Most popular web browsers in South Africa

Google’s Chrome browser dominates mobile and desktop browser market share in South Africa, currently holding an overall share of 72.4%.

In comparison, Apple’s Safari is second overall with 11.1%, followed by Samsung’s native smartphone browser, Samsung Internet, with 8.4%.

MyBroadband used Statcounter GlobalStats data for South Africa to determine which web browsers are the most popular in South Africa.

The data analytics company analyses more than 5 billion monthly page views of around 1.5 million websites to determine the leading brands and vendors in various industries and regions.

In South Africa, Chrome, Safari, and Samsung Internet take up the three top spots. However, there is a large gap between first and second place.

Google’s browser holds 72.40% of the South African market share, with Safari, Samsung Internet, and Opera holding 11.10%, 8.40%, and 3.70%, respectively.

Microsoft Edge’s market share has grown somewhat since last year, from 2.43% to 2.60%. Firefox, UC Browser, and Internet Explorer sit lower down the list with shares of 1.16%, 0.44%, and 0.03%.

The chart below summarises the South African browser market share. A breakdown based on platform — desktop or mobile — is provided in the tables at the end of the article.

While Google’s Chrome dominates on both desktop and mobile platforms, Safari’s overall market share performance is boosted significantly by its share in the mobile browser market.

Safari only has a 5.38% market share in the desktop browser market, putting it in third place. However, its 12.37% share in the mobile browser market ranks it second overall.

On the other hand, Microsoft’s Edge, which takes second place in the desktop market, has its overall share pulled down as its mobile browser isn’t popular in South Africa. It holds a share of 0.17% in the mobile market.

Samsung Internet performs well in the mobile market, taking third place just behind Safari with a share of 10.56%.

This is likely due to the popularity of the company’s devices, which include flagship, mid-range, and budget-friendly options in South Africa.

While many Samsung users will likely use Google’s Chrome browser on their Samsung smartphone, the native browser provides another option for those who don’t want to use Chrome.

It is also set as the default browser as standard on Samsung smartphones.

Samsung also dominates the mobile vendor market share in South Africa. It currently holds 50.95% of the market in the country, with Apple and Huawei trailing with 15.86% and 14.35%, respectively.

Global market shares reveal a very different story, with Samsung and Apple neck-and-neck at 27.84% and 23.75%, respectively.

This shows how residents of lower-income countries like South Africa prefer to opt for lower-specced mid-range and budget devices, of which Apple only offers one.

Overall, desktop and mobile browser market shares in South Africa are compared in the table below. All data was obtained from Statcounter GlobalStats.