(We’ll wait for the “new” Chromium-based Microsoft Edge to be released before adding it.) We did use three modern Web benchmarks, however, to measure performance between Brave, Chrome 78, the current Edge 44, and Firefox 70. The distinctions are so slight, however, you’ll probably never notice a shift in performance between one browser and another.

Performance is also table stakes, and the Brave browser is right in the middle of the pack.

Mark Hachman / IDGīrave walks you through a short setup process. A search box for the settings would be helpful.) I say “password,” but even this isn’t that simple you’ll need to establish a “synch chain” with another computer or phone, then enter a Brave-suggested password to connect them. (If two-factor-authentication is available, I missed it. Brave slurped up my favorites, websites, passwords, and other necessities from Chrome, however, and had me browsing happily in just a minute or so.Īs with other browsers, a single master password allows you to sync this information with other instances of the Brave browser, as well as a complementary Android browser that I didn’t test. It’s easy to get up and running fast, but Brave’s more advanced features require some fiddling. Brave easily clears the first hurdle, though setup is a subtly complex process. Brave runs extensions from the Chrome Web Store, though it will warn you if it thinks you’re installing a dodgy one.īy now, browsers absolutely have to be free and extremely simple to configure. Brave tweaked the open-source Chromium code, including weeding out the Google-specific code that ties the browser to Google Web services. Like many browsers today, including the new Microsoft Edge, the Brave browser is built upon Chromium, the foundation of Google Chrome. Brave’s browser delivers excellent performance Brave has probably the best “new tab” screen of any browser: killer image, shortcuts to popular sites, as well as a summary of what Brave’s privacy features have done for you.

Brave browser review for tablets