How browser share is calculated
Every analytics platform parses the User-Agent string sent by the browser on each pageview, extracts the browser name and version, and groups pageviews by browser. The "share" is simply pageviews of browser X / total pageviews, expressed as a percentage.
Why different sources disagree
StatCounter, BYOViral Global Stats and Cloudflare Radar all publish browser share numbers, and they disagree by 5-15 percentage points on any given month. The reason: each one measures a different sample of websites. StatCounter's sample is heavy on news sites; Cloudflare's on the long tail of low-traffic sites; BYOViral's on whatever websites have installed BYOViral. None of them measure "the entire internet" because no one does.
Why pageview-based shares are the right metric
The alternative would be unique-visitor-based shares — but that requires identifying unique visitors, which depends on cookies or fingerprints. Pageview-based shares are honest about what is being counted: actual browsing activity. A browser that generates more pageviews because its users are more engaged gets a larger share. That is the right answer.
What you should do with browser share data
Use it for QA prioritization. If 65% of your visitors use Chrome and 18% use Safari, those two browsers must work flawlessly. The 0.3% on a niche browser does not need its own QA pass. Use BYOViral or StatCounter Global Stats to set the baseline — and your own analytics for your specific audience, which will differ from the global average.
The current global picture
In 2026, Chrome remains dominant globally at roughly 60-65% pageview share, Safari second around 18-20% (driven heavily by iOS Safari), Edge in the 5-10% range, Firefox around 3-4%, and the rest is split across Opera, Samsung Internet, and Brave. See the live BYOViral browser share numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Whose browser share number is "correct"?
None of them, because none of them measure the entire internet. They each measure a sample of websites. Pick the source whose sample most resembles your audience. For news/blog sites, StatCounter and BYOViral are reasonable. For enterprise/B2B traffic, look at HTTP Archive or Cloudflare Radar.
Why does my own analytics show different browser share than Global Stats?
Your audience is not a random sample of the internet. A site about iOS app development will see 70% Safari. A site about Windows admin will see 90% Chrome/Edge. Use Global Stats as a baseline reference, not as a substitute for your own data.
Should I drop support for Internet Explorer?
Yes — Microsoft retired Internet Explorer in 2022. Modern Edge has been the default for years. Browser share for IE is functionally zero in 2026.
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