Alternatives to qutebrowser
A keyboard-driven browser with vim-style bindings and almost no interface to click on. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
qutebrowser
A keyboard-driven browser with vim-style bindings and almost no interface to click on.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as qutebrowser.
Nyxt
Keyboard-first browser configured and extended in Common Lisp.
Nyxt keeps keyboard-first browsing with every command reachable from a fuzzy prompt, but it is configured in Common Lisp instead of Python and has no Windows build.
Firefox
The main browser not built on Chromium, with tracking protection turned on by default.
Firefox drops the built-in vim-style bindings but adds strong extension support, containers, and builds for Android and iOS, running on an engine that is not Chromium.
Vivaldi
A Chromium browser for people who want tab stacks, split screen and a mail client in the same window.
Vivaldi offers deep interface settings, tab stacking and tiling on Chromium, but it is built around a conventional interface rather than keyboard-only use and is not fully open source.
Falkon
Lightweight KDE browser built on QtWebEngine.
Falkon uses the same QtWebEngine base with an ad blocker and password manager enabled, but it is a conventional browser for Windows and Linux with a tiny extension ecosystem.
ungoogled-chromium
Plain Chromium with every connection to Google web services stripped out, and nothing else changed.
ungoogled-chromium runs Chromium without Google web services and supports Chrome extensions installed by hand, but it has no keyboard-first interface or Python configuration.
Vieb
A Vim-inspired Electron desktop browser built for keyboard navigation, with local ad blocking and strict permissions.
Vieb keeps Vim-style bindings and commands but runs on Electron, configured through a viebrc file, with a built-in ad blocker, window splitting and container tabs.
Luakit
A keyboard-driven web browser built on WebKitGTK and GTK, configured and extended with Lua.
Luakit is a keyboard-driven browser with link hints configured in Lua instead of Python, built on WebKitGTK with a built-in ad blocker, and actively supported only on Linux.
Glide
A keyboard-focused, extensible web browser configured in TypeScript, currently in alpha.
Glide offers modal Vim-style keymaps and link hints configured in TypeScript, supports web extensions unlike qutebrowser, but is alpha software with experimental Windows support.
Also worth comparing
These listings name qutebrowser as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Dooble
An open-source Qt web browser focused on privacy and usability, with frequent releases.
qutebrowser is also an open-source Qt browser on all three desktops, but it is keyboard-driven with vim-style bindings and Python configuration, and lacks Chrome or Firefox extensions.
Min
Browse with a minimal interface and grouped tabs.
qutebrowser keeps a minimal interface but makes everything keyboard-driven with vim-style bindings and a Python config file, with no Chrome or Firefox extensions.
Otter Browser
Use a configurable browser inspired by classic Opera.
qutebrowser is a GPL-3.0 Qt browser that is keyboard-driven with vim-style bindings and a Python config file, with a macOS build and minimal interface.
surf
A minimal WebKit2GTK web browser from the suckless project, without tabs and configured at compile time.
qutebrowser is a GPL-3.0 keyboard-driven browser on QtWebEngine with vim bindings and a Python config file, and runs on Windows and macOS as well as Linux.
vimb
A lightweight, keyboard-driven web browser with Vim-style modes, built on WebKitGTK and GTK4.
qutebrowser keeps vim-style keyboard control with link hints but uses QtWebEngine instead of WebKitGTK, is configured in Python, and also runs on Windows and macOS.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
