What is Safari?
Safari is Apple's web browser and the one that ships with macOS, so it is already installed and updated through system updates rather than a separate download. It runs on WebKit, Apple's own engine, which keeps it independent of the Chromium builds that Chrome, Brave and Vivaldi share. It syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords across Mac, iPhone and iPad through iCloud, and it supports passkeys through iCloud Keychain. Its extensions come only from a Safari category in the App Store. It suits people already inside the Apple ecosystem who want the browser that is maintained with the operating system.
Verified product facts
- Type
- web browserEditorially reviewed
- Platform
- macOS
- Pricing
- FreeDeveloper-stated
- Developer
- AppleDeveloper-stated
- Relationship to Nuanyue
- Third-party product — not published by NuanyueEditorially reviewed
- Licence
- proprietary
- Current version
- 27.0Developer-stated
- Official website
- www.apple.com/safari/
Last updated . Facts marked developer-stated come from the developer and are not independently confirmed; editorially reviewed marks a Nuanyue judgement.
Key features
What Safari does at a glance.
WebKit rendering engine, developed by Apple
Intelligent Tracking Prevention against cross-site tracking
Private Browsing
Locks windows when they are not in use
iCloud sync of tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords across Apple devices
Passkeys and iCloud Keychain autofill
Safari Extensions distributed
Through the App Store
Tab Groups, Profiles and web apps
Can be saved to the Dock
What you can use Safari for
- Browsing on a Mac without installing a third-party browser
- Moving open tabs, bookmarks and passwords between a Mac and an iPhone or iPad
- Signing in to websites with passkeys stored in iCloud Keychain
- Running a website as a web app from the Dock
- Separating personal and work browsing with Profiles
Who is Safari for?
- People who use a Mac alongside an iPhone or iPad and want browsing state shared between them
- Mac users who prefer the browser that is maintained with the operating system
- Users who sign in with passkeys and rely on iCloud Keychain
Who is Safari not for?
- Users who need extensions that exist only for Chrome — Safari runs only extensions distributed through the App Store
- Anyone who needs the same browser on Windows, Linux or Android — Apple ended Safari for non-Apple platforms
- Developers testing against Chromium — Safari uses WebKit, so it cannot stand in for Chrome
Limitations
- Safari is not distributed as a standalone download: Apple states it is included with the operating system and updated through macOS updates
- Apple's Safari 27 release notes list macOS 27, macOS 26 and macOS Sequoia (15); earlier macOS releases stay on earlier Safari lines
- Apple states it no longer offers Safari for Windows or other non-Apple operating systems
- The build's processor architecture is not stated separately from macOS, so Apple Silicon support is recorded as unknown
Strengths and trade-offs
What Safari does well, and what to weigh before choosing it. Points marked developer-stated come from the developer’s own material and have not been independently confirmed.
Strengths
- Comes with macOS and is updated through system updates, so there is no separate installer to download or track.
- Runs on WebKit, Apple's own engine, so it does not share the Chromium engine used by Chrome, Brave and Vivaldi.
- Syncs tabs, bookmarks, history and passwords across Mac, iPhone and iPad through iCloud.Developer-stated
Trade-offs
- Safari is only available on Apple platforms; Apple states it no longer offers Safari updates for Windows or other non-Apple operating systems.
- Extensions must come from a Safari category in the App Store, a narrower catalog than Chrome's extension store.Editorially reviewed
First-use experience
What the app asks of you when you set it up. Only established facts appear here; anything we could not confirm is left out rather than guessed at.
- Installation
- No separate installer: Apple states Safari is included with the operating system, and a later Safari arrives by installing macOS updates.
- First launch Developer-stated
- Safari opens to a start page; Safari's settings let users import bookmarks and data and choose whether it is the default browser.
- System integration Developer-stated
- Can be set as the default browser and shares passwords, bookmarks, history and tabs with other Apple devices signed in to the same iCloud account.
What it does
Safari is Apple’s web browser, built on WebKit, Apple’s own rendering engine. It is the browser that comes with macOS rather than one you install, and it also runs on iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro. Because it uses WebKit, it does not share the Chromium engine that Chrome, Brave and Vivaldi are built on, nor Gecko, which Firefox uses.
How Safari is distributed
There is no Safari installer. Apple’s support page states plainly that
“Safari is included with the operating system (OS) on your Apple device”,
and that a later version arrives by installing macOS updates or upgrades. That
is why this entry has no download field: there is no first-party download
page to point at.
The same policy explains Safari’s platform limits. Apple states it no longer offers Safari updates for Windows or other non-Apple operating systems; the last Windows release, Safari 5.1.7, dates from 2010.
Version numbers follow the OS year
Safari’s version tracks Apple’s yearly OS releases. Apple’s release notes for Safari 27.0 (14 September 2026) list it as available for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, visionOS 27, macOS 27, macOS 26 and macOS Sequoia. Each macOS release therefore carries a Safari whose feature set depends on the OS, not on a browser update channel the user controls separately.
Extensions and the App Store
Safari Extensions are distributed through a dedicated Safari category in the App Store, not through a browser-run extension store. The catalog is narrower than Chrome’s, and a site or workflow that depends on a Chromium-only extension has no Safari equivalent.
Apple Silicon
Recorded as unknown. Safari is distributed as part of macOS and Apple’s pages do not state a separate processor architecture for the browser, so Nuanyue leaves the field unestablished rather than inferring it.
Release history
Dated releases recorded for Safari, newest first, each with the source it was read from.
27.0
Current Safari release; Apple lists it as available for macOS 27, macOS 26 and macOS Sequoia.
Source: Official website
26.6
Update in the Safari 26 line.
Source: Official website
26.0
Start of the Safari 26 line, listed for macOS 26, macOS Sequoia and macOS Sonoma.
Source: Official website
Questions about Safari
Is Safari free?
Yes. Apple includes Safari with macOS, iOS, iPadOS and visionOS and does not sell a paid tier for it.
What rendering engine does Safari use?
WebKit, Apple's own engine, which Apple also develops as an open-source project. That is what separates Safari from the Chromium-based browsers installed on the same Mac.
Can I install Safari on a Mac that did not come with it?
Safari is part of macOS rather than a separate package, so it is present on every Mac. Apple's guidance is that a newer Safari is obtained by installing macOS updates, not by downloading a browser installer.
Does Safari work on Windows or Android?
No. Apple states the last Windows version was Safari 5.1.7 in 2010 and that it no longer offers Safari updates for Windows or other non-Apple operating systems.
How does Safari compare with Chrome and Firefox on a Mac?
Safari runs on WebKit and is the only one of the three included with the operating system; Chrome uses Chromium and Firefox uses Gecko, and both are separate downloads. Safari's extensions come from the App Store, while the other two use their own extension stores.Editorially reviewed
Which macOS versions receive the current Safari?
Apple's Safari 27 release notes list macOS 27, macOS 26 and macOS Sequoia. A Mac on an older macOS stays on an earlier Safari line and receives updates only while Apple supports that macOS release.
Alternatives to Safari
Apps that could replace this one — the same job, a different trade-off.
Firefox
Mozilla's open-source browser with its own engine.
Both are non-Chromium browsers on macOS; Firefox uses Gecko and is a separate download, while Safari uses WebKit and is part of the system.
Tor Browser
Anonymity browser that relays traffic through the Tor network.
Both are non-Chromium; Tor Browser is a hardened Firefox ESR that routes traffic through Tor, while Safari has no built-in anonymity network.
Competitors
Direct competitors: overlapping features aimed at the same users.
Chrome
Google's proprietary Chromium-based browser.
Both are mainstream Mac browsers, but Safari uses WebKit and ships with macOS while Chrome is Chromium-based and installed separately.
Vivaldi
Chromium browser with built-in mail, calendar and notes.
Both target Mac users who want control over the browser, but Vivaldi exposes a deep settings surface on Chromium while Safari's options are bounded by Apple's design.
Compared with
Head-to-head comparisons Nuanyue has published.
Brave
Privacy-first Chromium browser with ad and tracker blocking built in.
Both compete on privacy, but Brave blocks ads and trackers by default in a Chromium build while Safari relies on Intelligent Tracking Prevention in WebKit.
Arc
Workspace-style browser, now in maintenance mode.
Both are Mac-oriented browsers; Arc is a Chromium build in maintenance mode, while Safari is maintained by Apple and tied to macOS releases.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the sources below. Last updated .
- Safari — official websiteGrade B
- Apple — developer websiteGrade B
- Safari — documentationGrade C
