How to Make Your Browser Faster

A slow browser is rarely the browser's fault. In 2026 the four big browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari) are all extremely fast at running JavaScript and painting pages. What slows them down is everything else: heavyweight third-party scripts on every site, dozens of extensions, stale settings, and a long tail of small misconfigurations. The good news is the fix list is short and free.

This is the pragmatic 2026 checklist. No magic settings, no registry hacks, just the steps that move the needle. Companion reading: our browser performance deep dive, and block trackers for the privacy half of the same coin.

Step 1: install a modern ad and tracker blocker

The biggest single performance win you can make. Tracker scripts and ad infrastructure account for a large share of every modern page's weight. Block them and pages render faster, your laptop fan stays quiet, and battery lasts longer.

NovaBlock specifically reduces page weight on news sites by ~62 percent and first-paint time by ~41 percent in our 2026 tests. Install from the Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons. That is step 1. You can stop reading here and still have a faster browser.

If you want the full set, continue.

Step 2: audit your extensions

Open your extensions page. Look at the list. Be honest about which ones you actually use.

Three rules:

1. One blocker is enough. Two blockers fight each other and waste CPU.
2. One password manager is enough.
3. Anything that has not been touched in a year is a candidate for removal.

Extensions are the most common cause of slow browsers. Each one adds memory, sometimes a background script, and occasionally a per-page content script. Inactive extensions are nearly free; abandoned ones are almost always worth removing.

Step 3: pick a faster DNS resolver

Your browser's first task on a cold page is resolving the domain to an IP address. The default DNS your ISP gives you is rarely the fastest. Switching to a modern resolver can shave 50 to 200 milliseconds off every cold load.

Solid options in 2026:

• Cloudflare 1.1.1.1.
• Google 8.8.8.8 (less private but very fast).
• Quad9 9.9.9.9 (privacy-focused with malware blocking).
• AdGuard DNS (blocks ads at the DNS layer too).
• NextDNS (customisable filtering).

Configure at the operating system level for browser-agnostic effect, or in the browser's settings for browser-only effect (Chrome and Firefox both have DNS-over-HTTPS configuration).

Step 4: close tabs you do not need

Chrome's tab discarding is good but not magical. 50 open tabs use real memory and force the browser into more aggressive memory-pressure handling. Bookmark anything you might want later, close the rest.

If you must have lots of tabs, modern Chrome and Edge automatically discard inactive tabs and reload them on click. This is fine, but it means slower clicks back to discarded tabs.

Step 5: turn off unused features

• Predictive prefetching. Browsers preload pages they think you will visit. Useful but expensive if you have a slow connection. In Chrome: Settings, Performance.
• Background sync for sites you do not care about. In Chrome: Settings, Privacy and Security, Site Settings, Background Sync.
• Notification prompts. Block by default; it removes both the annoyance and a small performance cost.

Step 6: keep the browser updated

Browsers ship significant performance work every release. A browser more than two majors behind is leaving real improvements on the table. Auto-update is on by default in 2026; check that you have not disabled it.

Step 7: hardware acceleration is on, leave it on

Hardware acceleration uses your GPU for compositing and video decoding. In 2024 there were edge cases on Linux where disabling it helped. In 2026 those are largely resolved. Leave it on.

Step 8: profile, do not guess

Both Chrome and Firefox have built-in task managers. Chrome's is in the menu under More Tools, Task Manager. It shows memory and CPU per tab and per extension. If your browser feels slow, this is the first place to look, not "speed up Chrome" search results.

Comparison: what each step actually buys you

What does not work

For completeness, a list of things that show up in "speed up your browser" articles but rarely help in 2026:

• "Clear cache regularly". Slows you down between clears.
• "Disable hardware acceleration". Rare wins, mostly losses.
• "Use Chrome flags X, Y, Z". Most flags are experimental or no-ops; some break your browser.
• "Reinstall the browser". Almost never the actual cause.
• "Disable JavaScript". Yes, the web becomes faster. Also broken.

What about mobile?

The same advice applies in compressed form. On Android, Firefox + NovaBlock is the standard high-performance setup. On iOS, Safari with a content blocker installed is the strongest available option.

Mobile-specific tips:

• Close apps in the background. They steal RAM and CPU even when not the foreground app.
• Disable JavaScript timers for sites you do not need active.
• Use reader mode aggressively on news sites. It removes the third-party scripts the blocker did not catch.

Pros and cons of going through this checklist

Pros

• Faster pages, less waiting.
• Quieter laptop, longer battery, less heat.
• Lower mobile data use.
• A side benefit of meaningful privacy improvement.

Cons

• A couple of sites might briefly stop working as you remove a heavyweight tracker; one-click pause solves it.
• You may discover the browser was not the problem, your internet connection is.

Conclusion

The fastest browser in 2026 is the one with a good ad blocker, a clean extension list, and a fast DNS resolver. Everything else is rounding error. Install NovaBlock, uninstall the extensions you no longer use, point your DNS at Cloudflare or AdGuard DNS, and you will have done 90 percent of what is possible. For more on the underlying mechanics, read browser performance next.