What Are Web Browsers?
Mix (13 tools)
- License: 9 open source · 4 proprietary
- Hosting: 13 self-hosted · 0 SaaS · 0 both
A web browser is the client application through which users reach web applications, SaaS tools, and internal services. For an enterprise it is both the most-used piece of desktop software and a primary security boundary: it renders untrusted content, stores credentials and sessions, and is the endpoint through which single sign-on actually happens.
Browsers are evaluated here because the choice is not purely cosmetic. It determines the rendering engine (and therefore web-compatibility and the shape of the browser monoculture), the privacy posture by default, the enterprise management surface (policies, update channels, extension control), and whether modern authentication (WebAuthn / passkeys, OIDC/SAML redirects) works reliably.
About this data & disclaimer
The information on these pages was researched by a combination of human review and large language models. This catalogue serves as a reference for the resources, applications, devices, deployment payloads, and other components that the ResorsIT platform integrates, deploys, and manages. To suggest an addition or correction, please contact us. Prepared by Rhodium Systems Inc., author of the ResorsIT platform — a unified IT operations management platform for IT teams and MSPs that integrates a curated suite of open-source, commercial, and SaaS applications into a single system with shared identity, single sign-on, access control, and a common audit trail. This information is compiled on a best-effort basis: it may be incomplete, contain errors, and become out of date as tools, vendors, licences, and features change. Use this catalogue only as a starting point for your own research, and independently verify and review any tool carefully against your own requirements before relying on it.
Comparison
Browser choice is driven by rendering engine, privacy defaults, enterprise manageability, and authentication support – not cosmetics.
Engine Matrix
| Browser | Engine | JS Engine | Lineage | OSS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladybird | LibWeb | LibJS | Independent | Yes |
| Northstar | Custom (C) | QuickJS | Independent | Yes |
| Chromium | Blink | V8 | Upstream | Yes |
| Google Chrome | Blink | V8 | Chromium | No |
| Microsoft Edge | Blink | V8 | Chromium | No |
| Brave | Blink | V8 | Chromium | Yes |
| Vivaldi | Blink | V8 | Chromium | No |
| Firefox | Gecko | SpiderMonkey | Upstream | Yes |
| LibreWolf | Gecko | SpiderMonkey | Firefox | Yes |
| Waterfox | Gecko | SpiderMonkey | Firefox | Yes |
| Mullvad Browser | Gecko | SpiderMonkey | Firefox ESR | Yes |
| Tor Browser | Gecko | SpiderMonkey | Firefox ESR | Yes |
| Safari | WebKit | JSCore | Upstream | No* |
* = Safari is proprietary, though its WebKit engine is open source.
Platform Support
| Browser | Windows | macOS | Linux | Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladybird | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Northstar | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Chromium | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Google Chrome | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft Edge | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Brave | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vivaldi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Android |
| Firefox | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LibreWolf | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Waterfox | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mullvad Browser | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Tor Browser | Yes | Yes | Yes | Android |
| Safari | No | Yes | No | iOS |
Ladybird is pre-alpha (Linux/macOS first). On iOS all browsers are required to use WebKit.
Privacy & Security
| Browser | Tracking Protection | Telemetry | Anti-Fingerprint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ladybird | Early | None | Partial |
| Northstar | On-device list | None | Basic |
| Chromium | Minimal | Minimal | No |
| Google Chrome | Minimal | Yes | No |
| Microsoft Edge | Moderate | Yes | No |
| Brave | Strong (Shields) | Minimal | Yes |
| Vivaldi | Moderate | None | No |
| Firefox | Strong (ETP) | Opt-out | Partial (RFP) |
| LibreWolf | Strong | None | Yes (RFP) |
| Waterfox | Strong | None | Partial |
| Mullvad Browser | Very strong | None | Yes |
| Tor Browser | Very strong | None | Yes |
| Safari | Strong (ITP) | Opt-out | Partial |
ETP = Enhanced Tracking Protection; ITP = Intelligent Tracking Prevention; RFP = resistFingerprinting.
Enterprise Management & Auth
| Browser | Managed Policies | WebAuthn / Passkeys |
|---|---|---|
| Ladybird | None | Incomplete |
| Northstar | None | Verify |
| Chromium | ADMX / policies | Yes |
| Google Chrome | CBCM + ADMX | Yes |
| Microsoft Edge | Intune + ADMX | Yes (Entra) |
| Brave | Chromium policies | Yes |
| Vivaldi | Chromium policies | Yes |
| Firefox | policies.json + ADMX | Yes |
| LibreWolf | policies.json | Yes |
| Waterfox | policies.json | Yes |
| Mullvad Browser | Limited | Partial |
| Tor Browser | Limited | Restricted |
| Safari | Apple MDM profiles | Yes |
CBCM = Chrome Browser Cloud Management. Tor Browser restricts APIs for anonymity, which can break WebAuthn and federated-login flows.
Licensing
| Browser | License | Cost | Vendor / Steward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ladybird | BSD-2-Clause | Free | Ladybird Initiative |
| Northstar | GPL-3.0-or-later | Free | Community |
| Chromium | BSD-3-Clause | Free | Google (OSS) |
| Google Chrome | Proprietary | Free | |
| Microsoft Edge | Proprietary | Free | Microsoft |
| Brave | MPL-2.0 | Free | Brave Software |
| Vivaldi | Proprietary | Free | Vivaldi Technologies |
| Firefox | MPL-2.0 | Free | Mozilla |
| LibreWolf | MPL-2.0 | Free | Community |
| Waterfox | MPL-2.0 | Free | BrowserWorks |
| Mullvad Browser | MPL-2.0 | Free | Mullvad + Tor Project |
| Tor Browser | MPL-2.0 | Free | The Tor Project |
| Safari | Proprietary | Free | Apple |
“Free” here means zero-cost; the open-source entries are additionally free software.
Selection Summary
By engine diversity
- Blink dominates; choosing a non-Blink browser (Firefox family, Safari) or an independent engine (Ladybird, Northstar) is the only way to resist engine monoculture.
Privacy-first
- Tor Browser – maximum anonymity via the Tor network; slowest, some sites blocked
- Mullvad Browser – Tor-grade fingerprint resistance without the Tor network
- LibreWolf / Brave – hardened mainstream daily drivers (Gecko and Blink respectively)
Enterprise-managed fleets
- Microsoft Edge – deepest Windows/Entra/Intune integration and IE mode for legacy apps
- Google Chrome – Chrome Browser Cloud Management across platforms
- Firefox ESR – the open, policy-manageable choice with a stable extended-support cadence
Independent engines (watch list)
- Ladybird and Northstar are not production options today but matter for standards diversity and supply-chain resilience; revisit as they mature.
Tools
13 tools.
Brave
Brave is an open-source, privacy-first browser built on Chromium with built-in ad and tracker blocking (Brave Shields), Tor private windows, and optional crypto-based rewards.
License: MPL-2.0 (OSS) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
Chromium
Chromium is the Google-led open-source browser project built on the Blink engine and V8 JavaScript engine; it is the upstream base for Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, and Opera.
License: BSD-3-Clause (OSS) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
Firefox
Firefox is Mozilla’s open-source web browser built on the independent Gecko engine and SpiderMonkey JavaScript engine, with strong privacy defaults and a full enterprise policy framework.
License: MPL-2.0 (OSS) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is the market-dominant proprietary browser built on Chromium (Blink + V8), with the strongest enterprise management tooling and significant data-collection trade-offs.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
Ladybird
Ladybird is a truly independent, open-source web browser built from scratch with its own LibWeb engine and LibJS JavaScript implementation – no Chromium, Blink, or WebKit – governed by a non-profit.
License: BSD-2-Clause (OSS) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
LibreWolf
LibreWolf is a community-maintained, privacy-hardened fork of Firefox with telemetry removed, strict defaults, and uBlock Origin bundled, built on the Gecko engine.
License: MPL-2.0 (OSS) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge is Microsoft’s proprietary Chromium-based browser, bundled with Windows, with the deepest enterprise management and Microsoft Entra identity integration of any browser.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
Mullvad Browser
Mullvad Browser is a privacy-first Firefox-based browser from the Tor Project and Mullvad VPN that delivers Tor Browser anti-fingerprinting hardening without the Tor network, for use with a trusted VPN.
License: MPL-2.0 (OSS) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
Northstar
Northstar is a minimalist, privacy-focused web browser written from scratch in C with its own independent engine – no Chromium, Gecko, or WebKit – emphasising a small, auditable codebase.
License: GPL-3.0-or-later (OSS) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
Safari
Safari is Apple’s proprietary browser for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, built on the WebKit engine and JavaScriptCore, with strong privacy defaults and management via Apple MDM configuration profiles.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
Tor Browser
Tor Browser is The Tor Project’s Firefox-based browser that routes traffic through the Tor network for anonymity, with strong anti-fingerprinting, a security-level slider, and .onion support.
License: MPL-2.0 (OSS) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
Vivaldi
Vivaldi is a highly customizable, no-telemetry Chromium-based browser from an ex-Opera team, with built-in mail, calendar, and feed reader; free but not open source.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
Waterfox
Waterfox is a privacy-respecting, independently maintained fork of Firefox on the Gecko engine that balances hardened privacy defaults with everyday usability.
License: MPL-2.0 (OSS) · Kind: desktop · Deploy: package · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Deployment Payload
Access & Identity: Vaulted credential · Local host account
