Although Opera has been a second class citizen (is it too strong word?) in the world of web browsers for sometime (IE and firefox get all the limelight and opera is mostly used by geeks and programmers), recent surveys suggest that it has earned a significant market share, thanks to strong marketing efforts by Opera team. Not to mention, more feature rich releases and recent usability enhancements done by Opera Software ASA, the creators of Opera.

On the other hand, Google Chrome which started with a bang in october 2008, is the latest addition in internet browsers list and currently it is getting a lot of attention from Internet users, mostly because of a product from Google. In the very first week, as it was reported to take 1% browser market share. Anyway since then,the reviews about Google Chrome are mixed and people have again moved back to firefox (most of the chrome users were firefox users to begin with but its a different story which I will cover on some other time)

In browser market, Internet explorer owns 70+% and firefox owns 21+% in browser market and the rest is shared by Opera, Chrome, Safari etc so probably its not fair to compare Opera and Chrome with firefox and IE as the latter are way too old and established.

So if we have to compare between Chrome vs Opera, which will come out as winner ? Here is an objective comparison between various features of Google Chrome and Opera to see where they stand again easy other.

Usability - Chrome vs Opera
Opera is a child of the conventional browser layout, so the new users do not have to learn anything new. Chrome has purposely redesigned the layout and how the controls work, requiring new users to spend some time learning the application.

Tabs - Chrome vs Opera
Opera invented tabbing for web browsers before many of the competitors thought of implementing it. But, Chrome adopted it with a few differences where it helps the users to manage their work effectively. Chrome introduced the detachable tabs in addition to the conventional tabs so, Chrome is currently leading in tabbing.

Memory Utilization - Chrome vs Opera
A test was conducted by opening five tabs with 10 minutes of intensive surfing to monitor the memory utilization of the two browsers. As result, Opera consumed 96.6 MB while Chrome consumed 84.1 MB. This is a valid testimonial for Chrome’s efficiency in memory utilization.

Launch Speed - Chrome vs Opera
According to the many tests executed for browser launching speed, Chrome launches itself taking only one third of the time taken by Opera.

Plug-ins - Chrome vs Opera
Currently there are hundreds of plug-ins available for Opera as it has been there in the market for many years. Chrome has only a handful of plug-ins available yet of now.

Performance - Chrome vs Opera
V8 benchmark suit has been executed for comparing the performance of the two browsers. V8 is a standard performance test which measures many aspects of a web browser and then assigns scores. Opera lost by scoring 135 points while Chrome lead by earning 818 points.

Security - Chrome vs Opera
Chrome owns its own sand-box for checking the web content for harmful code. This is an additional security layer above the anti-virus software. But when it comes to Opera, there is no inbuilt security model and it solely relies on the operating system’s security and anti-virus software.

Therefore, as far as the evaluations of Opera and Chrome is concerned, , Chrome comes out as a clear winner against Opera, probably for the reason of it being new and hence have more features. Though personally i prefers to use opera over chrome as chrome is still in beta and I find it difficult to play youtube videos on chrome.

Related posts:

1. Chrome Vs Safari Chrome vs Safari, a comparison to find which is better...
2. Google Chrome Extensions and Plugins So after a hard launch back in last year, the...
3. Firefox owns 27% of Browser market, Internet Explorer dips to 65% As per the latest data by statcounter, firefox is continuously...
4. Login in Multiple email Accounts simultaneously The best way to organize your emails is to have...
5. Tabjacking If you have heard of Tabjacking and are wondering what...