Alternatives to Pale Moon

Independent Firefox fork with the classic interface and XUL extension support. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Pale Moon.

  • Basilisk

    Non-Chromium browser from the Pale Moon ecosystem that keeps XUL extensions.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Basilisk comes from the same Pale Moon ecosystem and also runs classic XUL extensions, but has a small team and many modern sites do not work correctly.

  • SeaMonkey

    Classic internet suite combining a browser, email, feed reader, IRC client and HTML editor.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    SeaMonkey continues the old Mozilla Application Suite, bundling browser, email, feed reader, IRC client and HTML editor on an older Firefox codebase.

  • Waterfox

    A Firefox build with telemetry stripped out, ad blocking and encrypted DNS turned on from the start.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Waterfox is a current Firefox build with telemetry removed and ad blocking on by default, supporting modern Firefox extensions rather than XUL add-ons.

  • Firefox

    The main browser not built on Chromium, with tracking protection turned on by default.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS

    Firefox brings the current Gecko engine with modern web compatibility and security hardening, but drops XUL extensions and the classic pre-Quantum interface.

  • LibreWolf

    A Firefox build with the privacy settings already turned up and uBlock Origin included.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    LibreWolf is a current Firefox build with uBlock Origin and strict privacy defaults, gaining modern web compatibility but losing XUL extension support.

  • Floorp

    A Firefox build from Japan with vertical tabs, workspaces, split view and web panels already wired in.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Floorp is a current Firefox build with a heavily customisable interface, vertical tabs and workspaces, but it runs modern Firefox add-ons rather than XUL extensions.

Also worth comparing

These listings name Pale Moon as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Otter Browser

    Use a configurable browser inspired by classic Opera.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsLinux

    Pale Moon is an independent Firefox fork keeping the classic interface and XUL extensions, with a macOS build, but its older engine misses modern web features.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.