Mozilla Firefox Statistics

Even though Mozilla Firefox is not the most popular web browser anymore, it remains a noticeable player in the industry. With an advanced focus on privacy and features, Firefox offers several advantages. Here are some interesting statistics and numbers about Mozilla Firefox and its growth among popular web browsers.

I have also included some insights about the past, present, and future of this open-source web browser.

General Firefox Statistics

Since its inception 20 years ago, Mozilla Firefox has influenced how the world uses the Internet. Here are some general statistics about the browser.

1. Even though its development started in 2002, the initial release of Mozilla Firefox was in November 2004, making the browser almost 20 years old.
2. The Mozilla Firefox browser was praised for its increased speed, security, and intuitive user interface during its initial release.
3. In many ways, Mozilla Firefox was a spiritual successor to Netscape Navigator, a popular web browser in the late 1990s.
4. When it was launched in 2004, Firefox became direct competition with Internet Explorer 6, the dominant and default web browser developed by Microsoft.
5. Mozilla Firefox is free to use and open source, allowing people to change and optimize the source code for specific purposes.
6. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages and adheres to current web browsing standards.
7. Firefox is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
8. On all platforms except iOS, Firefox uses the Gecko engine. On iOS, like other web browsers, Firefox must use the WebKit layout.
9. Mozilla Firefox is also included by default with some Unix-like operating systems, including popular Linux distros. In addition to this, unofficial ports of the web browser are also available.
10. Firefox is believed to have gotten its name from the Red Panda, a project name for the browser. The Red Panda and its symbolic variations have since become the central symbol for the open-source web browser.
11. Among other features, Mozilla Firefox is noted for its optimized RAM consumption, making it significantly better than Google Chrome and other options.
12. Since 2017, Firefox has used the Quantum engine, significantly improving its speed and performance.
13. The development of Firefox is currently overseen by Mozilla, an independent, non-profit organization responsible for building the browser.
14. The customization capabilities of Firefox are also praised, thanks to extensions and built-in flexibility.
15. Like many other browsers, Mozilla Firefox focuses on privacy, which the company emphasizes as an independent developer.

Firefox Usage Statistics

Let’s examine how Mozilla Firefox usage has changed over the past two decades.

1. An average Firefox user is expected to spend around 5 hours using the web browser daily. These numbers vary slightly depending on the region.
2. For instance, Americans spend around 6 hours daily, whereas Russian users average 5.5 hours daily. The lowest usage statistics come from Italy and India, where the average usage time is 3.7 hours.
3. Substantiating the claim of user retention and loyalty, the average Firefox user is expected to use the browser more than three days a week.
4. Compared to other web browsers, Firefox has a minimal rate of crash reports, indicating its stability.
5. Out of the 200 million active users per month, more than 10 million utilize the reading mode feature.
6. An average Firefox user is reported to have 100 bookmarks.
7. The device sync feature is also prevalent, with 30% of active users utilizing it.
8. Extensions are widely used among Firefox users, with 70% installing at least one. Among these, uBlock Origin and LastPass are particularly popular, with uBlock Origin topping.
9. The automatic update feature ensures that over 80% of Firefox users are running the latest version of the browser.
10. The developer tools are also quite popular, with 10% of the user base utilizing them.
11. Among the security features, Enhanced Tracking Protection is reported to thwart 1 billion daily tracking attempts.
12. User analytics reveal that an average Firefox user has 5 to 10 tabs open simultaneously during browsing.
13. Firefox uses Google as the default search engine, and 90% of searches conducted through Mozilla Firefox are routed via Google Search.
14. Firefox users spend the most time on websites like Google, YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, and Amazon during their browsing sessions.
15. With a user base of 200 million active users globally, Mozilla Firefox sees around 500 million sessions per day, with each session expected to last about 15 minutes.

Firefox Statistics by Market Size

Here are some statistics on Firefox’s market size and share.

1. According to the latest statistics, Mozilla Firefox is the fourth most popular web browser globally, with a user base of 2.82%, which is almost half that of Microsoft Edge.
2. Notably, Firefox is running very close to the market share of Samsung Internet, a web browser available only for Samsung smartphones and tablet PCs.
3. The market share of Firefox is also similar to that of Opera, which stands at 2.54%.
4. However, the desktop scenario paints a slightly different picture. Firefox has a market share of 6.64% on desktops, placing it just behind Safari, which holds 8.8%.
5. Since 2010, the market share of Mozilla Firefox has dropped significantly, from 31.27% to 6.93%.
6. In the European continent, however, Firefox has a better market share of 5.26%, down from 37.9% in 2010.
7. Obviously, Google Chrome was the player that benefited the most from this downfall, considering that it had only 10.18% of the market share in 2010 but now has over 60.91% in 2023.
8. In China, however, the market share of Firefox is even lower at 1.28%. While Chrome remains the most popular option, other players like QQ Browser and UC Browser are also popular in the country.
9. While the exact numbers are unavailable, Mozilla Firefox is believed to have an improved market share in the enterprise sector because of the additional security and customizability that the web browser provides.
10. One reason for the decline in Firefox’s market share is that Safari and Google Chrome are installed by default on iOS and Android, respectively.
11. Like Europe, the United States is also a region where Firefox enjoys a better market share than the global average. In the US, Firefox has a market share of around 4 to 5% as of 2024.
12. This consistent market share is primarily attributed to the customer loyalty that Firefox enjoys. Thanks to its strong focus on privacy and customization, Firefox continues to attract adopters in the tech sector and maintain a dedicated user base.
13. The increasing use of Linux distributions has also contributed to the non-staggering phase of Firefox’s market share in the past five years.
14. As the popularity of Linux distros increases, users tend to go for Mozilla Firefox, one of the most stable options for Linux.
15. Across the globe, communities that want to ensure maximum privacy and security also tend to go for Mozilla Firefox.
16. Forks and variations of the web browser, such as Pale Moon and Water Forks, are also popular among multiple platforms. These applications also contribute to the overall market share of Mozilla Firefox.
17. The education sector is also a great proponent of the Mozilla Firefox browser. Because many of these institutions tend to use a Linux-based ecosystem, Firefox enjoys a better position on these devices.
18. While the market share might seem minimal, it’s important to note that close to 180 million users worldwide still rely on Mozilla Firefox every month.
19. The browser has the highest market share in Europe and the lowest in Asia, the latter of which has boosted the popularity of Google Chrome.
20. Mozilla Firefox has the least market share in the tablet sector, where it does not even have 1% of the market share.

Mozilla Firefox Revenue Statistics

How does Mozilla Firefox receive revenue? Here are some stats.

1. According to statistics from 2022, Mozilla Corporation reported a total revenue of $585 million. Of this, 90% was derived from search engine deals.
2. Mozilla has active deals with search engines such as Google, Yandex, and Baidu, which are popular across different regions globally.
3. Notably, the deal with Google is a significant contributor, amounting to approximately $400 million annually.
4. Other paid products from Mozilla, such as the VPN service, also contribute to the overall revenue from the web browser. However, these numbers are very low compared to the revenue from search-engine deals.
5. Mozilla Firefox also earns from advertising in some aspects. For instance, the sponsored links and Pocket recommendations you see on the new tab page generate considerable revenue per year.

Historical Firefox Statistics

Here are some important points from the history of Mozilla Firefox.

1. 2010 was the peak year for Firefox, during which the web browser had a market share of 32%.
2. However, after Google Chrome’s launch and subsequent popularity, Firefox’s market share has significantly declined.
3. Right after its launch, Firefox impacted Internet Explorer, which began to see a decline in 2006.
4. Before its official release as Firefox, the browser was known as Phoenix, but the name had to be changed due to copyright issues.
5. In 2020, Firefox started integrating a VPN service with its web browser.

Conclusion

Though Mozilla Firefox is pretty old, it has stood its ground in the past two decades, retaining a noticeable market share.

While the growth of Google Chrome and modern browsers has caused a decline in its popularity, Mozilla Firefox remains a good choice for those who need an independent web browser with minimal tracking and maximum performance.