Brave review

Brave is the easiest way to get a faster, quieter web without touching a setting. Its Shields feature blocks third-party ads on every website, including video, search and social ads, and it also blocks cookie consent pop-ups. Brave adds protection against tracking and fingerprinting, turns on Global Privacy Control by default and upgrades pages to HTTPS where it can. The company says that removing this unwanted content saves bandwidth, mobile data, battery life and CPU, and that websites load 3x to 6x faster. Because Brave is built on the open source Chromium core, sites and most extensions behave as they do in Chrome, and moving over takes a minute with the bookmark import. The browser itself is completely free. Brave Firewall + VPN is a separate subscription at $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year with a 7-day trial, covering up to 10 devices.

Who it is for

everyday users who want ad blocking and privacy with no setup

Price

Free; optional Brave Firewall + VPN costs $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year.

Yes, Brave is completely free to use.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 12, 2026.

Key features

• Brave Shields block third-party ads, trackers and fingerprinting on every site
• Cookie consent pop-ups blocked by default
• Global Privacy Control turned on by default
• Upgrades pages to secure HTTPS connections where possible
• Apps for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS and Windows

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Blocking is on out of the box, with no extensions to install
• Strength: Brave says blocking ads lets websites load 3x to 6x faster and saves battery
• Strength: Built on Chromium, so most Chrome extensions and sites work
• Weakness: The VPN is a paid add-on at $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year
• Weakness: No built-in mail, calendar or feed reader like Vivaldi
• Weakness: Sync and settings differ from Chrome, so expect a short setup

Key facts

• Price: Free
• Engine: Chromium
• Platforms: Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows
• Ad blocking: Built in, on by default
• Optional VPN: $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, 7-day trial

Where it ranks

Brave is No. 1 in our Best Web Browsers verdict.