Hello everyone!
In this post, I want to discuss something a bit different from our usual homelab topics, but it is crucial for our daily productivity: Web Browsers.
After years of being a loyal Google Chrome user (since I was in elementary school), finally, in 2026, I decided to “break up.” This decision wasn’t easy because the Google ecosystem is incredibly comfortable, but there is one major issue I can no longer tolerate: RAM Usage.
The Classic Problem: Chrome Eats Everything
Source: CGfrog Blog (https://blog.cgfrog.com/google-chrome-vs-ram/)
We all know the legendary meme that Chrome is a RAM eater (like the meme above). In the past, maybe I didn’t care too much. But lately, Chrome feels heavier than ever.
Opening a few tabs for research, running my Portainer dashboard, plus having YouTube open is enough to make my PC and Laptop fans scream.
This problem is exacerbated by the current hardware situation. As I mentioned in a previous post, RAM prices are skyrocketing right now. The option to simply “add more RAM” has become an expensive and inefficient solution. Should we really have to upgrade our hardware just to accommodate an inefficient browser?
The Solution: Brave Browser
After doing some research here and there, my choice fell on Brave.
Why Brave?
- Chromium Base: This is the most important reason. Brave is built on the same engine as Chrome. What does this mean? All my favorite Chrome extensions still work without issues. The transition was seamless.
- Built-in Shield: Chrome needs additional extensions (like uBlock) to block ads/trackers, which adds to the memory load. Brave has this feature natively. The result? Web loading is much faster, and RAM usage is much more efficient.
- Privacy: By default, Brave respects privacy more than Chrome, which is, after all, an ad company.
- Vertical Tabs & More Screen Real Estate: As you can see in the screenshot, Brave allows me to move tabs to the side (Vertical Tabs). This clears up the clutter from the top of the browser, giving me significantly more vertical space to view website content. For a developer like me, this extra “breathing room” makes the workspace feel much larger and cleaner compared to Chrome.
After migrating, the difference felt significant. Multitasking on both my PC and Laptop feels much snappier, and my idle RAM usage has dropped drastically.
What About Passwords? (Move to Norton)
One thing that held me back in Chrome for years was Google Password Manager. Its autofill feature is indeed very convenient.
However, since I’m no longer using Chrome, I decided to move my security credentials to a more independent and secure third-party service. My choice fell on Norton Password Manager.
The migration steps turned out to be simple:
- Export passwords from Chrome (into a .csv file).
- Import the file into Norton Password Manager.
- Permanently delete the .csv file for security.
- Install the Norton extension on Brave.
Now, my passwords are no longer “locked” inside a single browser. I can access them securely on Brave, Firefox, or even on my phone via the Norton app, with guaranteed encryption.
Conclusion
Switching to Brave is one of the best “tech life” decisions I’ve made this year. I get better performance without having to spend money on upgrading RAM amidst skyrocketing prices.
If you feel your PC starting to lag while browsing, try checking your Task Manager. If Chrome is the culprit, maybe it’s time for you to try Brave too.
See you on the faster side of the web!