Open Source Browsers Continue to Grab Market Share

We've made the point many times that open source browsers are leading the way in terms of innovation, and that has had a big impact on Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, which used to have over 80 percent share of the browser market. Now, new Net Applications data shows that Internet Explorer has less than 60 percent of the browser market. Meanwhile, Google's Chrome browser--while it doesn't yet command a huge part of the market--continues to see adoption grow at a swift rate.

According to Net Applications' data for browsers in April, Internet Explorer had 59.5 percent share, Firefox had 24.59 percent share, and Google Chrome had 6.73 percent share, as seen below.

Google's Chrome browser first arrived in late 2008 and has been steadily grabbing market share ever since. Its 6.73 percent share represents a new high, and is up from 6.13 percent share in March.

Firefox's share, meanwhile, isn't growing at the same fast clip that it once was, but it continues to trend up. With nearly 25 percent share of the browser market, it is one of the biggest open source success stories. As Chrome and Firefox continue to leverage extensions, rapid development cyclyes and other advantages of being open source, expect Internet Explorer's share to drop further. One has to wonder at this point if Microsoft has considered the value of going open source with its browser.