What is Chromium and how does it differ from Google Chrome?

Because of their historical kinship, Google Chrome and Chromium are difficult to distinguish. We explain the differences.

Time for a little experiment. Ask ten random people on the street what their favorite Internet browser is. Chances are at least six people will answer that question with “Google Chrome. Google’s browser is wildly popular, having acquired a 67.5 percent market share by the end of 2024.

Now ask those same random people about the term “Chromium” and they will probably think you are talking about the chemical element of the same name. Yet Chromium’s impact on the World Wide Web is far greater than you might suspect. After all, without Chromium, you don’t have Google Chrome.

The Chromium Project

Chromium is an open-source software code. On paper, “The Chromium Project” manages the code, but it is widely known that Google holds the purse strings. Nor does the tech giant hide that fact. The first version of Chromium launched in the year 2008; it is no coincidence that in the same year we were introduced to the web browser Chrome.

Opensource means that Chromium’s source code is public. That, in turn, does not mean that just anyone can take a look. Software developers must first go through a registration process before they are allowed to co-write Chromium code. This should prevent incompetent developers or people with bad intentions from killing the code. Microsoft is a major contributor to the Chromium code.

In addition to Chromium, you also have Chromium OS. What Chromium is to the Chrome Web browser, Chromium OS is to the ChromeOS operating system. Chromebooks run on that operating system. Chrome OS used to be closely related to Chrome, but now the two systems are separated.

From Chromium to Chrome

In its purest form, Chromium, like Chrome, is a Web browser. Google therefore based Chrome’s source code on the Chromium code. Chrome and Chromium further share the same web engine Blink: an offshoot of Apple WebKit. That’s where the similarities between the two web browsers end, though.

The ownership of Chrome is 100 percent owned by Google. The source code is under lock and key from the outside world. Modifications made by developers in Chromium will not affect Chrome.

Google Chrome is much more suitable for mass use. There are numerous features put into Chrome that you won’t find in Chromium, such as built-in plug-ins for displaying PDF files or playing media files. New features come with automatic updates, and Google also bears responsibility for plugging security holes. This is much needed, as the downside of its popularity is that Chrome is a favorite target for hackers.

Google Chrome, by the way, is not the only Web browser that originated from Chromium. Microsoft Edge, Brave and Vivaldi are also Chromium browsers by nature. Microsoft decided to switch to Chromium again in 2020. The developers of the browsers took the Chromium code and made it their own, making them nothing more than distant cousins of Chrome. Firefox is one of the few Internet browsers that still relies on its own unique engine (Gecko).

Getting started with Chromium

Its unpolished edge makes Chromium a playground for hobbyists. They get a raw Web browser at their disposal that they can still fully customize. Chromium is available for free download. It is recommended to do so through the official channel to get a secure and revised version of the browser.

For those who are not put off by software that still needs tinkering, Chromium even offers some advantages over Chrome. For example, you can manually install plug-ins or extensions yourself that Chrome would not support. Chromium also comes with much more frequent updates.

Perhaps the main argument in Chromium’s favor is privacy. That Google Chrome is full of cookies and trackers to track your browser activity is, unfortunately, an open secret. Those trackers are self-installed by Google and thus are not in Chromium by default. Google also uses Chrome as bait to trap you in its ecosystem. In Chromium, you can build your own privacy-friendly Web site.

Unfinished house

However, for the non-advanced user, Chromium is not recommended. Chromium does not excel in usability. The browser is inherently more unstable because code is constantly being tinkered with behind the scenes. Even the official download page warns that Chromium can be “incredibly baby carriage. The basic set of features is very limited. Less than one percent of all Internet users worldwide venture into Chromium.

Using Chromium also carries serious security risks. Chromium may get a lot of updates, in principle no less than Chrome, but if you don’t do them manually, you’ll be stuck with an outdated version in no time. There is no automated update system like in Chrome or Edge. That can give cybercriminals free rein to exploit unpatched vulnerabilities.

Think of surfing with Chromium as moving into a house that needs renovation. You can decorate the house to your own taste, but you have to live in a construction site with all the possible inconveniences and risks that come with it. If you prefer to take up residence in a finished and furnished house, then you better use Google Chrome (or another popular browser).

This article originally appeared on Sept. 14, 2022. The text was updated for republication.