USAGE SHARE OF WEB BROWSERS
This article aims to be an unbiased historical record for the usage share of web browsers, based on statistics and articles published by well-known websites. One of the uses of such statistics is to create a graph that roughly represents the browser wars. This also serves as a reference for the various web browser articles.
''This article is not all-inclusive or necessarily up-to-date.'' While unbiased methods are used to gather the data for this record, the data itself may contain bias, in that it may systematically overestimate, or underestimate, the usage share of certain browsers. It also does not account for the regional differences in market share.
In general
Usage share, in web browser statistics, is the percentage of visitors to a group of web sites that use a particular browser. For example, when it is said that Internet Explorer has 83% usage share, it means that Internet Explorer is used by 83%[1][2]
of visitors that visit a given set of sites. Typically, the user agent string is used to identify which browser a visitor is using.
Overestimation and underestimation
Note that measuring browser usage in terms of the number of requests (page hits) made by each user agent can be misleading. Not all requests are generated by a user, as a user agent can make requests at regular time intervals without user input. In this case, the usage of that user agent would then be overestimated. Some examples:
★ A web browser that refreshes the webpage at a regular time interval.
★ A feed reader that requests the RSS/Atom feed at a regular time interval.
★ Extra files like CSS hacks and JavaScript hacks are often sent to Internet Explorer.
★ Gecko based browsers (such as Firefox) can link prefetch web pages, increasing hits. Link prefetching in Gecko based browsers is used on pages with enhanced markup, including Google search results.[3]
It is also possible to underestimate the usage share, for example:
★ A graphical browser typically results in more hits than a text browser, as it downloads files referred to by the HTML document (e.g., image, CSS, and JavaScript).
★ A computer with more memory will likely cache more webpages in memory, resulting in fewer requests.
★ Many Browsers and Download managers spoof a different user agent string to the Web server to prevent erroneous/malicious browser sniffing which could result in receiving broken/incompatible code, or being completely blocked, thus increasing the statistics for other browsers (as an example, prior to version 9, the Opera web browser had "Identify as Internet Explorer" as the default user setting)
★ Most recent browsers block third-party spyware.
★ Text/audio-based browsers don't download any webbugs at all.
★ Privacy-enhancing proxies like privoxy are getting widely deployed by security-conscious sysadmins.
★ Gecko based browsers since Firefox 1.5 and Opera uses fast DOM caching. JavaScript is only executed on pageload from net or disk cache, but not if it is loaded from DOM cache. This can have an impact on JavaScript based tracking of browser statistics.[1]
These problems could be avoided by using measures in terms of unique visitors to web sites rather than page hits. This can be achieved by using IP address and cookies. However, many web statistics software that only gathers data from the web server logs does not provide this kind of measurement.
1999 to present
WebSideStory
TheCounter.com
| Date | Internet Explorer | Netscape Navigator | Mozilla / Netscape | Opera | Safari | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2000 | 79.09% | 19.25% | 0.00% | 0.13% | Jan 2000, Feb 2000, Mar 2000 | |
| Q2 2000 | 80.30% | 17.54% | 0.02% | 0.12% | Apr 2000, May 2000, Jun 2000 | |
| Q3 2000 | 82.76% | 14.35% | 0.04% | 0.14% | Jul 2000, Aug 2000, Sep 2000 | |
| Q4 2000 | 83.95% | 12.61% | 0.14% | 0.14% | Oct 2000, Nov 2000, Dec 2000 | |
| Q1 2001 | 86.80% | 9.84% | 0.30% | 0.22% | Jan 2001, Feb 2001, Mar 2001 | |
| Q2 2001 | 87.99% | 7.46% | 0.27% | 0.28% | Apr 2001, May 2001, Jun 2001 | |
| Q3 2001 | 88.43% | 6.49% | 0.26% | 0.31% | Jul 2001, Aug 2001, Sep 2001 | |
| Q4 2001 | 90.83% | 5.23% | 0.71% | 0.36% | Oct 2001, Nov 2001, Dec 2001 | |
| Q1 2002 | 92.40% | 4.67% | 0.93% | 0.52% | Jan 2002, Feb 2002, Mar 2002 | |
| Q2 2002 | 92.47% | 4.13% | 1.13% | 0.82% | Apr 2002, May 2002, Jun 2002 | |
| Q3 2002 | 93.32% | 3.04% | 1.36% | 0.94% | Jul 2002, Aug 2002, Sep 2002 | |
| Q4 2002 | 93.94% | 2.31% | 1.67% | 0.83% | Oct 2002, Nov 2002, Dec 2002 | |
| Q1 2003 | 94.18% | 1.77% | 2.15% | 0.65% | Jan 2003, Feb 2003, Mar 2003 | |
| Q2 2003 | 94.43% | 1.45% | 2.22% | 0.66% | Apr 2003, May 2003, Jun 2003 | |
| Q1 2004 | 94.28% | 0.36% | 2.70% | 0.52% | Jan 2004, Feb 2004, Mar 2004 | |
| Q2 2004 | 95.04% | 0.32% | 2.37% | 0.51% | 0.67% | Apr 2004, May 2004, Jun 2004 |
| Q3 2004 | 92.70% | 0.20% | 3.57% | 0.65% | 0.73% | Jul 2004, Aug 2004, Sep 2004 |
| Q4 2004 | 90.98% | 0.18% | 5.10% | 0.68% | 0.77% | Oct 2004, Nov 2004, Dec 2004 |
| Q1 2005 | 90.77% | 0.11% | 5.73% | 0.54% | 1.00% | Jan 2005, Feb 2005, Mar 2005 |
| Q2 2005 | 90.90% | 0.09% | 6.02% | 0.51% | 0.99% | Apr 2005, May 2005, Jun 2005 |
| Q3 2005 | 87.58% | 0.07% | 8.42% | 0.67% | 1.60% | Jul 2005, Aug 2005, Sep 2005 |
| Q4 2005 | 87.25% | 0.07% | 8.60% | 0.71% | 1.83% | Oct 2005, Nov 2005, Dec 2005 |
| Q1 2006 | 90.01% | 0.05% | 6.77% | 0.58% | 1.40% | Jan 2006, Feb 2006, Mar 2006 |
| Q2 2006 | 86.32% | 0.05% | 9.03% | 0.70% | 1.89% | Apr 2006, May 2006, Jun 2006 |
| Q3 2006 | 84.48% | 0.06% | 10.56% | 0.73% | 2.27% | Jul 2006, Aug 2006, Sep 2006 |
| Q4 2006 | 84.11% | 0.05% | 11.13% | 0.60% | 2.80% | Nov 2006, Dec 2006 |
| Q1 2007 | 83.69% | 0.06% | 11.57% | 0.57% | 2.92% | Jan 2007, Feb 2007, Mar 2007 |
| Q2 2007 | 82.97% | 0.06% | 12.41% | 0.64% | 2.87% | Apr 2007, May 2007, Jun 2007 |
| Date | Internet Explorer | Netscape Navigator | Mozilla / Netscape | Opera | Safari | Source |
OneStat.com
| Date | Internet Explorer | Netscape Navigator | Netscape | Mozilla | Opera | Safari | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 29, 2002 | 96.6% | 2.1% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 2002-04-29 | ||
| June 21, 2002 | 95.3% | 1.9% | 1.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 2002-06-24 | |
| September 30, 2002 | 94.9% | 1.2% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 2002-09-30 | |
| December 16, 2002 | 95.0% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 2002-12-16 | |
| February 3, 2003 | 95.2% | 1.0% | 1.9% | 1.2% | 0.7% | 0.11% | 2003-02-03 |
| July 28, 2003 | 95.4% | 0.6% | 1.9% | 1.6% | 0.6% | 0.25% | 2003-07-28 |
| January 19, 2004 | 94.8% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 0.48% | 2004-01-19 | ||
| May 28, 2004 | 93.9% | 2.1% | 1.02% | 0.71% | 2004-05-28 | ||
| November 22, 2004 | 88.90% | 7.35% | 1.33% | 0.91% | 2004-11-22 | ||
| February 28, 2005 | 87.28% | 1.11% | 8.45% | 1.09% | 1.21% | 2005-02-28 | |
| April 27, 2005 | 86.63% | 1.08% | 8.69% | 1.03% | 1.26% | 2005-04-27 | |
| November 2, 2005 | 85.45% | 0.26% | 11.51% | 0.77% | 1.75% | 2005-11-02 | |
| January 2006 | 85.82% | 0.16% | 11.23% | 0.77% | 1.88% | 2006-01-31 | |
| May 2006 | 85.17% | 0.15% | 11.79% | 0.79% | 2.02% | 2006-05-15 | |
| July 2006 | 83.05% | 0.16% | 12.93% | 1.00% | 1.84% | 2006-07-09 | |
| October 2006 | 85.85% | 0.12% | 11.49% | 0.69% | 1.61% | 2006-10-09 | |
| November 2006 | 85.24% | 0.11% | 12.15% | 0.69% | 1.61% | 2006-11-06 | |
| January 2007 | 85.81% | 0.13% | 11.69% | 0.58% | 1.64% | 2007-01-22 | |
| June 2007 | 84.66% | 0.11% | 12.72% | 0.61% | 1.79% | 2007-07-02 | |
| Date | Internet Explorer | Netscape Navigator | Netscape | Mozilla | Opera | Safari | Source |
ADTECH
| Date | Internet Explorer | Netscape | Mozilla | Mozilla Firefox | Opera | WebKit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January–April 2004 | 94.72% | 1.49% | 2.50% | 0.73% | 2004-06-02 | ||
| July 2004 | 93.08% | 0.97% | 2.62% | 1.64% | 0.99% | 2004-10-19 | |
| August 2004 | 92.78% | 0.91% | 2.82% | 1.69% | 1.06% | ||
| August 30 2004 | 93.08% | 0.95% | 2.18% | 2.15% | 0.89% | 2004-12-02 | |
| September 2004 | 92.63% | 0.82% | 2.10% | 2.91% | 1.00% | 2004-10-19 | |
| November 16 2004 | 90.56% | 0.89% | 2.38% | 4.56% | 1.07% | 2004-12-02 | |
| November 30 2004 | 89.47% | 0.92% | 2.50% | 5.51% | 1.01% | ||
| January 2005 | 87.13% | 0.85% | 1.33% | 7.43% | 1.70% | 2005-04-21 | |
| February 2005 | 87.57% | 0.76% | 1.26% | 7.85% | 1.05% | ||
| March 2005 | 86.73% | 0.71% | 1.14% | 8.96% | 1.12% | ||
| June 2005 | 85.10% | 0.60% | 1.05% | 10.11% | 1.21% | 1.34% | 2005-06-27 |
| September 2005 | 83.31% | 0.61% | 1.06% | 12.41% | 0.90% | 1.40% | 2005-11-14 |
| February–April 2006 | 83.36% | 0.38% | 0.82% | 12.38% | 0.77% | 1.67% | 2006-06-13 |
| February 2007 | 77.34% | - | 5.11% | 14.34% | 0.85% | 1.63% | 2007-03-20 |
| July 2007 | 77.5% | - | 3.9% | 15.5% | 0.9% | 1.6% | 2007-08-23 |
Net Applications
| Date | Internet Explorer | Netscape | Mozilla | Mozilla Firefox | Opera | Safari | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2004 | 91.35% | 2.09% | 0.80% | 3.66% | 0.51% | 1.50% | Q4 2004 |
| Q1 2005 | 89.02% | 1.89% | 0.67% | 6.17% | 0.49% | 1.70% | Q1 2005 |
| Q2 2005 | 87.24% | 1.62% | 0.59% | 8.08% | 0.52% | 1.89% | Q2 2005 |
| Q3 2005 | 86.74% | 1.92% | 0.48% | 7.97% | 0.55% | 2.24% | Q3 2005 |
| Q4 2005 | 85.88% | 1.25% | 0.43% | 9.00% | 0.54% | 2.80% | Q4 2005 |
| Q1 2006 | 85.01% | 1.09% | 0.36% | 9.77% | 0.53% | 3.10% | Q1 2006 |
| Q2 2006 | 84.03% | 0.98% | 0.32% | 10.67% | 0.57% | 3.25% | Q2 2006 |
| Q3 2006 | 82.88% | 0.88% | 0.26% | 11.89% | 0.62% | 3.30% | Q3 2006 |
| Q4 2006 | 80.51% | 0.84% | 0.23% | 13.47% | 0.71% | 4.06% | Q4 2006 |
| Q1 2007 | 79.14% | 0.74% | 0.19% | 14.32% | 0.77% | 4.68% | Q1 2007 |
| Q2 2007 | 78.50% | 0.81% | 0.15% | 14.85% | 0.80% | 4.63% | Q2 2007 |
W3 Counter
★ Note: W3 Counter only lists the top 10 Browsers by Version. This is one of the reasons why Opera fluctuates between 0.7% and 1.2% in the table below, as some versions only make it into the top 10 occasionally.
| Date | Internet Explorer | Mozilla 1.8 | Mozilla Firefox | Opera | Safari | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 2007 | 66.50% | 0.62% | 24.62% | 0.78% | 2.00% | 2007-05-10 |
| May 20, 2007 | 66.36% | 0.66% | 24.82% | 1.28% | 1.94% | 2007-05-20 |
| May 30, 2007 | 66.69% | 0.73% | 24.55% | 1.22% | 1.85% | 2007-05-30 |
| June 10, 2007 | 66.48% | 0.69% | 24.86% | 0.72% | 1.86% | 2007-06-10 |
| June 20, 2007 | 66.30% | 0.70% | 25.06% | 0.70% | 1.84% | 2007-06-20 |
| June 30, 2007 | 66.20% | 0.71% | 25.08% | 0.69% | 1.81% | 2007-06-30 |
| July 10, 2007 | 66.48% | 0.68% | 24.93% | 0.66% | 1.79% | 2007-07-10 |
| July 30, 2007 | 66.41% | 0.65% | 25.11% | 1.16% | 1.75% | 2007-07-30 |
| Aug 10, 2007 | 66.30% | 0.64% | 25.28% | 1.19% | 1.74% | 2007-08-10 |
| Aug 20, 2007 | 66.23% | 0.62% | 25.38% | 1.19% | 1.74% | 2007-08-20 |
| Aug 30, 2007 | 66.20% | 0.61% | 25.43% | 1.22% | 1.76% | 2007-08-30 |
1998 and earlier
GVU WWW User Survey
| Date | Mosaic | Netscape Navigator | Internet Explorer | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1994 | 97% | General Results Graphs | ||
| October 1994 | 68% | 18% | Result Graph - Browser | |
| April 1995 | 9% | 54% | Hal Berghel's Cybernautica - "A Web Monopoly" | |
| April 1996 | 89.36% | 3.76% | Browser Expected to Use in 12 Months | |
| October 1996 | 80.45% | 12.18% | Browser Expected to Use in 12 Months | |
| April 1997 | 81.13% | 12.13% | Browser Expected to Use in 12 Months | |
| October 1997 | 59.67% | 15.13% | Browser Expected to Use in 12 Months | |
| April 1998 | 70% | 22.7% | Browser Expected to Use in 12 Months | |
| October 1998 | 64% | 32.2% | Primary Browser in 12 Months |
Dataquest
| Date | Internet Explorer | Netscape Navigator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 2.9% | 80.1% | Browser wars: High price, huge rewards |
| 1996 | 20% | 73% | |
| 1997 | 39.4% | 57.6% |
EWS Web Server at UIUC
| Date | Mosaic | Internet Explorer | Netscape Navigator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 1996 | 6.93% | 9.60% | 82.77% | Apr 1996, May 1996, Jun 1996 |
| Q3 1996 | 2.47% | 13.97% | 80.37% | Jul 1996, Aug 1996, Sep 1996 |
| Q4 1996 | 1.20% | 19.07% | 77.13% | Oct 1996, Nov 1996, Dec 1996 |
| Q1 1997 | 0.60% | 22.87% | 74.33% | Jan 1997, Feb 1997, Mar 1997 |
| Q2 1997 | 0.37% | 27.67% | 69.77% | Apr 1997, May 1997, Jun 1997 |
| Q3 1997 | 32.40% | 64.93% | Jul 1997, Aug 1997, Sep 1997 | |
| Q4 1997 | 35.53% | 62.23% | Oct 1997, Nov 1997, Dec 1997 | |
| Q1 1998 | 39.67% | 57.63% | Jan 1998, Feb 1998, Mar 1998 | |
| Q2 1998 | 43.17% | 53.57% | Apr 1998, May 1998, Jun 1998 | |
| Q3 1998 | 47.90% | 48.97% | Jul 1998, Aug 1998, Sep 1998 | |
| Q4 1998 | 50.43% | 46.87% | Oct 1998, Nov 1998, Dec 1998 |
International Data Corporation
| Date | Internet Explorer | Netscape Navigator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 16% | 55% | Behind the numbers: Browser market share |
| 1997 | 23% | 51% |
ZD Market Intelligence
| Date | Internet Explorer | Netscape Navigator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1997 | 21% | 63% | Behind the numbers: Browser market share |
| January 1998 | 39% | 54% |
Zona Research
| Date | Internet Explorer | Netscape Navigator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1997 | 28% | 70% | Behind the numbers: Browser market share |
| September 1997 | 36% | 62% | |
| July 1998 | 45% | 54% |
AdKnowledge
| Date | Internet Explorer | Netscape Navigator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1998 | 36% | 61% | Behind the numbers: Browser market share |
| March 1998 | 42% | 57% | |
| June 1998 | 46% | 52% |
See also
★ Usage share of desktop operating systems
★ Web browser
★ Layout engine
References
1. Internet Explorer 6.x again in Top Spot with over 80 Percent Market Share
2. Global usage share Mozilla Firefox has increased according to OneStat.com
3. Google feature list
External links
★ Chuck Upsdell's Browser Stats lists web stats from many different stats sources and gives the approximate current usage share of the most popular layout engines.
★ W3Schools' Browser Statistics lists the web stats only from the W3 Schools site, which gives the approximate usage share of browsers among "people with an interest for web technologies."
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