Firefox Is Faster Than Chrome—For Me, Right Now (And I’m Sticking With It)

I’ve been a Chrome user since 2012. It was my default for dev work, client testing, and YouTube breaks between sprints. But a few days ago I finally snapped.

• Text input lagged in simple forms

• YouTube started stuttering

• Scrolling felt like 10 Hz on a 120 Hz display

Why I Didn’t Pick Safari

Safari didn’t show any of the issues above on my machine. But as a developer, its DevTools still feel limiting. They’ve improved, yes—but the workflow friction (network panel ergonomics, extension ecosystem, a few sharp edges with modern frameworks) slows me down.

So I gave Firefox another shot—the browser I used before jumping to Chrome in 2012.

The Surprise: Firefox Just… Flies

On the same hardware:

• Typing is instant again—no ghost lag in inputs

• YouTube playback is smooth, even scrubbing and PiP while compiling

• Scrolling matches 120 Hz—no micro-stutters on long pages

And unlike my memory of Firefox a decade ago, it doesn’t feel heavy. Tabs restore fast, the UI is snappy, and it stays out of the way.

Developer Workflow: Better Than I Remember

Firefox DevTools are underrated:

• Responsive Design Mode is polished and quick for breakpoint checks

• Grid/Flex overlays make CSS debugging painless

• Network panel is clean and predictable (cache/CORS/HTTP2/3 work)

• Accessibility tools are first-class without extra extensions

• Storage Inspector is great for poking IndexedDB/localStorage/cookies

Chrome still has some nice extras and a massive extension library, but for shipping real sites, Firefox has everything I need—smoothly.

Final Word

I wasn’t sitting around dissecting what Chrome had become—I genuinely liked it for years. But a browser that misses the fundamentals—instant typing, stable video, and true 120 Hz scrolling—doesn’t get to be my daily driver. Do the basics right, or I’m gone.