Microsoft Edge

In short: The browser developed by Microsoft, successor to Internet Explorer, Chromium-based since 2020 (like Google Chrome).

In more detail: The switch to Chromium meant Edge uses the same rendering engine as Chrome and thereby benefits from its web compatibility and extension ecosystem. The default browser on Windows.

In Depth

From EdgeHTML to Chromium

The original Edge (2015-2020) still used Microsoft’s own rendering engine (EdgeHTML), intended as the successor to Internet Explorer, historically known for poor web-standard support, and meant to improve its reputation. Despite a technically solid foundation, market penetration remained low — partly because many websites continued to be primarily tested against Chrome, causing EdgeHTML to repeatedly struggle with compatibility problems (a vicious circle: low market share → less developer testing effort → more bugs → even lower market share).

In 2020, Microsoft made a radical move: switching Edge entirely to Google’s open-source Chromium base (the same project also powering Google Chrome, Opera, Brave and many other browsers), instead of continuing to invest in its own engine. Since then, Edge shares the same rendering engine as Chrome, and most website compatibility problems have practically disappeared — a website that works in Chrome practically always also works in Edge.

Differentiation on top of the shared base

Since the rendering engine is identical, Microsoft Edge today mainly differentiates itself through additional features on top of the shared Chromium base:

• Deep Windows integration: seamless sign-in with a Microsoft account, sync with OneDrive, native Windows widgets.
• Copilot: an AI assistant built into the browser that can summarise page content, answer questions about it, or help with writing — directly in the sidebar, without switching tabs.
• Collections and vertical tabs: additional features for users with many open tabs, which Chrome itself doesn’t offer in this form (or only via extensions).
• Enterprise features: Edge is positioned strongly in the business/enterprise space, with group policy integration and security features for IT administrators.

Market position

As the pre-installed default browser on Windows, Edge has a broad, if partly involuntary, user base — many users never switch from the pre-installed browser, which is why Edge consistently holds double-digit market share despite less deliberate choice. Microsoft also uses technical means (e.g. warning messages when downloading other browsers via Edge, or resetting Edge as default after Windows updates) to keep users on the default browser — behaviour that has repeatedly drawn antitrust criticism in the EU.

See also: Browser, Google Chrome, Windows