Chrome dominates with 63% market share, Safari trails at 17%

According to the latest Browser Market Share Report released by Cloudflare on April 21, 2025, Chrome continues to dominate the global browser market with 63.409% market share in Q1 2025. The report, published six days ago, reveals significant insights about browser usage patterns across different countries and operating systems.

Cloudflare's quarterly report provides an extensive analysis of browser market share data collected through their global network, which spans more than 200 cities in over 100 countries. The report states that "Approximately 25 million Internet properties rely on Cloudflare's network to reach their audiences. More than 10% of all websites connect through our reverse proxy, including 17% of the Fortune 1000." This extensive reach gives Cloudflare a unique perspective on browser market trends.

The data collection methodology employed by Cloudflare differs from other market research approaches. According to the report, Cloudflare uses "the user-agent header parsed using mainly uap-core 7e634c8 in combination with a proprietary parser." Additionally, starting from 2024Q1, Cloudflare has been "also using client-hints to parse the browser." This methodology offers distinct advantages over traditional analytics tools.

One key difference in Cloudflare's approach is that their data collection is "not thwarted by ad or tracker blockers or other browser extensions that block analytic requests from third parties because Cloudflare is a first party in these instances, seeing the direct request to the website." This suggests greater accuracy in tracking browser usage compared to third-party analytics services that might be blocked by privacy-focused browsers or extensions.

The global browser market hierarchy remains relatively stable with Chrome maintaining its dominant position. Safari follows with 17.496% market share, while Microsoft Edge holds 7.018%. Firefox maintains a respectable 4.102% share despite facing increasing competition from both established and emerging browsers.

Samsung Internet, primarily used on Samsung mobile devices, holds 2.299% market share globally, followed by Opera with 1.479%. Brave, a privacy-focused browser gaining popularity in recent years, has secured 1.059% of the global market.

Regional variations in browser preferences are evident when examining country-specific data. In Australia, for example, Chrome's market share drops to 56.606%, while Safari's increases to 26.443%. This higher Safari usage likely correlates with increased iPhone and Mac adoption in the Australian market compared to global averages.

The report also breaks down browser usage by operating system, revealing that Chrome dominates the Android ecosystem with 83.809% market share. Samsung Internet follows with 6.702%, while other Android browsers like Huawei Browser, Yandex Browser, and QQ Browser each hold approximately 1% market share.

When examining Australia specifically, Chrome's dominance on Android devices decreases to 77.610%, while Samsung Internet's share increases to 17.133%. This indicates stronger Samsung device adoption in Australia compared to global averages.

The inclusion of in-app browsers in the Australian Android data reveals interesting patterns about how users access the web. According to the report, when in-app browsers are included, Chrome's market share drops to 65.507%, while Facebook's in-app browser accounts for 12.507% of browsing and Instagram's in-app browser represents 2.795%. This data highlights the significant impact of social media platforms on how users access web content.

Several new browsers appeared in the tracking methodology for the first time in 2025Q1. According to the report, "VivoBrowser," "Mint Browser," "HiBrowser," "Hola Browser," "Tenta Browser," and "Whale" were all added to the tracking system this quarter. Among these, VivoBrowser has already secured 0.307% of the global market share, making it the 11th most popular browser globally.

The continued dominance of Chrome raises important considerations for web developers and marketers. With nearly two-thirds of all web traffic flowing through Chrome, optimizing websites for Chrome's rendering engine remains crucial. However, the significant market share held by Safari means developers must ensure compatibility with WebKit, Safari's underlying rendering engine, particularly for markets with higher iOS adoption.

The inclusion of in-app browsers in the market share data signals an important shift in how users access web content. Facebook's in-app browser accounting for over 12% of browsing in Australia on Android devices indicates that a significant portion of web traffic now occurs within social media applications rather than dedicated browsers. This trend has profound implications for analytics tracking, advertising effectiveness, and user experience design.

For the marketing community, these findings underscore several critical developments. First, the dominance of mobile browsing continues to shape the digital landscape. Marketers must design campaigns with mobile-first principles in mind, optimizing for both Chrome and Safari on mobile devices. The user experience differences between these browsers can significantly impact campaign performance.

Second, the rise of in-app browsers demands new approaches to attribution modeling and analytics. Traditional marketing analytics may fail to accurately capture user journeys that traverse multiple apps and browsers. More sophisticated cross-platform tracking solutions may be necessary to gain accurate insights into customer behavior.

Third, the emergence of privacy-focused browsers like Brave, which now holds over 1% global market share, reflects growing consumer concern about data privacy. While still relatively small, this segment represents users who actively seek to limit tracking and advertising. Marketers should develop strategies to engage these privacy-conscious consumers without relying on invasive tracking methods.

Fourth, the regional variations in browser usage highlight the importance of localized marketing strategies. Markets with higher Safari usage, like Australia, may require different optimization approaches than markets dominated by Chrome or markets with significant usage of regional browsers like Yandex or QQ.

The Cloudflare report provides valuable data for marketers seeking to understand how consumers access digital content. The methodology section explains that they "store traffic metadata to orange clouded websites (websites that proxy their requests through our platform)" and "take the top 12 browsers for each combination (country, operating system, country and operating system)." This comprehensive approach gives marketers reliable data to inform their digital strategies.

Furthermore, the report notes that "This methodology assumes that the traffic that Cloudflare sees is representative of the whole in terms of link clicks from general search engines, which seems appropriate given the wide breadth of our customer base (many different types of websites use Cloudflare)." This breadth provides confidence in the applicability of the findings across different market segments.

The report's exclusion of WebViews is notable. According to Cloudflare, "Both Chrome Mobile WebView and Mobile Safari UI/WKWebView make up a huge chunk of the data and such requests are being excluded." This methodological choice focuses the analysis on dedicated browser applications rather than embedded web views within native applications.

The rise of VivoBrowser to the 11th position globally highlights the dynamic nature of the browser market. Despite Chrome's dominance, new entrants continue to gain traction, particularly in mobile markets where device manufacturers often pre-install their own browsers. This fragmentation presents both challenges and opportunities for digital marketers seeking to reach specific audience segments.

The report's tracking of emerging browsers like HiBrowser and Whale demonstrates Cloudflare's commitment to comprehensive market analysis. As these browsers gain adoption, particularly in specific regional markets, marketers targeting those regions will need to ensure compatibility and optimize user experiences accordingly.

Cloudflare's methodology offers unique insights into actual browsing behavior by capturing first-party requests. The report states that "Unlike other methodologies, this one is not thwarted by ad or tracker blockers or other browser extensions that block analytic requests from third parties because Cloudflare is a first party in these instances, seeing the direct request to the website." This approach provides more accurate data for marketers seeking to understand genuine user behavior.

As we move further into 2025, these browser usage trends will continue to evolve. The fragmentation of the browser market, particularly on Android, presents challenges for ensuring consistent user experiences across platforms. The rise of in-app browsing further complicates this landscape, as users increasingly access web content through integrated browsers within social media applications.

Timeline of Key Browser Market Developments

• April 21, 2025: Cloudflare releases the Browser Market Share Report for Q1 2025
• Q1 2025: Chrome maintains dominant position with 63.409% global market share
• Q1 2025: Safari secures second position with 17.496% global market share
• Q1 2025: VivoBrowser, Mint Browser, HiBrowser, Hola Browser, Tenta Browser, and Whale added to tracking methodology
• Q1 2025: VivoBrowser achieves 0.307% market share, ranking 11th globally
• Q1 2025: In-app browsers from Facebook and Instagram account for over 15% of Android web browsing in Australia
• 2024 Q1: Cloudflare begins using client-hints in addition to user-agent headers to parse browser data