Chrome is the king of browsers, but over the years, numerous robust contenders have emerged to challenge its reign. One of them is Opera GX, a gaming browser that has some interesting features that may appeal even to non-gamers. Is Opera GX better than Chrome? This guide takes an in-depth look at Opera Gx vs. Google Chrome to see whether non-gamers should switch over.
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Aesthetics and User Interface
Opera GX has already established its position as one of the best gaming browsers. It’s quite a looker, too, with a dark theme and red screen elements, sharp borders, and accents, giving it a neon, futuristic, high-tech glow. It’s obvious that the developers wanted to appeal to the gamer crowd with this design.
There’s a sidebar on the left, so you can access various features (messaging apps, music streaming services, history, extensions), including exclusive GX features. If the sidebar appears too cluttered for your taste, you can remove some of the features or disable it outright for a cleaner experience.
In contrast, Chrome features a cleaner, minimalistic interface, boasting a light theme by default. All the menus you need are at the top, and you can access Chrome’s various features from there.
While Chrome doesn’t have a sidebar like Opera GX, you can add similar features through extensions, such as messaging apps, music players, and even AI services.
Chrome is ready to use once you install it. Opera GX, on the other hand, can take a little more time getting used to, as it’s not as intuitively designed. Exploring its many options may require some patience.
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Default Features
Chrome brings with it a robust set of features that range from a unified search and address bar, password manager and profiles, to picture-in-picture, its own Task Manager, and device sync. Since Opera GX was built on the same Chromium engine as Chrome, it also shares many of the same features.
What sets Opera GX apart is its gamer-oriented options. Highlighted here are a few worth mentioning:
- GX Corner – page dedicated to game industry news and the discovery of new games.
- GX Control – limits how many resources Opera GX (RAM and CPU) can use. It can come in handy when you’re playing a game inside Opera GX.
- GX Cleaner – lets users clean the browser’s caches, cookies, tabs, history, downloads, and other junk files from the sidebar.
- Workspaces – allows you to set up multiple workspaces to keep gaming and business areas separate.
While useful, the majority of features aren’t something that regular users would generally care about when picking a browser. Setting these aside, Opera GX operates like any other browser.
Both browsers also offer a mobile app, and while they also share many common features, Chrome tends to be more generous. Features Chrome has that Opera GX doesn’t offer in the mobile app include profiles, password manager, and the ability to force secure connections.
On the other hand, the Opera GX app is a bit limited in its mobile form (compared to the desktop version). You won’t get access to many of the features outlined above, but you do get My Flow, which allows you to connect Opera GX with Opera on a computer and send links, images and notes using a secure connection.
FYI: learn how to add dark mode to Google Chrome.
Performance
To measure performance for each browser, we ran a speed test using Speedometer 2.0, which checks application responsiveness. In a nutshell, the benchmark simulates various user interactions to gauge the responsiveness of the browser.
The results showed Opera GX as being slightly faster at 144 runs/minute, while Chrome managed to score 114 runs/minute. Numbers aside, note that in real-life situations, you probably won’t notice a huge difference between the two.
We also ran a secondary benchmark tool, Jetstream2, which checks how well a browser runs in terms of startup time and code execution.
During these tests, Opera GX outperformed Chrome once again with 152.478 against 139.586. When interpreting results, a higher score is better. The difference in score is a bit more noticeable, making Opera GX the winner.
As for RAM and CPU usage, in our tests with five tabs open in each browser, Chrome consumed more than Opera GX – even with the browser’s Memory Saver feature enabled.
Opera GX is more memory efficient and allows users to limit the usage of those resources with the GX Control side menu. But this is done usually at the cost of the browser’s performance, on top of reducing visual and sound effects.
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Customization
When it comes to customization, both Opera GX and Chrome allow you to opt for different themes. In Opera GX, you can take things a step further and modify your themes.
You can tweak a theme’s primary and secondary color and apply various wallpapers, background music, and shaders, among other things, to the theme. This enables you to personalize the theme according to your preferences, even as a non-gamer.
Opera GX offers further customization potential in the form of Mods. This lets you tweak almost every aspect of your browsing experience, including looks, functions, and sounds.
Chrome, on the other hand, has more limited customization options to offer. It lets you apply various themes and allows you to change the font (type, size, and weight), but you can’t customize its color schemes.
Extension Support
Both browsers allow users to install extensions, which are small programs that extend the browser’s functionality. Given Chrome’s popularity, there are thousands of extensions to choose from via its Chrome Web Store.
In essence, while Opera GX is more customizable, Chrome provides a significantly broader range of extension options.
Due to Opera GX being a Chromium-based browser, you can install Chrome extensions. However, some features may not work as they should, as compatibility is not 100 percent guaranteed. The safest option is to use the Opera Addons page. The bottom line: if you want the best extension support, Chrome is unbeatable in this regard.
In addition, Chrome allows you to add more functionality to the browser through flags. These are experimental features that Google disables by default, but users can experiment with them. There are plenty of flags, and if they garner enough positive feedback, they could become an official Chrome feature in the future.
Tip: learn how to save a Chrome extension as a CRX file.
Privacy and Security
Online privacy and security have become an important aspect for everyone, regardless of whether they’re a gamer. Opera GX has better options in this department, starting with a built-in VPN to remain anonymous online or access restricted content from other regions.
Opera GX also has a built-in ad blocker that prevents intrusive and sometimes malicious ads from ruining your experience.
While Chrome may not boast these features by default, there are many VPNs and ad-blockers available as extensions via the Chrome Web Store.
Finally, both browsers also offer a similar set of security and privacy features that do a good job of protecting and fending off malware and phishing attacks. These include protection from websites without SSL encryption and blocking unsafe websites and trackers. They both offer a password manager for creating and storing complex passwords.
Tip: learn how to disable web page auto-refresh in your browser.
Winner: Opera GX Steals the Show
Chrome has remained a popular option with many throughout the years, and for good reason. However, Opera GX has many of the same features as Chrome, performs better, is more customizable, and is as secure. Even though it has some gamer-focused features, users can easily ignore those, or set up a separate workspace for other activities.
Chrome remains an excellent browser. For people who love its clean interface and aesthetic, as well as extension support, the need to switch over is minimal. It’s built for the non-gamer right off the bat, but it doesn’t really cater to people who want to get a little more creative with their browsing experience.
If you’d rather stick with Chrome but are looking to make your experience better, try these Chrome flags that boost your browsing experience. Also, if Opera GX’s gaming features intrigue you, there are several other gaming browsers you can look into.
Image credit: Smartmockups. All screenshots by Chifundo Kasiya.
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