Mozilla Firefox faces a challenge to regain its position as the world’s second most-used web browser after Google Chrome recently overtook it.
Over the past two years, Google’s browser has grown by about 5 percentage points and now holds roughly 25.69% of global browser usage, while Firefox is close behind at about 25.23%. Both Chrome and Firefox remain behind Internet Explorer, which still accounts for over 40% of global usage.
The analysis was carried out by web analytics firm StatCounter and focuses on actual browser usage rather than download counts, a metric that helps reveal which browsers people are actively using.
Aodhan Cullen, CEO of StatCounter, commented that the acceleration of Chrome’s growth points to an intriguing competition between Microsoft and Google, noting that Chrome’s current momentum could allow it to emerge as a serious global competitor to Internet Explorer.
Regional differences also appear in the data. In July, UK users showed a strong preference for Chrome, which captured about 24.82% of the UK market—roughly 4 percentage points more than Firefox. In the United States the gap is narrower, with Firefox retaining a small lead over Chrome by approximately 3 percentage points.
While Firefox remains a close contender, Chrome’s steady gains highlight a shifting landscape in browser market share and set the stage for continued rivalry among the major browser vendors.