Updated at: Feb 25, 2026
These are web browsers that can be considered "lightweight". Being lightweight refers to the fact that the browser's rendering engine doesn't implement some of the more modern features of web browsers. These browsers may not support features such as video playback, animated images, sound, complex layouts, new CSS attributes, and so on. This is sometimes done as a way of reducing the use of system resources, but sometimes it's because the rendering engine is developed by a smaller group of developers who lack the resources to implement every single feature in new browsers.
Note that being "lightweight" is different to browsers that simply have a "minimalistic user interface". Such "minimalistic" browsers are still usually built on Chromium or Electron (which is the very opposite of being lightweight!) - they merely have a simple UI. The browsers on this page are truly lightweight.
| Browser Name | Rendering Engine | Year started | Desktop | Mobile | Android | iOS | Linux | macOS | Windows | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abaco | Custom | 2006 | Desktop | Linux | Discontinued | |||||
| Amaya | Custom | 1996 | Desktop | Linux | Windows | Discontinued | ||||
| Arena Browser | Custom | 1993 | Desktop | Linux | Discontinued | |||||
| Arora | Webkit | 2008 | Desktop | Linux | macOS | Windows | Discontinued | |||
| Dillo | Custom | 1999 | Desktop | Linux | macOS | Active | ||||
| ELinks | Text Mode | 2002 | Desktop | Linux | Windows | Active | ||||
| Endorphin Browser | Unknown | 2008 | ||||||||
| Eww browser | Text Mode | 2013 | ||||||||
|
Falkon
Formerly QupZilla
|
QtWebEngine | 2010 | Desktop | Linux | Windows | Active | ||||
| Fifth Browser | Unknown | 2013 | Desktop | Linux | Discontinued | |||||
| FixBrowser | Unknown | 2025 | Desktop | Linux | Windows | Idle | ||||
| Hv3 | Tkhtml | 1995 | Discontinued | |||||||
| K-Meleon | Goanna | 2000 | Desktop | Windows | Idle | |||||
| Kristall Small-Internet Browser | Custom | 2020 | Desktop | Linux | Windows | |||||
| Light Browser | CefSharp | 2020 | Desktop | Windows | Discontinued | |||||
| Links | Text Mode | 1999 | Desktop | Linux | Active | |||||
| Lynx | Text Mode | 1992 | Desktop | Linux | Windows | Active | ||||
| Mothra | Custom | 1995 | Desktop | Discontinued | ||||||
| NCSA Mosaic | Custom | 1993 | Desktop | Linux | Windows | Discontinued | ||||
| NetPositive | Custom | Unknown | Desktop | Discontinued | ||||||
| NetSurf | Custom | 2007 | Desktop | Linux | macOS | Active | ||||
| Otter Browser | QtWebEngine | 2014 | Desktop | Linux | macOS | Windows | Active | |||
| QtWeb | Webkit | 2008 | Desktop | Linux | macOS | Windows | Discontinued | |||
| qutebrowser | Multiple | 2014 | Desktop | Linux | macOS | Windows | Active | |||
| rekonq | Webkit | 2008 | Desktop | Linux | Discontinued | |||||
| Surf Browser | WebkitGTK | 2009 | Desktop | Linux | Active | |||||
| Tkhtml | Text Mode | 1994 | Desktop | Linux | Discontinued | |||||
| Uzbl | Webkit | 2009 | Desktop | Linux | Discontinued | |||||
| Vimb | Unknown | 2012 | Desktop | Linux | ||||||
| visurf | Unknown | Unknown | Desktop | Linux | ||||||
| w3m | Text Mode | 1995 | Desktop | Linux | Idle | |||||
| WebPositive | Webkit | Unknown | Desktop | Active | ||||||
| Xombrero | Webkit | 2012 | Desktop | Linux | Windows | Discontinued |