Comparison

Brave Browser & Search Engine vs Firefox Focus

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Brave Browser & Search Engine

A fast, private web browser with built-in ad blocking and a VPN. It offers an AI assistant, a crypto wallet, and a privacy-focused search engine. Enjoy offline media playback and enhanced security features.

Highlights
  • Built-in Adblock and Pop-up Blocker
  • Firewall + VPN
  • AI Assistant (Brave Leo)
  • Secure Crypto Wallet (Brave Wallet)
  • Privacy-Focused Search Engine (Brave Search)
  • Offline Media Playback (Brave Playlist)
  • Voice Search
Features
Read full description

Brave is a fast, private web browser that blocks ads and trackers on every site, automatically. No settings to change, no extensions to install. Over 125 million people browse with Brave. It's free, open source, and independent — we don't sell your browsing data. Everything below is built into the browser. One app, not a stack of them. BLOCK ADS ON EVERY SITE Brave Shields stops banner ads, pop-ups, autoplay interruptions, and the ads that play before and during videos. Same on news sites, shopping sites, forums and video pages — no per-site setup, no ad blocker extension. It dismisses cookie consent banners too, and it's on from your first tab. PRIVATE BROWSING THAT BLOCKS TRACKERS Private mode in most browsers only hides your history from your own phone. Brave blocks the cross-site trackers and fingerprinting scripts that follow you from a shopping page to your social feed, strips tracking codes from links you copy, and turns on Global Privacy Control by default. SHRED: DELETE ONE SITE'S DATA, NOT ALL OF IT Clearing browser data usually logs you out of everything. Shred deletes the cookies and storage for one site and leaves your other sessions intact. Set Auto Shred to run whenever you close a tab. BRAVE SEARCH: A PRIVATE SEARCH ENGINE, BUILT IN Brave Search is the default search engine in the browser, running on its own independent index — not resold results from Google or Bing. It doesn't profile you or log your searches. Ask Brave puts search results and AI answers in one place. Switch search engines any time. BRAVE LEO: A FREE AI ASSISTANT Summarize a long article, translate a page, or draft a reply without leaving the tab. Choose from several AI models. Leo doesn't record your conversations, share them, or use them to train models. BRAVE NEWS: A FEED WITH NO PROFILE BEHIND IT Personalize a news feed from hundreds of sources or any RSS feed with Brave News. FASTER PAGES, LESS MOBILE DATA Ads and trackers are most of what a modern page downloads. Blocking them means fewer requests, less data and less battery drain. We rebuilt Brave's ad blocking engine to use 75% less memory, so it stays responsive with many tabs open. MAKE BRAVE YOUR DEFAULT BROWSER Open Settings, scroll to Brave, choose Default Browser App. Every link you tap — from Mail, Messages or any app — opens with ad and tracker blocking already on. WHAT'S FREE AND WHAT ISN'T Free: the browser, ad and tracker blocking, Shred, Brave Search, Brave Leo, Brave News, Sync and night mode. Subscriptions: - Brave Firewall + VPN encrypts your whole device, not just browser traffic, with a kill switch and smart proxy. - Brave Leo Premium unlocks more capable AI models. - Brave Origin: The streamlined, minimalist browser that gives you Brave's industry-leading privacy and ad-blocking, with none of the extras. One-time purchase: Brave Origin, an ultra-minimalist build of Brave — no AI, no crypto, nothing but the web. One purchase covers all your devices. Also inside: encrypted Sync, a self-custody Brave Wallet (off by default), night mode, voice search, password autofill, custom app icons, and bookmark import from Safari or Chrome. OPEN SOURCE Brave is open source, so anyone can audit what the browser does. Read what we collect at https://brave.com/privacy/ Our mission is to protect your privacy online by building a fast, private browser — while growing a fairer revenue model for creators. Enjoying the app? Please leave us a 5 star review! Brave.com · Support: https://brave.com/support Terms of Use: https://brave.com/terms-of-use/ Privacy Policy: https://brave.com/privacy/ SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Price may vary by location. Subscriptions are charged to your Apple Account. Firewall + VPN and Leo Premium are offered monthly and annually, and renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Account Settings. Free trials may be used once; any unused portion is forfeited on purchase.

About

Firefox Focus

This privacy-focused browser offers an always-on ad and tracker blocker for faster, distraction-free browsing. It automatically erases your browsing history, passwords, and cookies with a single tap, ensuring your online activity remains private.

Highlights
  • Always-on ad blocking
  • Tracker protection
  • One-tap history deletion
  • Minimalist design
  • Home screen shortcuts
  • Faster page loads
Features
Read full description

Use Firefox Focus for everything you want to keep separate from your main browser — for all those get in get out and forget about it moments. No tabs, no fuss, no muss. Block ads and online trackers too. One tap, and your browsing history is completely destroyed. Blocking distracting ads also means faster page loads which means Focus gets you where you want to go a lot faster. Firefox Focus is the perfect get in/get out, search and destroy, I’m on a mission that’s none-of-your-business — web browser. NEW DISTRACTION-FREE DESIGN When you open Focus, you just get the awesome bar and the keyboard for super quick searching. That’s it. No recent history, no past sites, no open tabs, no ads, no distractions. Just a simple, minimal design with menus that make sense. ONE TAP TO DELETE HISTORY Erase your history, passwords and cookies with just a tap of the trash button. CREATE SHORTCUTS Pin up to four shortcuts on your home screen. Get to your favorite site even quicker without typing anything. FASTER BROWSING WITH AD BLOCKING & TRACKING PROTECTION Firefox Focus blocks many ads you’d normally see on web pages so you get much faster page load speeds, which means you get to the stuff you want a lot faster. Focus also blocks a wide range of trackers by default, including social trackers and those sticky ones that come from things like Facebook ads. BACKED BY A NON-PROFIT Firefox Focus is backed by Mozilla, the non-profit that fights for your rights on the web, so you can trust it not to sell your data. LEARN MORE ABOUT FIREFOX WEB BROWSER: - Read about Firefox permissions: http://mzl.la/Permissions - Learn more about what’s up at Mozilla: https://blog.mozilla.org ABOUT MOZILLA Mozilla exists to build the Internet as a public resource accessible to all because we believe open and free is better than closed and controlled. We build products like Firefox to promote choice and transparency and give people more control over their lives online. Learn more at https://www.mozilla.org. Privacy Policy: http://www.mozilla.org/legal/privacy/firefox.html

Screenshots

Brave Browser & Search Engine4 screens
Firefox Focus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Firefox Focus at none against Brave Browser & Search Engine's 5. Firefox Focus also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Brave Browser & Search Engine's advantage is chart position (#17 vs unranked) and ratings volume (669K vs 83K). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Brave Browser & Search Engine sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Firefox Focus asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Brave Browser & Search Engine against 4.7 for Firefox Focus. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brave Browser & Search Engine has 669K ratings behind it against 83K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Brave Browser & Search Engine's written reviews are positive against 62% of Firefox Focus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brave Browser & Search Engine ships an update every 2 weeks, Firefox Focus monthly. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Brave Browser & Search Engine versus Firefox Focus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrave Browser & Search EngineFirefox Focus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (669K ratings) — better4.7 (83K ratings)
Positive reviews73.2% of reviews — better62.4% of reviews
Number of ratings669K — better83K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#17 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size356 MB99 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperBrave SoftwareMozilla

Customer experience

Brave Browser & Search Engine

All ratings666,467 ratings
Positive95.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews7,973 reviews
Positive73.2%
Neutral7.4%
Negative19.4%

Firefox Focus

All ratings82,068 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral2.9%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews1,515 reviews
Positive62.4%
Neutral9.6%
Negative28.0%

User reviews

Brave Browser & Search Engine

From 669K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient browsing
  • 🔒 Strong privacy and security features
  • 👍 Customizable settings and options
  • 💰 Earning potential with Brave Rewards

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🤔 Confusing or unintuitive UI changes
  • 🚫 Lack of full sync capabilities across devices

Firefox Focus

From 83K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 🔒 Excellent privacy and security features
  • 👍 Clean, minimalist design
  • 👍 Convenient single-tab browsing
  • 👍 Seamless Safari integration

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🔍 Limited functionality compared to full Firefox
  • 🔍 No support for tabs or bookmarks
  • 🔍 Inability to set as default browser

Bugs and requests

Brave Browser & Search Engine

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Disappearing tabs and lost browsing data
  • Compatibility issues with certain websites
  • Problems with the Brave Playlist feature

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to clear browsing history and data in bulk
  • More customization options for the home screen and UI
  • Improved integration with other apps and services
  • Expanded Brave Rewards program and payouts

Firefox Focus

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Back button not working properly
  • Compatibility issues with certain websites
  • Inconsistent behavior when opening links from other apps

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for multiple tabs
  • Implement bookmark and password management
  • Introduce a dark mode option
  • Allow setting Firefox Focus as the default browser

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Brave Browser & Search Engine

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Firewall + VPN7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Brave Leo AI (monthly)7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Annual Firewall + VPN7 Days trial$99.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Brave Leo AI (annual)7 Days trial$149.991 Year
One-time1
  • Brave Origin$59.99
None

Firefox Focus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Brave Browser & Search Engine free?
Brave Browser & Search Engine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Firefox Focus free?
Firefox Focus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Brave Browser & Search Engine or Firefox Focus?
Brave Browser & Search Engine is rated higher. Brave Browser & Search Engine averages 4.8 out of 5 from 669K ratings, while Firefox Focus averages 4.7 from 83K ratings.
Do Brave Browser & Search Engine or Firefox Focus have ads?
Neither Brave Browser & Search Engine nor Firefox Focus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brave Browser & Search Engine or Firefox Focus?
Brave Browser & Search Engine ships an update every 2 weeks, and Firefox Focus monthly. Most recently, Brave Browser & Search Engine was updated on October 26, 2026 and Firefox Focus on October 26, 2026.

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