Difference Between Google Chrome And Chromium?

When you want to open any website or do surfing, most of the time, the web browser you look for is Google Chrome. It is very common, and everybody knows about it. But have you ever heard about Chromium which is also Google’s open-source web browser? If not, then no need to worry about it. Here, you will get to know in detail what is Chromium and how it is different from Google Chrome.

Google Chrome: Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser released, developed, and maintained by Google. It is freely available to download and to use. It is also the main component of Chrome OS, where it serves as the platform for web apps. Chrome source code is not available for any personal use.

Chromium: Chromium is an open-source web browser that is developed and maintained by the Chromium project. Since it is open-source, anyone can use its code and modify it according to their need.

Chrome is built using Chromium which means Chrome has used open-source codes of Chromium to build its features and then add their own codes in it which they added under their name and no one else can use them. e.g., Chrome has a feature of automatic updates which chromium does not have. Also, it supports many new video formats that Chromium does not support  So; basically, both have the same base source code. The project which produces open-source code is maintained by Chromium and Chrome, which uses that open source code is maintained by Google.

Contents

• What Features Chrome Has But Chromium Does not?
• Differences Between Chrome and Chromium
• Chromium vs Chrome: Which one is better?
• How To Download Chrome And Chromium?

What Features Chrome Has But Chromium Does not?

There are many features that Chrome has, but Chromium does not because Google uses the open-source code of Chromium and then adds some of its own code which others cannot use to make a better version of Chromium. So there are many features that Google has, but Chromium lacks. These are:

• Automatic Updates: Chrome provides an extra background app that keeps it up to date in the background, whereas Chromium does not come with such an app.
• Video Formats: There are many video formats like AAC, MP3, H.264, which are supported by Chrome but not by Chromium.
• Adobe Flash (PPAPI): Chrome includes a sandboxed paper API (PPAPI) Flash plug-in that enables Chrome to automatically update the Flash player and provides the most modern version of the Flash player. But Chromium does not come with this facility.
• Extension Restrictions: Chrome comes with a feature that disables or restricts the extensions that are not hosted in the Chrome Web Store on the other hand Chromium does not disable any such extensions.
• Crash and Error Reporting: Chrome users can send Google statics and data of errors and crashes they face and report to them while Chromium users do not have this facility.

Differences Between Chrome and Chromium

As we have seen both Chrome and Chromium are built on the same base source code. Still, they have many differences between them. These are:

• Updates: Since Chromium is compiled directly from its source code, it frequently changes and provides updates very frequently due to change in the source code whereas Chrome needs to change its code for updation so Chrome does not upgrade that much frequently.
• Automatically Update: Chromium does not come with a feature of automatic update. So, whenever a new update of Chromium releases, you have to update it manually whereas Chrome provides automatic updates in the background.
• Security Sandbox mode: Both Chrome and Chromium come with a security sandbox mode, but it is by default not enabled in Chromium whereas in Chrome it is.
• Tracks Web Browsing: Chrome keeps track of information whatever you browse on your internet while Chromium does not keep any such track.
• Google Play Store: Chrome enables you to download only those extensions in the Google Play Store and block other outside extensions. In contrast, Chromium does not block any such extensions and allows you to download any extensions.
• Web Store: Google provides a live web store for Chrome while Chromium does not provide any web store as it does not have any centralized ownership.
• Crash Reporting: Chrome has added crash reporting options where users can report about their issues. Chrome sends all the information to Google servers. This allows Google to throw suggestions, ideas, and advertisements which are relevant to users. This feature can also be disabled from Chrome using Chrome’s settings. Chromium does not come with any such report issue feature. The users have to bear the issue until Chromium itself finds it out.

Chromium vs Chrome: Which one is better?

Above we have seen all the differences between Chroma and Chromium, the biggest question arises which one is better, open-source Chromium or rich-feature Google Chrome.

For Windows and Mac, Google Chrome is a better choice as Chromium does not come as a stable release. Also, Google Chrome contains more features than Chromium. Chromium is always keeping changes as it is open source and always in progress, so it has many bugs that are yet to be discovered and tackled.

For Linux and advanced users, for whom privacy is more important, Chromium is the best choice.

How To Download Chrome And Chromium?

To use Chrome or Chromium, first, you should have Chrome or Chromium installed on your device.

To download and install Chrome follow the below steps:

1. Visit the website and click on Download Chrome.

2. Click on Accept and Install.

3. Double-click on the setup file. Google Chrome will start downloading and installing it on your PC.

4. After the installation is complete, click on Close.

5. Click on the Chrome icon, which will appear at the desktop or the taskbar or search for it using the search bar and your chrome browser will open up.

After completing the above steps, your Google Chrome will be installed and ready to use.

To download and install Chromium follow the below steps:

1. Visit the websites and click on download Chromium.

2. Unzip the zip folder at the selected location.

3. Click on the unzipped Chromium folder.

4. Double-click on the Chrome-win folder and then again double-click on the Chrome.exe or Chrome.

5. This will start your Chromium browser, Happy Browsing!

After completing the above steps, your Chromium browser will be ready to use.

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I hope this article was helpful and you can now easily tell the Difference Between Google Chrome And Chromium, but if you still have any questions regarding this guide then feel free to ask them in the comment section.