Mozilla Firefox vs Tor Browser
Mozilla Firefox
firefox.comTor Browser
torproject.orgSide by side
| Figure | Mozilla Firefox | Tor Browser |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Web browsers | 9.0 (#11) | 9.1 (#10) |
| Founded | 2004 | 2006 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Supported platforms | both | both |
| Support | Mozilla provides Firefox help resources for desktop, enterprise, Android and iOS. | Tor Project provides a user support team and recommends its public forum for help; its support channels focus on assisting Tor users in censored regions. |
Plans
In their own words
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free, open-source web browser that uses the Gecko engine. It is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and as a browser extension, and its download page lists availability in more than 90 languages. Standard tracking protection and built-in ad blocking are included. Total Cookie Protection isolates cookies so they cannot follow users between websites, while Tab Groups organize open tabs by project, mood, or task. A Mozilla account can sync bookmarks, passwords, and open tabs across devices. Firefox also offers access to multiple AI chatbots in one place, letting users choose whether to use them. Thousands of free extensions are available through addons.mozilla.org. Mozilla’s privacy notice says browsing history, form data, temporary files, and cookies are processed on the device unless stated otherwise. Automated translation and PDF alt-text suggestions use downloaded language models locally; Firefox says those features do not send page content, PDFs, images, or tab URLs to Mozilla. Firefox is listed at free.
Tor Browser
Tor Browser routes its own web traffic through the Tor network to help hide a user's real IP address and resist tracking, surveillance, and censorship. Based on Mozilla Firefox ESR, it adds measures such as letterboxing, user-agent spoofing, and first-party isolation to make browser fingerprinting harder. Connections to different websites use different Tor circuits, while connections to the same website address use the same circuit. HTTPS-Only Mode upgrades connections to HTTPS where possible. Standard, Safer, and Safest security levels restrict browser features to varying degrees, which can cause some pages to work improperly. The browser can access onion services, and users in censored regions can configure bridges during setup. It is free, open-source software for Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Only Tor Browser traffic goes through Tor; other applications on the device are not automatically protected. The Tor Project recommends verifying download signatures and strongly discourages extra browser add-ons because they can affect privacy, security, or functionality.