Thorium
Chromium compiled for speed.
Chromium rebuilt with aggressive compiler optimizations (AVX2, SSE4, PGO) plus all codecs included. Measurably faster in benchmarks — maintained by a tiny team.
- Engine
- Blink
- License
- Open source
- Runs on
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
- Top marks
- Raw speed, Extension ecosystem, Site compatibility, Open source
- Updated
- September 2026
Why it shines
- 8–38% faster than stock Chromium in benchmarks
- All media codecs included
- Keeps some Google conveniences optional
Worth knowing
- Essentially a one-maintainer project
- Releases can lag Chromium security patches — weigh that seriously
Origins
Thorium belongs to The Chromium empire — descended from Chromium.
Does well
Ranked in
Scorecard
- Tracking protection1/3
- Fingerprinting resistance0/3
- Anonymity0/3
- Built-in ad blocking0/3
- Customization1/3
- Keyboard control0/3
- Built-in tools0/3
- Minimal interface0/3
- Fresh design0/3
- Classic interface0/3
- Light on resources1/3
- Raw speed3/3
- Battery efficiency0/3
- Extension ecosystem3/3
- Cross-device sync0/3
- Site compatibility3/3
- Low maintenance1/3
- Open source3/3
- Independence1/3
- Built-in AI0/3
- Gaming features0/3
- Dev tooling1/3
0–3 on each of the 22 criteria the quiz and the guides rank by. How we score.
