Waterfox vs Zen Browser
Waterfox
waterfox.com
Zen Browser
zen-browser.appSide by side
| Figure | Waterfox | Zen Browser |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $5/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Web browsers | 9.3 (#3) | 8.6 (#32) |
| Cross-device sync | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | 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. | desktop |
| Product | Waterfox is a free, open source web browser focused on privacy and customisation. | Zen is a privacy-focused web browser designed to help users stay productive and focused. |
| Security updates | Waterfox incorporates Mozilla security fixes into regular updates following the Firefox ESR model. | Zen's documentation says it updates to the latest Firefox release within 0–72 hours and tests upcoming versions on the Twilight branch about a week before release. |
| Support | Waterfox provides help articles for browsing, privacy and security, customization, troubleshooting and Android. | Users can report browser bugs on GitHub, and the FAQ says the small team may take time to review requests and prioritizes critical and popular issues. |
| Tracking protection | advanced | Tracking Protection offers Standard, Strict, and Custom levels, and DNS over HTTPS offers Default, Increased, and Max Protection levels. |
Plans
In their own words
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.
Zen Browser
Zen Browser has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.