Best recommended lightweight browsers for developers

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Key notes

  • Using a browser that helps conserve resources is essential for developers, especially when working on older machines.
  • Firefox Developer is one of the most popular browsers that fits this category, and it is one of the first browsers built specifically for developers. 
  • The list in the article is made in no particular order but will give you the best blend between development tools and resource conservation. 
lightweight browser for developers
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Conserving computing resources is very important, especially when working on older systems. The number of applications you run directly impacts how much RAM you have to spare for other apps.

Many browsers are resource-intensive, and by opening multiple tabs, you may just be reducing your available storage. As a developer, you may not be able to compromise on many of your core development software, but you can save resources by using a lightweight browser.

This article will discuss some of our best recommendations for lightweight browsers for developers.

What are the best lightweight browsers for developers?

LT Browser – Great for mobile developers

lightweight browser for developers

LambdaTest’s LT browser is a web browser that you may use to create and test websites. It is designed to give developers an advantage, and it comes with practically all of the development tools you’ll ever need.

It has numerous screen sizes, allowing you to test websites on various devices. You may also design custom screen resolutions.

It includes the ability to adjust your network speed, allowing you to test the website’s performance in terms of speed. A side-by-side mobile view capability in the browser will enable you to sample many devices at once.

Then there are features like one-click metrics, hot reloads, and bug recording that comes with the LT browser.

This browser makes it simple to analyze web page accessibility, SEO, and a variety of other website performance indicators. To share the bugged data, you may use the browser to connect channels like Jira, Asana, Trello, and Github.

Additional features:

  • Mobile website test
  • Lighthouse reports
  • Hot reloading

LT Browser

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Firefox Developer – Best all-round

lightweight browser for developers

Mozilla keeps surprising us with new products. Firefox Developer Edition is one of these new products. It is the edition that is just for devs.

This browser isn’t the lightest, but it fits into this category.

It provides more capabilities centered on development than the standard Firefox and improved speed. Most of its tools are centered on open-source projects.

Regarding performance, this Mozilla Firefox Edition delivers impressive results, ensuring that pages load as quickly as possible. The browser performs better than its competitors in several tests, such as Asm.je and WebGL.

For geeks and website developers, it is now the most used browser, at the very least, it comes out on top in numerous developer polls. 

Additionally, it can show the CSS grid of your resource, which is an unusual, if not unique, feature.

Additional features:

  • Storage panel
  • Responsive design mode
  • Powerful JavaScript debugger

⇒ Get Firefox Developer

Vivaldi – Great for security and privacy

lightweight browser for developers

This browser, created by the former CEO of Opera, has only been around for six years. Although it is aimed at a public audience, it has several developer-friendly features.

It offers a very basic and clean design with complete customization options such as changing themes and colors to suit your requirements.

Because Vivaldi is built using React.JS, Node.JS, and HTML 5, you can expect it to run well and deliver high performance. It allows you to utilize any extensions, even those built for Firefox and Chrome, without problems.

It features an ad blocker. The split-screen, feed reader, built-in mail client, and calendar help the user experience.

Vivaldi also provides excellent privacy protection, ensuring that no one can monitor your online activity.

Additional features:

  • Web Panels
  • Sessions
  • Quick Commands

⇒ Get Vivaldi

With developer-centered browsers, balancing lightweight and developer tools is not an easy find. While these are not particularly the most lightweight browsers, they are the best you will need if development and resource conservation is the priority.

You may want to try other browsers, and our guides on lightweight browsers for Windows PCs and lightweight browsers for Intel Atom computers would be helpful reads.