Vivaldi vs Waterfox
Vivaldi
vivaldi.com
Waterfox
waterfox.comSide by side
| Figure | Vivaldi | Waterfox |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $5/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Web browsers | 8.8 (#17) | 9.3 (#3) |
| Browser engine | chromium | gecko |
| Built-in ad blocking | Yes | Yes |
| Company | Vivaldi describes itself as an independent browser company based in Norway and Iceland, with 25 nationalities working across seven countries. | Waterfox says Alex Kontos founded it in 2011 and that BrowserWorks Ltd has operated it under his wholly owned independent ownership since 2023. |
| Cross-device sync | Yes | Yes |
| Founded | 2014 | 2011 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Oslo, Norway | Suite 140, 372 Old Street, London, EC1V 9AU, United Kingdom |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Desktop downloads are listed for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and the site also has Android and iOS browser pages. | Downloads are listed for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android; Windows requires Windows 10 or later, macOS 10.15 or later, and Linux glibc 2.17 or later. |
| Product | Vivaldi is a customizable web browser with built-in tools for browsing, productivity, and privacy. | Waterfox is a free, open source web browser focused on privacy and customisation. |
| Tab management | Users can group tabs in two-level Tab Stacks, arrange them into Workspaces, and view pages side by side with Tab Tiling. | Tree tabs nest pages under the page that opened them and let users collapse or move a branch together. |
Plans
In their own words
Vivaldi
Vivaldi is a free Chromium-based web browser for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. It combines tab organization with built-in browsing and productivity tools. Users can group tabs in two-level Tab Stacks, arrange them into Workspaces, or view pages side by side with Tab Tiling. Included tools are Mail, Calendar, a Feed Reader, Notes, Sync, and webpage translation. Vivaldi supports Chrome extensions, including in its Android browser. Privacy features include ad and tracker blocking, cookie-warning hiding, and private windows; the maker says Sync uses end-to-end encryption for synced browsing data. Its privacy policy says each installation sends a daily HTTPS message to Vivaldi’s Iceland servers with an installation ID, version, CPU architecture, screen resolution, and time since the previous message. Vivaldi says its Security Group reviews code and new technologies, handles vulnerability reports, and prepares fixes. The company is based in Oslo, Norway, and was founded in 2014.
Waterfox
Waterfox is a free, open-source web browser built around privacy and customisation. It uses the Gecko engine and is listed for Android, browser extensions, Linux, macOS and Windows. On desktop, it blocks ads, trackers, pop-ups and overlays by default; filter lists and site exceptions can be adjusted. Private tabs use their own container, and Waterfox removes that container’s site data when the final private tab closes. DNS requests are encrypted and passed through an Oblivious HTTP relay; users can change or disable the default Fastly-operated relay and Cloudflare-operated resolver. Tree tabs nest pages under the page that opened them, with branches that can be collapsed or moved together. Firefox WebExtensions work, but Chrome-only extensions do not transfer automatically. Regular updates incorporate Mozilla security fixes using the Firefox ESR model. Waterfox says telemetry, health reports and crash reports are disabled at build time. Sync is off until Mozilla-account sign-in, and synced data is end-to-end encrypted. The browser plan is free, with no premium tier or required payment.