The browser wars are unique in that you can become a turncoat pretty easily. Changing sides isn’t a multi-hundred dollar affair like in the iPhone vs. Android debate. All that’s required is an Internet connection and some dedication to a new platform.

That being said, not all browsers are created equal. Internet Explorer is a poorly coded rubbish heap. If you’re especially fond of unresponsive webpages, give it a shot. (It is, however, good for downloading other, more reliable browsers.) Safari is nicely designed and iCloud integrated, but isn’t optimized for Windows machines. If you’re a Mac and iPhone user exclusively, Safari might be a good option.

Opera is little known and really, really… weird–but in a good way! It has a glut of innovative features: the ability to organize bookmarks in a folder library, content compression for webpages to make them load quicker, a built-in news feed… the list goes on. The problem I see in Opera is that it’s trying to do everything, and, in its inventiveness, it forgets to do polish all the features I mentioned.

The entire Opera interface seems kind of cluttered. Overall, the browser is the kind of program I’d dip my toe into, but never dive into headfirst. It’s an interesting experiment, to say the least.

Then again, if Opera isn’t obscure enough, there’s always… Maxthon? Yeah, that’s it. Maxthon. It’s a browser that integrates this strange sidebar thing… and you can put RSS feeds on it… so, yeah. Go forth, hipsters.

For the rest of us–those who like a snappy, dependent browsers with a good library of extensions–there’s Firefox and Chrome. In recent years, they’ve emerged as the two predominant web browsers, and rightfully so. I’ve often struggled to make a decision between them, flitting endlessly between the world of Google and the world of Mozilla.

Today, folks, I weigh the pros and cons of these two browser superstars to see who (I need to stop personifying programs) is truly worth your dedication.

Mozilla Firefox

Version 35

One of the major motivators for using Firefox is the security. Mozilla is committed to constantly updating their list of malicious sites, so that Firefox can protect the user against them. The browser isn’t run by a mega-corporation like cough cough Google (in fact, Mozilla is a nonforprofit). If you want your browsing history to stay incognito, Firefox is your guy.

The interface is minimalist and a pleasant shade of gray-blue. Firefox’s recent design overhaul allows the navigation bar up to recede when you’re reading a webpage; navigating the web is a breeze. I don’t really know why Mozilla doesn’t do away with the righthand search bar in favor of an omnibar (a single search bar that can process URLs and keywords). It’s not really an issue for me. The URL bar still has omnibar-esque functionality.

Extension-wise, Firefox has a respectable library and has the ability to send a tip to your favorite developer. You know, if you wanted to buy the mastermind behind Adblock Plus a coffee.

For you tab-hoarders out there (and no, you don’t need 50 websites open at the same time), Firefox allows you to clump them into groups. I’m not one to drown myself in tabs (nor do I condone the behavior), but I could see the groups being useful when you’re writing a research paper or something of the sort. Mozilla calls this feature “Panorama.”

The niftiness doesn’t stop there: you can “pin” tabs and make them load when you fire up Firefox. It’s like… having multiple homepages. I never really use the feature because four pages loading simultaneously bogs down the program on startup, but I could see it being useful. For somebody.

Firefox runs on Windows, Linux, OSX, and Android. iOS users–don’t let the lack of app be a dealbreaker for you. Firefox is great on desktop; I’m sure you can scrape by on mobile Safari…

Google Chrome

Version 40

…or, alternatively, use Google Chrome, which runs on Windows, Linux, OSX, Android, and iOS! Although it might not be as developer-friendly or (let’s admit it) mega-corporation free, it’s still my browser of choice.

I can practically hear you bashing your keyboards, screaming at your computer screens, dear readers. You suspected it all along. I have a love affair with Google. Yes, it’s true. My digital paramour and I spent a quaint Valentine’s Day in the Balkans. But, hey! Look! I will be the first guy to “stick to the man.”

Apple, frankly, some of the things you do are evil. You take 30% of App Store revenue for yourself, in turn making it extremely difficult for small developers to get off the ground. For a company that tries so desperaky to maintain a hip appearance, you’re ruthless to the “indie” crowd.

Comcast? Verizon? Time Warner Cable? You thought I forgot about you, didn’t you? Well, I didn’t. You are, without a doubt, more evil than Apple. In America today, you three corporations can charge inordinate prices for cable and are pushing for a censored Internet. Stop it.

This may be a flawed argument, coming from a guy who is deeply entrenched in Google services, but let me say this: Google is different. They don’t produce phones that bend or undermine fundamental Internet philosophies. Google established a site to help people find loved ones who were victims of the Boston bombings. I love you, Google. That’s the end of my rant.

As I was saying, what makes Chrome great is its integration with Google. You can edit your Google Drive documents offline in browser. The Chrome Web Store has the most extensions of any browser out there, many of which are made by Google. If you’re dependent on the Google ecosystem of apps, give Chrome a shot.

The interface is minimalist, more so than Firefox. There’s one, long omnibar for both URLs and search keywords, with your tabs above it and your bookmarks below it. I know some people who’d classify this design approach as “bare bones,” but, honestly, the righthand menu gives you all the buttons you’ll ever need. One click isn’t bothersome.

Chrome has live syncing of browser history between devices, so you can continue reading an article on your phone that you started on your laptop.

Some call Google Chrome a RAM hog, since it runs as a background process by default. I don’t notice truth to that statement, but, if you’re concerned about RAM, you can set Chrome to not run in the background in browser settings.

The major difference I find between Chrome and Firefox is that Chrome loads pages faster. It’s as simple as that. Chrome benefits from a 64-bit version of the browser, and, due to that, it can load heavily interactive websites with ease. Firefox, on the other hand, only comes in a 32-bit iteration. However, this website offers a 3rd party version of Firefox in 64-bit, if you’re willing to run the risk of an unstable browser.

To conclude, Firefox is a great option for security, stability, and privacy. You won’t have to worry about Google breathing down your neck. Chrome, on the other hand, offers faster load times and plays nicely with every Google app imaginable. Internet Explorer is an abomination unworthy of your time.

Unless you like Bing, of course. Happy browsing, everyone!