Go with Brave if you want trackers and ads blocked from the moment you install it, plus optional rewards and a separate VPN. Go with Edge if you'd rather have Copilot, built-in shopping tools and battery-saving features, especially when you already use Microsoft services day to day.
These two browsers pitch themselves very differently, which makes the choice easier than it first looks. People comparing them usually want a cleaner browser than the one they've got, and they're deciding whether privacy controls or built-in assistance matters more to them.
Judge them on what each one adds
Brave builds its own Chromium customizations into the browser, such as blocking bounce tracking. Edge puts Copilot front and centre. So the useful way to compare them is by what each company puts in front of you: blocking and rewards from one, AI and shopping help from the other.
That's useful when you're choosing, because you can judge them on the features you'd use every day. Make a list of what you do most in a browser, such as research, shopping, work apps or reading on a laptop away from a charger, and see which set of extras helps with that list.
At a glance
| What Brave adds | What Edge adds |
|---|---|
| Third-party ads blocked on websites as standard | Copilot across tabs, using browsing history |
| Shields against trackers, cross-site cookies and fingerprinting | A scareware blocker |
| Bounce-tracking blocking built into its Chromium customizations | Shopping tools that compare offers and find codes |
| Rewards paid in Basic Attention Tokens for ads you see | Energy saver, Startup boost and Sleeping tabs |
| A separate VPN covering every app on the device | AI-powered one-click tab cleanup |
Read the table as two menus, not a scorecard. Each column lists what that company chooses to highlight, so a gap in one column isn't proof the other browser can't do it; check the settings of the one you lean towards for anything you need.
Trackers, fingerprints and scam pages in plain words
Brave's Shields covers three kinds of tracking. Trackers are scripts that report your visit back to another company. Cross-site cookie tracking uses small files to recognise you as you move from one site to the next. Fingerprinting builds a profile from details of your device and settings, so it can follow you even when cookies are cleared.
Edge's headline protection is a different kind. Its scareware blocker is aimed at pages that try to frighten you, typically with a fake warning, into calling a number or installing something. If you're setting up a laptop for a parent or a less confident user, that's the feature to make sure is on.
If privacy by default is the priority
Choose Brave if you're tired of flipping settings and installing add-ons just to stop ads and tracking. Ads from outside companies are blocked on websites as standard, video, search and social ones included, according to the company, and Shields does its work with nothing to hunt for.
If you're new to built-in blocking, give it a week before you judge it. A few sites may look emptier or behave a little differently, and that's usually the protection doing its job rather than something broken.
Rewards are the unusual extra. You can earn Basic Attention Tokens for ads you see in the browser. Read about it before you switch it on so you know what you're agreeing to see.
A VPN is offered separately too, and the company describes it as covering all the apps on your device rather than only the browser. Weigh that as its own decision.
If built-in help and battery life matter more
Pick Edge if you'd like help built into the browser rather than blocking. Copilot works across your tabs and uses browsing history to give more personal help, which some people will love and others will want to switch off. Decide which camp you're in before you rely on it.
The shopping tools compare offers and find codes as you browse, which suits anyone who buys a lot online. For laptops, Energy saver, Startup boost and Sleeping tabs are the features to try, along with an AI-powered one-click tab cleanup for people who live with forty tabs open.
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If you'll add extensions too, our list of ad blocker extensions for Edge shows how close you can get to built-in blocking.
Where the two overlap
Both ship with plenty of extras, so neither is a bare browser. Both also want you to stay inside a wider set of services: a VPN and rewards on one side, Copilot on the other. If you'd rather keep your browser and your other services separate, that's worth weighing on both sides.
And both are a change of habit more than a change of web. What changes is what's blocked, what's suggested and what runs quietly in the background. If Chrome is also in the running, the Chrome and Edge comparison covers that pairing.
Neither choice is permanent, either. Moving browsers takes an afternoon, not a weekend, so picking the wrong one isn't a disaster. The bigger risk is never revisiting the settings you accepted on the day you installed it.
Your first fortnight with the new browser
Both browsers make choices for you on day one. Work through these in order and you'll end up with a browser set the way you meant, not the way it shipped.
- Export bookmarks and saved passwords from your current browser, and delete any exported password file once the import is done.
- Install the new browser alongside the old one rather than replacing it on day one.
- Visit the five sites you use most, including any work tools, and check nothing breaks with blocking switched on.
- Leave Rewards off until you've read what earning tokens involves, then decide whether you want to see those ads at all.
- Decide whether you're comfortable with an assistant that draws on your browsing, and set Copilot and history up before habits form.
- On a laptop, run a normal working day on battery with Sleeping tabs and Energy saver on, then loosen them if pages you rely on keep reloading.
- Keep Startup boost if you open the browser many times a day, and keep the shopping tools only if their suggestions help rather than interrupt.
- Check your extensions are available, and remove any that duplicate what's now built in.
- Give it two weeks before making it your default.
Frequently asked questions
Does the browser matter if I mostly use web apps for work?
It matters for sign-in, for extensions your company relies on and for any settings IT manages. Check with whoever runs your work accounts before you switch.
What happens to my bookmarks if I switch back later?
Export them from the new browser before you leave it. Anything saved during the trial lives there until you move it.
What is bounce tracking?
It's when a link sends you through a tracking site for a moment before landing on the page you wanted, so that site can log the visit. Brave lists blocking it among its built-in Chromium customizations.
If Brave blocks ads, why does Rewards mention ads?
Rewards pays tokens for ads you see in Brave itself, which is a different thing from the third-party ads it blocks on websites. Read how those ads appear before you opt in.
Is the phone version the same as the desktop one?
Judge the mobile apps on their own. Don't assume the desktop experience carries over feature for feature.
Should I change my default search engine too?
That's a separate choice. Pick the search engine you trust, then set it in whichever browser you keep.
