When it comes to web browsers, there are a lot of options to choose from. Two of the most popular browsers are Brave and Chrome. They both have their pros and cons, but which one is better when it comes to RAM usage?
This is a question that many people have asked, and there is no easy answer. Different browsers work better on different systems, so it really depends on your individual setup.
In this blog post, we will compare Brave and Chrome in terms of RAM usage to help you decide which browser is right for you!
Table of Contents
What is Brave Browser?
Brave is a free and open-source web browser based on the Chromium web browser. It was created by Brendan Eich, the co-founder of the Mozilla Corporation. Brave aims to block website trackers and remove intrusive ads. The company also plans to introduce a decentralized ad network in the future.
Apart from that, Brave has a lot of features that make it unique. For example, it has built-in support for Tor, which allows you to browse the web anonymously. It also has a “Private Window with Tor” feature that makes your browsing even more secure. Cryptocurrency users will also be happy to know that Brave supports Basic Attention Token (BAT).
Prerequisites for conducting RAM Usage Tests
Before conducting the RAM usage tests, for unbiased results, you need to ensure that the following prerequisites are met:
- Clear Browsing Data (caches and other site data) on both the browsers
- Update both the browsers
- Learn to use Task Manager for checking RAM usage
Here is the configuration of my system:
- RAM: 8 GB
- Operating System: Windows 11 Pro 22H2
- Processor: 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz 2.42 GHz
Clear Browsing Data
The first step is to clear the browsing data on both browsers. This will help ensure that the results are not biased by any cached data.
To clear browsing data on Chrome, follow these steps:
- Click on the three dots in the top-right corner of the browser window.
- Hover over More Tools and click on Clear Browsing Data.
- In the pop-up window that appears, select All Time from the time range drop-down menu.
- Check the boxes next to Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.
- Click on Clear Data.
Here are the steps to clear browsing data of the Brave browser:
- Click on the Menu icon in the top-right corner.
- Hover your mouse pointer over More tools and select Clear browsing data.
- Select the time range to All time and check the boxes next to Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.
- Finally, click on Clear Data.
Update the Browsers
It is always recommended to use the latest version of any software for security and performance reasons. Therefore, before conducting the RAM usage tests, make sure that both browsers are updated to their latest versions.
To update Chrome, follow these steps:
- Click on the three dots in the top-right corner of the browser window.
- Hover over Help and click on About Google Chrome.
- The browser will automatically check for updates and install them if any are available.
To update the Brave browser, follow these steps:
- Click on the Menu icon in the top-right corner.
- From the settings menu select About Brave.
- The About Brave page will open up in a new tab and Brave will start getting updated automatically if any update is available.
Checking RAM Usage with Task Manager
Task Manager is a built-in utility in Windows that allows you to view and manage the running processes on your computer. It also provides performance information about your computer’s CPU, memory, disk, and network. Google Chrome also comes with an in-built task manager to display all the running Chrome processes. However, if you want to know the processes running in the system, the Windows task manager is the one you should access.
To open Task Manager in Windows, follow these steps:
- Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys on your keyboard.
- To view the RAM usage of a particular process, click on the Memory column, under the Processes tab.
- The processes will be sorted according to their RAM usage, with the highest RAM usage at the top.
- Next, click on the Performance tab.
- You will now see the performance information of your computer’s CPU, memory, disk, and network.
Now that we know how to use Task Manager to check RAM usage, we can proceed with the tests.
Brave vs. Chrome Memory Usage Tests
Now we will unbiasedly test Chrome and Brave browsers under various factors. For impartiality, we will open the same web pages/websites or YouTube videos on both Chrome and Brave.
1 Tab Test
We will start by opening only one tab on both browsers and see which browser uses more RAM.
Keep in mind that even when you open one tab, each of these browsers generates many tiny processes, so it does put a strain on your computer.
For the first test, I opened Facebook on both Chrome and Brave. Here are the results:
Chrome: 580.4 MB
Brave: 275.3 MB
As you can see, even with just one tab open, Chrome uses significantly more RAM than the Brave browser.
Let’s see how these browsers perform when we open multiple tabs.
5 Tabs Test
For the second test, I opened the following five tabs on both browsers:
- YouTube
- Gmail
- Google Docs
Here are the results:
Chrome: 1127.6 MB
Brave: 1160.2 MB
As seen both browsers performed almost the same.
10 Tabs Test
For the third test along with the previously opened tabs, I opened 5 more tabs of the same YouTube videos on both Chrome and Brave.
Because multiple YouTube videos may result in additional loading and resource usage, especially if you have many of them opened simultaneously, I’ve chosen YouTube as a testing ground for five tabs.
Here are the results:
Chrome: 1237.7 MB
Brave: 1620.0 MB
As you can see, with ten tabs open, both browsers used a lot of RAM. However, Brave used more RAM than Chrome in this test.
Summing Up
From the tests conducted, it is clear that Brave is a better browser than Chrome when it comes to RAM usage. Even though Brave uses more RAM initially when you open it for the first time, it quickly frees up the memory once you start browsing. On the other hand, Chrome continuously hogs a lot of RAM even when you are not actively using it.
So, if you are looking for a browser that is light on your system resources, Brave is the way to go!
It really depends on your individual setup. Different browsers work better on different systems, so it really depends on your individual setup.
If you use your computer for basic tasks like browsing the web and checking email, then you don’t need as much RAM. However, if you use your computer for more demanding tasks like video editing or gaming, then you will need more RAM.
One way to reduce the amount of RAM your browser uses is to close tabs that you’re not using. You can also disable extensions or plugins that you don’t need. Finally, make sure your browser is up to date as newer versions are usually more efficient.
