It’s true—Chromium has become the “engine” powering approximately 80% of the global browser market. While initiated by Google, it is an open-source project, allowing other companies to skip the massive cost of developing their own rendering engines and focus instead on unique features. 
Browsers Built on Chromium:
Beyond Google Chrome, prominent examples include:
- Microsoft Edge: Switched to Chromium in 2020 for better web compatibility and extension support.
- Brave: Focuses on privacy by automatically blocking ads and trackers.
- Opera & Opera GX: Some of the earliest adopters after abandoning their custom “Presto” engine.
- Vivaldi: Aimed at power users with extreme interface customization.
- Samsung Internet: The dominant browser for Samsung mobile devices.
- Arc: A modern browser that rethinks tab management and user experience.
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The Major Exceptions (Non-Chromium):
Only two major players still maintain their own independent engines:
- Mozilla Firefox: Uses its own Gecko engine.
- Apple Safari: Uses the WebKit engine. Interestingly, Chromium originally started as a fork of WebKit before they split into separate projects.
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Why the Shift to Chromium?
The transition is driven by security, speed (specifically the V8 JavaScript engine), and a massive extension ecosystem. Maintaining a modern engine is so complex that even giants like Microsoft found it more efficient to adopt the Chromium base to ensure perfect website compatibility. 
1. Privacy Differences (Brave vs. Vivaldi vs. Chrome)
While they are all built on Chromium, each browser handles your data differently:
- Google Chrome: The least private. It integrates deep telemetry with your Google account and uses your browsing history for targeted advertising.
- Brave: A “hardcore” approach to privacy. It blocks ads, trackers, and fingerprinting directly in the engine by default. It is also fully open-source.
- Vivaldi: Focused on user control. It offers built-in blockers and granular permissions for every site. Unlike Brave, Vivaldi’s interface (UI) is not open-source, as noted in PCMag reviews.
- Ungoogled Chromium: For maximalists—this is Chromium with every link to Google’s servers manually stripped out, though it requires manual updates.
2. The Monopoly Problem and Web Standards
Since Google controls Chromium’s development, it effectively sets the rules for the entire internet:
- Dictating Standards: If Google introduces a new feature in Chromium (e.g., Privacy Sandbox), it overnight becomes the standard that web developers must follow. This makes it harder for Firefox (Gecko engine) to survive, as developers often optimize sites only for Chromium.
- Manifest V3: Google recently changed how extensions work (Manifest V3), which complicates the effectiveness of traditional ad blockers. While Brave and Vivaldi strive to maintain old functionality, they are ultimately limited by what Google allows in the base code.
- Antitrust Battles: Due to this dominance, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attempted to force Google to sell Chrome. However, according to rulings from September 2025, Google will not have to sell the browser but must share search data with competitors.
Conclusion: Which one to use?
If you want to escape Google’s influence, Firefox is the only true alternative with an independent engine. If you want Chromium’s speed but with privacy, Brave or the Mullvad Browser are the top choices for 2026.
https://www.chromium.org/getting-involved/download-chromium/
https://developer.apple.com/safari/resources/
https://chromium.woolyss.com/download/
https://download-chromium.appspot.com/
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