lightweight, offers stability and compatibility with the FF extensions (for now, because WebExtensions). It also works great with a lot of tabs(400 or more). Guest • Mar 2017 • 27 agrees and 8 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • So far, Pale Moon gives me features I want that Firefox has disabled and will soon be gone completely in Firefox 57. Firefox 57 will be a Chrome-like boat anchor. Pale Moon is very stable, lightweight and is fast Guest • Apr 2017 • 22 agrees and 9 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It is faithful to the core principles of Firefox (customization, extendibility, user friendliness...), avoiding the bloating and the questionable decisions taken in the last years by Mozilla. Pale Moon is the browser for those of us that loved Firefox in its golden years. Guest • Jun 2018 • 1 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Pale Moon is very good, all sites are loading almost the same as Firefox, but uses less RAM & CPU, so the system is working faster than with Firefox, and also removed unnecessary functions. Pale Moon add-ons are very useful, especially YouTube Downloader and Adblock Latitude. Configurable very, very nice browser, 10 out of 10 points. Guest • May 2018 • 0 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Pale Moon resembles old Firefox, and maintains support for old extensions, and old features. Guest • Mar 2018 • 2 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Firefox classic UI and faster than Firefox. It's more user friendly and easier to use. Firefox is too jumbled and complicated. Guest • Apr 2018 • 0 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Pale Moon is very lightweight (low RAM usage), and maintains the look and feel of earlier versions of Firefox. Essentially, this is the Firefox Mozilla should have made. Guest • May 2017 • 6 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Firefox is no longer just a good browser. Firefox is going to be a Google Chrome clone. It is dropping support for legacy add-ons. Firefox is dropping support for XP and Vista. Pale Moon has committed to retaining support for add-ons, menu's, security and still remains lightweight. Guest • Apr 2017 • 7 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It's way faster than Mozilla Firefox Guest • Jun 2017 • 0 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Much more stable than the actual firefox. 1 crash per day vs. 1 crash per two weeks on MacOSX Guest • Mar 2016 • 15 agrees and 10 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux

    Lightweight Customizable Web Browsers Based on Firefox Support for Firefox extensions ... Built-in RSS reader Extensible by Plugins/Extensions Based on Gecko engine Based on Goanna engine Legacy addons support Optimized Firefox Optimized for Windows Portable Privacy-friendly Security focused UI customization Add a feature

    Pale Moon icon

  • Chromium

    Chromium is the open-source browser project from which Google Chrome takes its source.

    • Chromium is the core of the Chrome browser. It functions well enough as a browser but lacks some of Chrome's features (e.g. built in language translator). Even though Chromium is open source, it still "phones home" to Google, which has privacy implications. There are more private Chromium-based browsers, such as Brave and Iridium. JohnFastman • Dec 2016 • 38 agrees and 14 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Chromium doesn't have DRM features and some codecs implemented like Google Chrome, it's open-source but all your data goes to Google when you use Chrome Store to download apps since there is no Chromium store. Also, this browser is hard to install on Windows, you have to compile or download versions that are created by the users daily, so it means you do not have a proper installer like on Linux/BSD. Guest • Jun 2019 • 4 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Chromium is most likely the heart of Google Chrome, Opera and some browsers without fancy features. SiliconeValley • Sep 2016 • 14 agrees and 8 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Chromium is not a ready-for-the-consumer software. It is a open source project that needs to be implemented to make it work. jacksarrocco • Jul 2016 • 26 agrees and 105 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux BSD PC-BSD ... Xfce

    Based on Blink engine Chrome-like Web Browsers Based on Chromium Google smart lock ... Open Source apps Portable Support for Chrome extensions Add a feature

    Chromium icon

  • Waterfox

    Waterfox is a high performance browser based on the Mozilla platform. Made specifically for 64-bit systems, Waterfox has one thing in mind: speed.

    • Fast, supports the old extensions. Guest • May 2019 • 5 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Waterfox is made for x64 (amd64) CPUs, and it also delivers you a fine service concerning privacy, firstly devs removed telemetry and tracking implented recently in Firefox. Secondly it supports old extensions and pocket was removed Akino • Jun 2017 • 26 agrees and 6 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Fast. Support for XUL addons. Interface customisation unrestricted x Guest • Aug 2019 • 3 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It depends what you want from a Firefox alternative. Waterfox is essentially identical to Firefox, except that it's a 64-bit, not a 32-bit browser. It's still open source and fully compatible with all options, extensions and everything else. JohnFastman • Dec 2016 • 19 agrees and 6 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Great 64-bit alternative, it's lighting-fast & ditches the telemetry. Guest • Aug 2017 • 9 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It is completely compatible with every feature present in Firefox, so you don't lose *anything* when migrating, and win privacy, speed and security. Guest • Oct 2017 • 6 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Uses almost all the original code of firefox but keeps the "undesired" NPAPI that firefox dropped, another words user retains ability to change the browser's UI & behaviour Guest • Nov 2017 • 3 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Open source fork of Firefox with a few privacy settings (not not all) changed by default. Guest • May 2018 • 1 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • So far this is the BEST replacement I have found for FireFox 57 (which is just a Chrome clone at this point) Guest • Nov 2017 • 2 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Waterfox is so far the closest to modern Firefox, but with better privacy, and a commitment to maintain XUL/XPCOM support indefinitely so that I can keep using a modern theme with square tabs, centred bookmarks and of course the add-on bar. bird • Nov 2017 • 2 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • The option to accept or dent cookies... Guest • Oct 2017 • 1 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux PortableApps.com

    Support for 64 bit Privacy focused Web Browsers Based on Firefox Firefox Extensions ... Legacy addons support Optimized Firefox Classic extension support Cloud sync Support for Firefox extensions Optimized for Windows Portable Privacy enhanced Specific for 64-Bit UI customization Add a feature

    Waterfox icon

  • Opera

    Opera is a browser with innovative features, speed and security. Opera’s vision is to deliver the best Internet experience on any device and the company is committed to...

    • Firefox is focused on privacy and it is open-source. Opera is closed-source and it is owned by a chinese company.. Not so private... Guest • Jun 2019 • 7 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • The snappiest browser I've ever used. Amazing load and boot times compared to Firefox. it is also faster than Chrome and Vivaldi. I tried almost all the alternatives on this page. and Opera was the fastest. MD98SY • Sep 2017 • 5 agrees and 8 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Innovative features, good extension support, stable Guest • May 2017 • 6 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Opera has so many new features in the new update 42 comes with the new sidebar,new animations and more features and it has a very nice design SecurityChecker • Jun 2017 • 2 agrees and 8 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Mac Windows Linux Windows Mobile Android ... S60 Android Tablet BSD PortableApps.com Kindle Fire ReactOS

    Built-in VPN Built-in Ad-blocker Built-in Download Manager Mouse gestures ... Portable Resume interrupted downloads Ad-free Auto-login Based on Blink engine Built-In Proxy Built-in RSS reader Web Browsers Based on Chromium Customizable Explorer-like Extensible by Plugins/Extensions Group tabs Multiple languages Night mode/Dark Theme Opera-like Pop out video Privacy Protected Real-Time Synchronization Spatial navigation Support for Chrome extensions Sync between devices Tab preview Tabbed browsing Tabbed interface UI customization VPN WebRTC Whatsapp integration Add a feature

    Opera icon

  • Brave

    Brave Web Browser is a fast, free, secure web browser with a built-in ad blocker*, tracking and security protection, and optimized data and battery experience. *What...

    • JohnFastman made a review 2 years ago when Brave was using Muon Browser as a source. Brave now officially supports Chromium extensions because it uses Chromium as a source, so feel free to use Brave as a replacement for Google Chrome and Firefox. Guest • May 2019 • 4 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • I have been using FireFox for years. Recently I have been inundated ads. I noticed that after a recent FireFox update, none of the plugins were operating. I was unable to install updates to the plugins. I decided the try Brave. Elminated all ads, and I didn't need a plugin. Also it is much faster than my FireFox. Guest • May 2019 • 3 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Brave is open-source and privacy focused like Firefox. It uses the open Chromium Engine used also by Chrome and so it is really fast. It has built-in Tor and a good Ad-blocker. Brave intrduced a new way to reward content publishers with privacy-minded ads (you can activate/deactivate this feature when you want). Guest • Jun 2019 • 1 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Its super fast, private and has Tor implemented. Its reliable and ive never had any problems with it, The_Quantum_Alpha • Mar 2019 Disagree   Agree
    • Currently (March 2017), Brave is not a mature project. It's an open-source privacy-oriented browser and very fast. But you rely on the developers to provide most of the privacy settings, and you can't install extensions. Firefox remains much more customizable via it's about:config menu options. JohnFastman • Mar 2017 • 15 agrees and 8 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It's really really nice and fast, but is still in very early development and lacking a lot of features Guest • Apr 2017 • 9 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Built-in ad-blocker, free and open-source. Guest • Feb 2018 • 2 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Read my review. Brave is Firefox baby with more privacy and clear interface Akino • Jun 2017 • 2 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux Android iPhone ... Android Tablet iPad Electron / Atom Shell

    Built-in Ad-blocker Privacy focused Support for TOR Built-in Script Blocker ... Built-in VPN Ad-free Cloud sync Fingerprinting protection No Tracking Privacy Protected Security focused Block ads BAT Token integration Accept Bitcoin as payment Brave shield Built-in Torrent client Google Chrome Extensions Web Browsers Based on Chromium Cryptocurrency rewards Cryptocurrency support Customizable Digital currency HTTPS Support Micropayments System Support for Multiple Users Night mode/Dark Theme Privacy-friendly Security & Privacy Tracker blocker User interface Add a feature

    Brave icon

  • Google Chrome

    A free web browser developed by Google from the open source Chromium project with a focus on speed and minimalism. Chrome offers fast...

    • It doesn't have the same level of privacy and personalization Guest • Mar 2017 • 136 agrees and 16 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Bad add-on/script compatibility, less freedom for modding the browser Guest • Aug 2015 • 113 agrees and 30 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Do not have as many languages and spell checking support as Firefox do. Guest • Dec 2016 • 69 agrees and 18 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Not open-source, which is the major reason for using Firefox. Guest • Jan 2018 • 27 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • The purpose of Mozilla is to offer a free, open source browser that protect privacy while Google chrome purpose is to exploit private data to promote Google Ads. Guest • Feb 2018 • 17 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Closed source made by Google. Much less trustworthy than open source, made by the non-profit Mozilla jamiegray • Jul 2019 • 1 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Google Chrome is the fastest and most secure browser there is. It also has the largest library of extensions and the most support since it is by far the most widely used browser today. shadomatrix • Jan 2019 • 1 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Works well in low connection as well AnthonyClancy121 • Jul 2018 • 2 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Less customization with add-ons, closed-source code and Google privacy issues. Chrome is what Firefox is trying to be with FF 57 / WebExtensions, but it won't work, just like how corporate Democrats will never be able to win enough Republican voters over to replace their progressive base. Stop trying to be Chrome, Mozilla. Guest • Nov 2017 • 15 agrees and 7 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Completely different way of addons, different way of process handling, independent from Goole, more intuitive to handle, perfect for power users, completely different way to secure addons (provides much less working surface for malware). Guest • Oct 2017 • 13 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Use less RAM than firefox 57, better at javascript with V8 Guest • Jan 2018 • 12 agrees and 19 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • More reliable in the sense that there are more websites that work better in Chrome than those that work better in Firefox. 914ian914 • Feb 2018 • 6 agrees and 15 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • because google chrome is very fast Shojimeguro • Oct 2017 • 2 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • No ability to select custom colors. Guest • May 2016 • 1 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Firefox addons do not run on Chrome Guest • Nov 2015 • 1 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It is fast, stable and more secure than Firefox. It manages the resources better than Firefox. sidboy • Nov 2016 • 18 agrees and 87 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Mac Windows Linux Android iPhone ... Chrome OS Android Tablet BSD iPad PortableApps.com

    Extensible by Plugins/Extensions Android Sync Automatic Form-Filler Built-in Adobe Flash Player ... Cloud sync Based on Blink engine Bookmark organization Web Browsers Based on Chromium Customizable Fan speed control Google integration Incognito mode Inspect Element Integrated Password Manager Integrated PDF Viewer Support for Javascript Low-Ram Usage Native bookmark sync Password sync Portable Support for Intel Quick Sync acceleration Place websites on desktop Supports H265 Codec Tabbed browsing User Levels Based on Webkit engine Add a feature

    Google Chrome icon

  • Firefox Developer Edition

    Firefox Developer Edition brings you latest features, fast performance, and the development tools you need to build for the open web. Its powerful development tools will...

    • If you have issues with Firefox not being fast enough but don't wanna go Chrome try this! Also faster than Chrome. axy_david • Jan 2018 • 8 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux PortableApps.com

    Web Browsers Based on Firefox Portable Add a feature

    Firefox Developer Edition icon

  • SeaMonkey

    The SeaMonkey project is a community effort to develop the SeaMonkey all-in-one internet application suite. A lighter alternative to...

    • It's the Father of Firefox and has an EXCELLENT team to keep it up to date and with current Firefox code. I just love this browser. ;) Guest • Jan 2019 • 2 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Less resource-intensive than Firefox. Generally fast and stable. Guest • May 2017 • 5 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Lighweight and is without soros Support. kompowiec2 • Aug 2017 • 1 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Lighter on resources, had UI we were used to in old Firefox(version 3.x), some features like webRTC might be missing. mzs_47 • Sep 2015 • 4 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Within Linux works much more fast and compatible with Firefox extensions Guest • Jul 2015 • 4 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux BSD PortableApps.com

    WYSIWYG Support Built-in RSS reader Customizable Extensible by Plugins/Extensions ... Firefox Extensions Support for Firefox extensions Integrated Email Client Modular System Portable Privacy focused Add a feature

    SeaMonkey icon

  • Ungoogled Chromium

    A Google Chromium variant for removing Google integration and enhancing privacy, control, and transparency.

    • Google services do not work properly on this browser, no DRM support of proprietary codecs available. Also, on Windows there is no .exe to click and install you need to compile and build it, it's not that simple and pretty limited in customization, even more than proper Google Chrome. Guest • Jun 2019 • 2 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Despite Chromium being "open source", it still downloads Google-related crap and phones home to Google. If you value your online privacy, you'll appreciate the Ungoogled Chromium browser, which removes all that. However, Firefox remains more customizable in terms of privacy options. JohnFastman • Mar 2017 • 15 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux

    Privacy focused Based on Blink engine Web Browsers Based on Chromium Extensions ... Multiple languages Open Source apps Portable Security focused Add a feature

    Ungoogled Chromium icon

  • Yandex.Browser

    Yandex.Browser is a simple and easy-to-use internet browser. Based on the Chromium technology platform, it loads pages quickly, just...

    • Very good looking browser and a good amount of appearance choices. Might recommend. Guest • Jul 2019 • 1 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Mac Windows Linux Android iPhone ... Android Tablet iPad

    Based on Blink engine Web Browsers Based on Chromium Integrated PDF Viewer Mouse gestures ... Support for Chrome extensions Add a feature

    Yandex.Browser icon

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Mozilla Firefox Comments

Firefox remains the best for privacy.

Comment by JohnFastman
about Mozilla Firefox and Keefox, Tor Browser, OmniSidebar · Mar 2017 · Helpful Not helpful 16 Helpful Report as spam

Mozilla's decisions will lower customizability/popularity

Firefox 57 will support only addons written via the WebExtensions API, which will mean that a great deal of well-loved Firefox functionality will disappear. This includes, e.g. Omnisidebar and Keefox. The community are furious (see here, here and here).

Still the most private for general browsing

Despite this, Firefox the best browser for customizability and privacy. It is the only browser able to give the user a huge range of options on everything from WebGL to WebRTC, changing how many closed tabs are remembered/can be re-opened, whether websites can ask for information about copy-pasting, battery status... If you don't know about this, you'll be surprised.

I recommend following the privacy guidelines set out for configuring Firefox on privacytools.io.

Firefox is open source and remains the best option for general online privacy, short of using Tor Browser (which is based on Firefox, btw.)

reply

Essential extensions

Comment by Anamon
about Mozilla Firefox · Feb 2017 · Helpful Not helpful 14 Helpful Report as spam

The main reason for many, if not most, people to use Firefox over other browsers such as Chrome or the new Opera, is customisation. No other browser comes close in the diversity and power of its extensions ecosystem, and it's really why I personally still use it as my main browser. While a number of developers do their best, Chrome's selection of extensions is, to put it bluntly, laughable. The average quality is terrible, many developers won't even try because they know already how ridiculously limited the possibilities are that Google gives developers.

Sadly, over the past few years, starting at around the time of Firefox's rapid release cycle, most extensions I installed were to restore some functionality that was removed. But thanks to the powerful possibilities given to extensions a good workaround could usually be found. For the benefit of anyone who might be interested, here is my short list of Firefox extensions that I find absolutely essential.

Category 1 consists of 4 extensions which, in my humble opinion, are essential to turn Firefox into a usable browser in the first place. To be frank, I think any browser should just come with this functionality by default. Note that this is not a criticism against Firefox per se – no other major browser offers these things, at least Firefox is one of the few (the only one?) that allow you to add them afterwards.

  • NoScript: Browsing the web without this is just a liability. You're protected from most web-based vulnerabilities and exploits by default with NoScript, and the most annoying ads to boot. You will never go back to the usual "doors and windows unlocked and wide open" way of surfing the web. A slight inconvenience in the beginning by having to whitelist trusted servers, but it will very quickly pay off in a surfing experience that is about 1000× faster and 1000× safer and 1000000× less annoying. And websites that, without good reason, don't even work fully unless JavaScript is active? Ditch them, you don't need that poorly engineered mess in your life.
  • Nuke Anything Enhanced: Remove annoying, broken, and unnecessary elements from web pages. Very useful for preparing pages for print, but not only.
  • Textarea Cache: What the old, abandoned and now non-functional Lazarus extension used to do: store backup copies of whatever you write into webforms, so should anything undesirable happen – browser crash, accidentally navigating away from the page, or a failure to submit on a website that is so poorly written as to lose your data when it happens – you can restore it from the cache. Can save you massive amounts of time and frustration.
  • Classic Theme Restorer: After the Australis redesign, UI customisability was severely restricted, if not eliminated. Most of its elements are also a massive waste of space, making Firefox almost impossible to use for power users. Do you sometimes open more than 10 tabs? Do you have more than 100 bookmarks? If so, then you can't really use Firefox unless you let CTR fix some of the damage done by Australis. Thanks to it, I have a title bar that actually shows me titles of pages I'm on, I have more space-efficient (and square!) tabs, prettier buttons and toolbars, and almost most importantly: so much less wasted screen real estate all around.

Category 2 is a more personal selection. These extensions I wouldn't consider essential, but using Firefox without them would just be endlessly frustrating to me. These are real time savers and effective grey hair preventers.

  • Bookmark Favicon Changer: I use a bookmarks toolbar without names or text labels (easy one-click access to many essential sites!), so favicons are all I have to distinguish them. Sadly, some websites don't offer one, or a very much less than expressive one. This extension allows you to set custom ones. Because of differences of opinion with Mozilla, the extension has to be downloaded from the author's own website.
    Huzzah!
  • DownThemAll! I thought the days of needing download managers are over, but this is a nifty little helper at times. Poor servers can make it very helpful to be able to resume downloads, and its bulk download options are very handy.
  • Keybinder: Because Firefox doesn't allow customising keyboard shortcuts. I don't know what was the brilliant idea behind disabling the Escape key in Firefox (it used to cancel pending requests, including AJAX), but it was terribly idiotic, because now you're no longer able to just bash escape if something's happening that you don't want to – the most common use case being, of course, hitting a link by accident. Set up the Escape key to mean "Stop" again using Keybinder (as otherwise the key is completely non-functional) and you can prevent that stuff from happening again. I also use it to disable the F12 shortcut for the developer console, because I keep hitting it by accident.
  • Keyword Search: Firefox always supported multiple search engines. It was completely incomprehensible why they would make the search bar completely superfluous by forcing users to always search with the one engine they currently set as a default, regardless of where they're searching from. In other words, searching from the search bar is now functionally equivalent to doing it from the URL bar, and I honestly don't know why the former is even still there. Since I don't want to have to constantly switch the default engine back and forth, I set Keyword Search up so that the URL bar searches my default engine, and the search bar searches whatever engine I select in it. Sorted, searching is usable again.
  • Link Visitor: This is more of a personal choice; I often use unvisited/visited link colours to remember what I've already read. If I click something by accident, I can toggle the link colour back to Unvisited using this extensions.
  • Tampermonkey: Customise the web.
  • URL Flipper: Very handy to navigate paginated websites, galleries, and so on. Allows you to increment and decrement URL variables easily.
  • Video DownloadHelper: Say no to media conglomerates trying to take away your consumer rights. You have a right to download private copies – exercise it! And disable those abominable EME DRM extensions in Firefox settings, while you're at it. Say no to media that is "defective by design".
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Anamon · Oct 2017

Many of these extensions are XUL-based, an API which will be completely removed from Firefox version 57, to be released this November. The only extension technology that will be left to Firefox add-on developers and users is WebExtensions, the same as used by Google's Chrome and other browsers.

While this has certain benefits regarding stability and portability, as anyone who has ever looked at Google's Chrome extension registry has to suspect, it is an extremely limited API compared to what Firefox used to offer with its legacy add-on systems. Most of the deeper interface customisations are not possible using WebExtensions APIs, which is why there are so few genuinely useful and interesting extensions for Chrome, especially compared to the rich ecosystem that was Firefox extensions. To their credit, Mozilla promises to extend their WebExtensions APIs beyond what Chrome offers, to allow for (hopefully much) more powerful add-ons. But the truth is that their current API support is terribly lacking, and months, if not years away from what it should have been before the old technology was scheduled to be disabled. This leaves Firefox users in the position of either having to do without a lot of the extensions they got used to, to stay on an old version of Firefox, or to hope and wait.

I'll update my comment with a list of replacements that are already WebExtensions compatible, which you can use in Firefox beyond version 56.

  • NoScript's developer is working on providing a WebExtensions version by the time of Firefox 57's release. Chrome's set of WebExtensions APIs is not sufficient to support an extension like NoScript, which is why he worked with Mozilla to integrate the required additional APIs. Let's hope they'll be done in time!
  • Nuke Anything Enhanced has already been updated to WebExtensions. There is a slight usability gripe due to current WebExtensions limitations in Firefox: you can no longer have an extension add multiple top-level entries to context menus. The author included a workaround that lets you disable entries you don't need. If you can get it down to 1 in every possible context, you won't get the annoying submenu.
  • Textarea Cache: A WebExtensions add-on called "TextArea Cache Lite" is supposed to offer some of the functionality of this add-on. It's a bit less comfortable, and I haven't tested it a lot yet.
  • Classic Theme Restorer will not be supported due to its deep UI customisations. Losing the skin options hurts a bit less since Firefox 57 comes with a new, very compact and minimalist interface, restoring many of the benefits that led to the development of CTR in the first place. However, many of its other numerous features will surely be missed.
  • Bookmark Favicon Changer: I haven't found a WebExtensions-compatible replacement for this add-on yet.
  • DownThemAll! and similar extensions are not likely to be supported anymore.
  • Keybinder is unfortunately going away, as customising hotkeys is not something WebExtensions add-ons can currently do in Firefox. Let's hope an API to do this will follow soon, since it's not only a comfort feature, but can also help resolve conflicts between different add-ons.
  • Keyword Search will probably not be supported anymore. To be honest, I'm not sure if the functionality it restored hasn't already been restored to mainline Firefox.
  • Link Visitor has been ported to WebExtensions. Unfortunately, it is a bit slower than the previous XUL-based version. Also, the inability to customise hotkeys (see above) is a downside that Mozilla will hopefully address.
  • Tampermonkey is already a WebExtensions add-on.
  • URL Flipper: I could not find a WebExtensions replacement for this add-on yet, and sadly, in the current APIs, a UI as comfortable as the one it had is not possible anymore. The functionality itself should be possible to add, though.
  • Video DownloadHelper's authors announced plans to port the extension to WebExtensions, but they're not there yet.

Comment by POX
about Mozilla Firefox · Feb 2018 · Helpful Not helpful 8 Helpful Report as spam

I don't really like what Mozilla is doing with Firefox these last few years (Pocket, telemetry, data collection, the Looking Glass addon, the removal of individual cookie management recently and many other craps…) so I'd recommend to everyone to start using Small Waterfox iconWaterfox instead.

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Comment by LAN
about Mozilla Firefox · Oct 2017 · Helpful Not helpful 5 Helpful Report as spam

After a couple of years of Mozilla "improving" the browser by bloating it with various silly features, they finally made a huge step forwards and went to make Firefox fast and efficient.

Firefox got a huge modernisation of both backend and UI in version 57 (Quantum), which will be released in November. Firefox now takes advantage of multiple processor cores, prioritises tabs, and perceived performance is also improved. When you try Firefox Beta, you actually feel the new speed.

I really recommend everyone who had become fed up with Firefox and switched to Chrome to give the new version another chance.

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Comment by TheCEOofDoodleCo
about Mozilla Firefox · Apr 2017 · Helpful Not helpful 3 Helpful Report as spam

Mozilla is a great organization, and Firefox is more stable and less memory-consuming than Chromium-based browsers like Chrome or Opera. I also generally like Firefox's library of add-ons more than those in the Chrome Web Store. NoScript is very useful.

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Comment by Akoot
about Mozilla Firefox · Mar 2017 · Helpful Not helpful 1 Helpful Report as spam

It's fast and very pretty, very customizable

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Comment by CarlV
about Mozilla Firefox · Sep 2019 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

Mozilla is dedicated to privacy and security.
My personal info is mine, not to be miss-used by the "Greeds".

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Comment by PoorPocketsMcNewHold
about Mozilla Firefox · Aug 2019 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

One of the most powerful web browser I've tested, but by far, seriously the most reliable.

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Comment by shadomatrix
about Mozilla Firefox · Aug 2019 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

If you're still using Firefox in 2019 (and not Pale Moon or GNU IceCat), then you might consider installing some of the addons listed below to make your experience less painful.

Privacy-related

  • uBlock Origin - block annoying ads (including so-called "acceptable" ones) and stop WebRTC from leaking your IP address.
  • uMatrix - a useful addon for blocking third-party elements. Choose to allow certain scripts (such as Cloudflare) only on certain sites, rather than globally. NoScript is a similar addon, but it lacks the same functionality as uMatrix.
  • Smart HTTPS - Redirects all sites to HTTPS and if the site doesn't load, reverts to HTTP. By default it automatically whitelists the sites that didn't load, but this can easily be disabled in the settings.
    • There is a similar addon called HTTPS Everywhere, but I don't recommend it since it's based on a list. If a website is not on the list, it won't redirect to HTTPS, even if it supports it.
  • Decentraleyes - block content delivery networks.
  • Skip Redirect - skips intermediary pages before redirecting to the final URL. My only problem with this one is that it'll cause the Internet Archive Wayback Machine to break, but you can easily whitelist that site.

Other

  • Archiveror - allows you to easily save pages to the wayback machine.
  • I don't care about cookies - removes annoying popups about every site's cookie policy.
  • Nuke Anything Enhanced - remove broken, unnecessary elements in web pages.
  • Stylus - install custom themes and restyle the web. Do NOT install the similar spyware addon Stylish.

Finally, avoid installing too many addons. Doing so will cause your browser to literally break on you, and it will make it easier for trackers to profile you. Also avoid installing closed source addons.

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Comment by tomaskarban
about Mozilla Firefox · Jul 2019 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

I think Google is snooping too much on our lives, I prefer Firefox for privacy reasons.

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alexanderdani95213 · Aug 2019

I use Firefox everyday


Comment by Guest
about Mozilla Firefox · Jun 2019 · Report as spam

It's the best!

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Comment by cami_lla
about Mozilla Firefox · Sep 2018 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

I like it

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a comment

Comment by 11009723
about Mozilla Firefox · Jul 2016 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

I use Firefox everyday , and I really like it

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Firefox 64-bit!

Comment by Danilo_Venom
about Mozilla Firefox · Dec 2015 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

Finally, with Firefox 43, an official 64-bit version of the program is available for Windows :D

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Azazel · Dec 2015

Yess!
Unlike Chromium, Firefox only keeps getting better and better.