7 reasons why Microsoft Edge is better than Google Chrome

Main agreement

• Microsoft Edge offers vertical tabs for easy tab management, ideal for those with multiple tabs open for research or work.
• Microsoft Drop allows easy sharing of files between devices using OneDrive, a feature not available in Google Chrome.
• Edge comes with a number of useful tools in the sidebar, such as a calculator and internet speed test, making tasks more convenient.

The battle between Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome has been fierce in the web browser space. Google Chrome dominates the market on paper, but that hasn’t stopped Microsoft from fast-tracking Edge development with useful tools and features. After using both browsers extensively for months on my laptop, here’s why I find Microsoft Edge better suited for my workflow.

Both Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome have the bases covered with cross-platform availability, extension support, smooth web browsing, and native interface. However, when it comes to productivity tools, reader mode, and real-time collaboration, Edge truly deserves the coveted spot as your default browser.

7 Vertical tabs

Vertical tabs have to be one of my favorite features in Microsoft Edge. Whenever I sit down at my desk and turn on my 32-inch Samsung M7 monitor, I quickly enable vertical tabs in Edge to control all open tabs without any compromise.

The typical horizontal tab menu at the top quickly becomes crowded after opening several tabs for research purposes. Yes, tab groups help manage them, but it’s not an ideal solution when I want to glance over all the tabs at once. If you often work with a large number of tabs in Microsoft Edge, vertical tabs is a must-have feature for you. I’m also pleased to see new browsers like Arc adopting vertical tabs by default.

6 Microsoft Drop

Do you often share files between a desktop and a phone? Instead of plugging in your cable or using cloud storage services, use Microsoft Drop to share files, media, and even notes between your devices. For example, you can open Drop from the sidebar in Edge for Mac, write a note, or upload an image.

Now, open Drop from Edge for Android and download your files. The service is powered by OneDrive and is useful in specific situations. Google Chrome itself does not have an equivalent solution for transferring data between devices.

Microsoft Edge comes with a bunch of useful sidebar tools. You can check your internet speed, type some numbers using a calculator, translate words and explore other tools like timer, stopwatch, dictionary and more. Among these tools, I often use the calculator and the speed test. You can always use another browser tab or open a dedicated app to get the job done, but nothing beats the ease of accessing what I need with a single click.

4 Edge workspaces

Microsoft Edge Workspace offers another pure productivity extension to improve your workflow. You can create a separate workspace to browse the web together in real time with your team members or project group. You and your group can browse the same tabs at the same time on different devices.

Microsoft Edge also offers a Skype-powered workspace chat menu to start a conversation about any topic with team members. You no longer need to switch between different apps for communication versus web browsing. For example, you can open a few shopping tabs and share the workspace with your better half to ask for their opinion before hitting the buy button. The possibilities are endless here.

While there are dozens of screenshot plugins out there, they all pale in comparison to Edge’s built-in screenshot tool. You can enable and capture screenshots, perform a visual search, and even explore markup tools.

I use the latter all the time. I can quickly take a picture, use the markup tool, and share it with a recipient in no time. With Chrome, you have to rely on third-party extensions or the built-in system tool to get the job done.

2 Reader mode

After years of waiting, Google came out with a weak reader mode in Chrome. It basically opens a small sidebar with article content and doesn’t really do a good job of removing distractions from the main article.

Microsoft hit it out of the park with a powerful reader mode in Edge. Just click the reader icon in the address bar and let it digest web content in seconds. You can choose the option to read a post aloud and change the text and reading preferences for a personalized experience. Whenever I come across a website with a lot of unnecessary elements, I rely on Edge’s reader mode to view the relevant content.

1 Edge Collections

Thanks to Edge Collections, I no longer need to rely on cumbersome bookmarks to track and save web pages. Edge collections take the entire setup to the next level by combining pages under a related section. You can also add a note to keep track of other details about your saved web pages. I prefer Collections over Bookmark Sets so that I can manage my web pages in a way that I would like to access them logically.

Time to switch to Microsoft Edge?

Although Microsoft scores highly in productivity, file sharing and collaboration, it is not without problems. The out-of-the-box Edge experience is terrible for the average user, and you’ll likely have to dig through the settings to adjust the Edge experience to your preferences. If you want to learn more about the differences between Edge and Chrome, read our dedicated comparison post before making the switch.