Top 5 Alternative Browsers

For many, the web browsers pre-loaded onto our PCs and Macs are perfectly fine. They do everything we need, and after all, they’re the ones recommended by the manufacturers, right? Well, an increasing number of users are turning their backs on the pre-installed choices of Microsoft and Apple, instead choosing to take control of how they browse and what they browse with. So without further ado, here’s our Top 5 list of alternatives to the big name browsers. To download these or any from our huge range, click here. Got your own favourite? We’d love to know. Just leave a comment at the bottom of the page!

Maxthon Cloud Browser

Maxthon Cloud Browser is a powerful web browser, with a highly customisable interface. The browser has a stack of handy tools to make your time online that much more enjoyable, such as resource sniffer, screen capture tool, night mode and of course, cloud functionality. What really makes Maxthon stand out for us though, is how well it synchronises across multiple devices. Thanks to Cloud Syncing and Cloud Push, you can synchronise your bookmarks, tabs, options and your address bar and new-tab links – and even drag and drop images and send them to your phone contacts or an email address in a few clicks. Sweet!

Opera

Opera is a secure web browser that’s both fast and rich in features. We love its slick interface that embraces a modern, minimalist look, coupled with stacks of tools to make browsing a pleasure. These include such tools as Speed Dial, which houses your favorites and Opera Turbo mode, which compresses pages to give you quicker navigation – even when you have a bad connection! Opera has a reputation for innovation – and was the first browser to include tabbed browsing and built-in search. Opera continues to stay ahead of the curve with cool new features in every update: it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

SeaMonkey

First off – what a cute name! But of course SeaMonkey is much more than just a quirky name – it’s an all-in-one web browser that includes email and chat (IRC client), oh, and easy HTML editing; it’s basically the Swiss Army knife of browsers. Not only that, but SeaMonkey is open-source and community-driven, meaning users can shape how it develops and what features it offers. It’s built on Mozilla source code, so it benefits from Mozilla’s built-in security, meaning protection against most online threats such as viruses and phishing sites. Plus, for added peace of mind, you can download security updates directly from the SeaMonkey website.

Torch Browser

Torch Browser is a fast, powerful, feature-rich web browser. We love that it’s fully customisable while still delivering a safe and secure browsing experience. Perhaps it’s coolest feature is ‘Easy Sharing’ – which allows you to instantly post to Facebook or Twitter without having to visit the sites themselves. Its media button is great if you casually listen to music while online – allowing you to instantly save a song file that takes your fancy. Clever. It also features ‘Torrent Easy’. As the name suggests, this built-in torrent function allows you to use and manage torrent download tasks directly from the browser, without having to download additional software.

UC Browser

UC Browser is a fresh looking, Chromium-based browser, that comes packed with all the benefits of Chrome, plus some cool features to make your online experience far more enjoyable. Thanks to its winning combo of speed and reliability, UC Browser has been a top choice for the discerning Android user for a long time. Since becoming available for the Windows market, UC Browser hasn’t disappointed, thanks to features such as a Video/MP3 Grabber, Pop-Out-Video option and a user-friendly Night Mode – while the latest version of UC Browser, 6.1, features an even more powerful built-in AdBlock function, to help keep those all too familiar pop-ups away. Boom!