Chrome vs Firefox vs Edge: Browser Extension Market in Q1 2026

The browser extension market grew in Q1 2026. However, the key point is not just that Chrome remained the leader. Data from exstats.com shows Firefox had the fastest growth among major stores. Chrome rebounded after a decline in late 2025, reaching a new high, while all three ecosystems continued to have many extensions with minimal usage.

As of March 2026, Chrome had 178,299 active extensions, Firefox had 83,465, and Edge had 28,741, according to exstats.com. However, these numbers alone do not provide a full picture. Most extensions have very few users, maintenance patterns vary widely among stores, and changes in platform policies clearly influence where developers see opportunities.

178,299 active extensions were listed in the Chrome Web Store in March 2026, compared to 83,465 on Firefox Add-ons and 28,741 on Microsoft Edge Add-ons, according to exstats.com’s analysis of store listings.

Firefox’s extension ecosystem grew by 74.2% year over year from March 2025 to March 2026, the fastest rate among the three major stores, according to exstats.com.

70.4% of Chrome extensions, 56.6% of Edge add-ons, and 89.4% of Firefox add-ons have 100 users or fewer, based on the closest available adoption metric for each store, according to exstats.com.

Chrome vs Firefox vs Edge: Browser Extension Market in Q1 2026

The extension market in Q1 2026 was still dominated by Chrome with a substantial lead. Data from exstats.com shows 178,299 Chrome extensions at the end of March, more than double Firefox’s 83,465 and more than six times Edge’s 28,741.

This scale is significant because Chrome also reaches the largest browser audience. StatCounter’s worldwide browser usage data for March 2026 shows Chrome at 66.71% market share, while Edge holds 5.79% and Firefox has 2.33% StatCounter. Chrome remains the main target for distribution, but store size and browser share are no longer aligned.

Firefox is the standout in this scenario. From March 2025 to March 2026, Firefox’s listings increased from 47,925 to 83,465, marking a 74.16% growth. Both Chrome and Edge grew by about 22% in the same period. For developers and reporters, this shifts the narrative: the extension landscape in 2026 involves more than just Chrome’s dominance; Firefox is growing significantly faster, even from a smaller base.

One possible explanation is differing policies. Mozilla announced in February 2025 that Firefox would continue supporting both Manifest V2 and Manifest V3, including the ability to use `blockingWebRequest`, while some other browsers began phasing out MV2 Mozilla. While this doesn’t establish a direct cause and effect, it helps to explain Firefox’s strong growth in listings.

Q1 2026 was a rebound quarter, especially for Chrome

Q1 2026 saw an increase in listings across all three major stores, but Chrome’s recovery stood out. Data from exstats.com shows Chrome added 34,632 new extensions and removed 7,890 in Q1, resulting in a net growth of 26,742. Firefox had a net gain of 9,507 listings, while Edge added 2,353.

Those numbers become more meaningful when compared to late 2025. In Q4 2025, Chrome experienced a net loss of 28,664 listings due to a significant deletion wave, while Edge declined by 211. In contrast, Firefox continued to grow.

The main takeaway is that Q1 2026 felt more like a reset and recovery than a simple continuation. Chrome ended the quarter with an all-time high after the prior contraction. Firefox maintained its upward momentum into 2026. Edge remained positive, but on a smaller scale.

Chrome’s late-2025 purge was real, and it changed the baseline for 2026

The most noticeable change in the market was Chrome’s cleanup in October 2025. Data from exstats.com shows 47,288 extensions were removed that month alone. No other monthly deletion counts during this period came close.

This is important because simple year-end comparisons can misinterpret the situation. Chrome’s total was 175,423 in September 2025, dropped to 134,888 at the end of October, then grew to 140,828 in November and 178,299 by March 2026. Edge also experienced a smaller purge in December 2025 when 2,083 add-ons were deleted. Firefox did not face a similar disruption and showed steady growth every month.

This matters because if a store can delete tens of thousands of listings in a single month, raw numbers tell only part of the story. Policy enforcement, spam removal, and compliance efforts can shift visibility and competition much more rapidly than overall counts suggest. For developers, this is more than a detail; it’s crucial to know.

This context is especially relevant after the shutdown of Manifest V2. Google’s official timeline states that MV2 was disabled with an option to re-enable on March 31, 2025, and completely disabled on July 24, 2025 Chrome for Developers. Microsoft’s Edge extension guidance also describes the migration to MV3 as a security enhancement, with stricter limits on remotely hosted code Microsoft Learn.

The market is huge, but demand is still concentrated in a small minority of extensions

The most significant commercial takeaway from the data is how few users the average extension receives. Data from exstats.com indicates a median of 18 users for Chrome extensions, 62 active installs for Edge add-ons, and one average daily user for Firefox add-ons. These metrics differ by store, so they can’t be directly compared, but they point to the same conclusion: most listings have minimal usage.

The distribution makes this even clearer. Based on each store’s closest available user metrics, 70.4% of Chrome listings, 56.6% of Edge listings, and 89.4% of Firefox listings have 100 users or fewer.

Chrome uses `usersCount`, Edge uses `activeInstallCount`, and Firefox uses `averageDailyUsers`, based on data from exstats.com.

For developers, this means that growth in the store does not guarantee easier discovery. More listings can lead to increased competition among products with low traction. While there is a real opportunity, it is limited. A store that grows rapidly can still be tough to navigate if ranking, user retention, or promotional advantages cluster around the top few percent. It’s akin to opening a café in a city where everyone else also had a similar "small but curated" idea.

Category mix varies enough across stores to change launch strategy

The three stores differ not only in size but also in what gets developed.

On Chrome, categories focused on productivity lead the way: 65,135 listings in Tools, 32,175 in Workflow & Planning, and 17,551 in Developer tools. On Edge, the largest category is also Productivity, with 12,609 listings. Firefox is more diverse, with Other leading at 22,690, followed by Appearance at 14,801 and Search Tools at 12,234.

This indicates that developers should not view "browser extensions" as a single market. Chrome and Edge lean more towards work and utility use cases, while Firefox shows broader diversity and less strict categorization. Firefox also emphasizes privacy and security more prominently among top categories, featuring 8,627 listings in Privacy & Security.

The key takeaway is not that one store is superior overall. Instead, category fit is more crucial than careless cross-posting. A workflow or utility extension may find a stronger competitive environment on Chrome and Edge, while Firefox might offer different opportunities in privacy, interface customization, and search-related tools.

Feedback coverage is deeper on Chrome, but rated extensions score well across all stores

Feedback coverage varies significantly. exstats.com data indicates that 49.8% of Chrome listings have at least one rating, compared to 44.5% on Edge and 31.0% on Firefox. Review coverage stands at 43.0% for Chrome, 29.7% for Edge, and 31.0% for Firefox.

At first glance, the average ratings across stores seem low: 2.27 on Chrome, 1.90 on Edge, and 1.29 on Firefox. However, these figures include unrated listings counted as zero. Among extensions that do receive ratings, average scores are high for all three stores: 4.56 on Chrome, 4.27 on Edge, and 4.15 on Firefox.

The good news for developers is that low overall averages do not indicate users dislike extensions. They reflect the fact that many listings never receive feedback. Extensions that do get reviews are generally well received. For product teams, this highlights the importance of engaging users early and encouraging reviews, rather than focusing solely on broad average ratings.

Maintenance is healthier on Chrome than on Edge or Firefox, but freshness is still limited

A growing store remains healthy only if its listings are kept up to date. In this aspect, Chrome currently leads. exstats.com data shows 30.80% of active Chrome extensions were updated within the last 90 days as of March 31, 2026, compared to 18.23% on Edge and 17.92% on Firefox.

Looking at a longer timeframe, 62.58% of Chrome listings were updated within the last 365 days, while Edge and Firefox had 38.65% and 48.20%, respectively. The average update interval reflects this trend: 103 days for Chrome, 127 for Edge, and 111 for Firefox.

This indicates that Chrome’s larger ecosystem is not only bigger but also more actively maintained. Firefox’s rapid growth has not yet resulted in a similar freshness profile, while Edge appears smaller and slower. This situation affects trust for users and competition for developers. A store filled with older, poorly maintained listings may allow better-supported products to shine.

Security context is also essential. A peer-reviewed ACM study identified 1,349 extensions vulnerable to inter-extension attacks that could lead to XSS issues, along with a cluster of 4,410 "New Tab" extensions involved in stealing traffic. Reuters reported a 2020 spyware campaign that impacted 32 million Chrome extension downloads before Google removed over 70 harmful add-ons. Although these figures are not from Q1 2026, they help clarify why store cleanup and policy enforcement are vital to the market’s structure.

What Q1 2026 says about the extension industry

The extension industry in Q1 2026 is larger, cleaner, and more uneven than typical browser statistics imply. Chrome remains the center of gravity in terms of both browser share and store size. Firefox is the standout growth story. Edge plays a role, but it continues to be a much smaller ecosystem.

The key insight is structural. Store growth has not eliminated the long tail. Most extensions still have minimal adoption, many do not receive ratings, and only a small percentage are regularly maintained. So yes, the market is active, but it is not straightforward.

For tech journalists, the best way to sum it up is that the extension market is expanding, but success is becoming more concentrated. For product managers, the takeaway is to select stores based on category fit and maintenance advantage, not just audience size. For developers, the data suggests that both statements can be true: browser extensions still represent a significant platform opportunity, but most listings will likely not achieve success.

A final note on enterprise relevance: research shows that extensions are crucial in workplace browsing. Help Net Security reported, citing LayerX’s 2025 enterprise report, that 99% of enterprise users had at least one extension installed, with 53% having more than 10. This context highlights why distribution, management, and store trust are significant issues in 2026.