Comparison

Puffin Browser Pro vs Maxthon Browser

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

Head to head
About

Puffin Browser Pro

This app provides a unique cloud-based browsing experience, acting as a remote desktop client for a powerful cloud server that renders web content. It offers features like browser isolation, data saving, and desktop mode, while protecting your internet access.

Highlights
  • Browser Isolation
  • Cloud Acceleration
  • Data Saving
  • Download to Cloud
  • Flash Game Support
  • Full Desktop Mode
  • Internet Access Protection
Features
Read full description

Puffin Cloud Browser is the client app that accesses the cloud server which runs the web browser. The Puffin client app and the Puffin cloud server do not communicate in HTTP protocol and the data exchange is not in HTML format. The Puffin client app is like the remote desktop client and the Puffin cloud server is like the remote desktop server. Puffin Cloud Browser gives the audience the illusion of a web browser but it is not, in reality, a web browser. Puffin Cloud Browser can only "display" the web content rendered on the cloud servers but can't "render" the web content itself on the client devices. ==== Differentiating Features ==== * Browser Isolation * Cloud Acceleration * Data Saving * Download to Cloud * Flash Game * Full Desktop Mode * Internet Access Protection * Virtual Gamepad/Mouse/Trackpad ==== Important Limitations ==== * Only works on websites that are publicly accessible from the US -- Does not work for private IP, corporate Intranet, and geo-restricted websites * Only works in countries that are not excessive in censorship -- Does not work in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates * For some websites, Puffin server IP blocks need to be white-listed -- Puffin can bring an excessive load to some websites More info at Puffin FAQ https://help.puffin.com/faq

About

Maxthon Browser

A mobile web browser designed for a streamlined and personalized experience. It offers a fresh interface, enhanced features like customizable favorites, and tools for privacy and eye comfort.

Highlights
  • New UI design
  • Re-planned homepage layout
  • Optimized feature layout
  • Enhanced favorites with text and images
  • Personalized data treasure chest
  • Incognito mode
  • Night mode
Read full description

The world changes every day but our beliefs remain the same. We firmly believe that good interaction is less while good product is neither more nor less, and good experience always comes from the heart. A fresh new Maxthon Browser for iPhone will become the treasure chest for you on mobile Internet. We made great efforts in this revision in a visual sense to get rid of complicated design. According to a large amount of users' feedback, we perfectly combined design and practical features to build a browser that suits you like no one does. Named “The Best Browser” by famous North American and European agencies many times : Download82 2017 Software 5-Star Award DEAL crunch 2017 Editor’s Choice About.com Most Popular Browser Award Share Networks Full-Stars Recommendation Award ...... All Awards can be checked here: http://www.maxthon.com/awards New Features: 【Video Enhancement】Support video speed adjustment, floating pop-up video and background video playback for a better viewing experience. 【Userscript Support】Tampermonkey userscript engine available to customize web pages and unlock more possibilities. 【Webpage Read Aloud】Text-to-speech for web content, free your eyes and listen to articles on the go. 【New design】Global UI interaction、fresh new design style; 【New Homepage】Re-planned page layout from traditional two-stage to three-stage, easily to view. 【New Layout】Optimized on overall features level, which highlighted the often used main features according to users feedback, greatly improved the convenience of operations. 【New Favorites】Breaking the traditional Favorites structure that can only save URL, re-identifying the favorites feature that can conclude pictures and text content. 【Personal Customized】 The new Maxthon Browser will not only be your information access platform, but rather your personal customized treasure chest for data that comes with a powerful edition of notes, password management, and numerous extensions. Others feature: 【Incognito mode】Browsing on the incognito mode will never record your cache, Cookie, history, and download record. 【Night mode】Make adjustments to brightness to reduce the damage to the eyes when browsing at night. More Info: Report Bug: http://www.maxthon.com/mx/bug/post/ Help Center: http://www.maxthon.com/mx5/help/question/ Contact us:contact@maxthon.com Website: http://www.maxthon.com/ Maxthon Community: http://www.maxthon.com/ Facebook:www.facebook.com/maxthon Twitter:www.twitter.com/Maxthon YouTube:www.youtube.com/MaxthonCloudBrowser LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/company/maxthon-international-limited

Screenshots

Puffin Browser Pro3 screens
Maxthon Browser4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Maxthon Browser at Free against Puffin Browser Pro's $4.99. Maxthon Browser also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.9) and review sentiment (69% vs 41%). Puffin Browser Pro's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Maxthon Browser is free to download; Puffin Browser Pro costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Maxthon Browser holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.4K and 703 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of Puffin Browser Pro's written reviews are positive against 69% of Maxthon Browser's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puffin Browser Pro ships an update monthly, Maxthon Browser every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 20, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Puffin Browser Pro versus Maxthon Browser: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuffin Browser ProMaxthon Browser
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating2.9 (1.4K ratings)4.5 (703 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.8% of reviews69.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.4K — better703
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB62 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperCloudMosa, Inc.Maxthon Technology Limited

Customer experience

Puffin Browser Pro

All ratings1,432 ratings
Positive43.7%
Neutral8.7%
Negative47.6%
Written reviews1,434 reviews
Positive40.8%
Neutral8.6%
Negative50.6%

Maxthon Browser

All ratings702 ratings
Positive88.6%
Neutral3.4%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews222 reviews
Positive69.4%
Neutral5.4%
Negative25.2%

User reviews

Puffin Browser Pro

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast browser
  • 👍 Great for flash content
  • 🔒 Bypass content restrictions
  • 💡 Useful features like gamepad and mouse pointer

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🔋 Drains battery
  • 🔒 Security and privacy concerns
  • 👎 Unreliable and inconsistent performance

Maxthon Browser

From 703 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient browsing
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 🔒 Secure and private browsing
  • 💡 Useful features like cloud sync and note-taking

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 👎 Cluttered and confusing UI after updates
  • 🚫 Forced login/account creation

Bugs and requests

Puffin Browser Pro

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent crashes and connection issues
  • Compatibility problems with newer websites
  • Gamepad controls not working properly
  • Inability to permanently change search engine

Requested features

4 requests
  • Update for newer iOS versions
  • Improve gamepad support
  • Add dark mode option
  • Better ad blocking

Maxthon Browser

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Freezing and unresponsiveness
  • Bookmark and history sync issues
  • Incompatibility with older devices
  • Problems with file downloads and attachments

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Improved tab management
  • Ability to customize homepage and bookmarks
  • Better video/audio playback support

In-app purchases

None

Puffin Browser Pro

No in-app purchases

None

Maxthon Browser

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puffin Browser Pro free?
Puffin Browser Pro costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Maxthon Browser free?
Maxthon Browser is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puffin Browser Pro or Maxthon Browser?
Maxthon Browser is rated higher. Puffin Browser Pro averages 2.9 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while Maxthon Browser averages 4.5 from 703 ratings.
Do Puffin Browser Pro or Maxthon Browser have ads?
Neither Puffin Browser Pro nor Maxthon Browser shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puffin Browser Pro or Maxthon Browser?
Puffin Browser Pro ships an update monthly, and Maxthon Browser every 3 weeks. Most recently, Puffin Browser Pro was updated on October 20, 2026 and Maxthon Browser on October 20, 2026.

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