Browser comparison
Chrome vs Sill: the default and the deliberate
Chrome is the web's default: unmatched compatibility, the largest extension catalogue, sync everywhere. Sill is a deliberate choice: a native macOS browser organized around hibernating workspaces that sends nothing anywhere. Here's what each actually buys you.
Full disclosure: this studio builds Sill. This is written as the comparison worth reading anyway — Chrome's genuine strengths included, its details drawn from its own public documentation.
Chrome earned its position. Sites are built and tested against it first, the Chrome Web Store dwarfs every alternative, DevTools set the industry standard, and a Google account carries your browsing across every device you own. Any honest comparison starts there — and Sill, a free native macOS browser I build, doesn't compete on any of those axes.
What Chrome doesn't offer is quiet, or restraint about data. It belongs to the world's largest advertising business, it works best signed in, and to its credit it doesn't market itself as private. Sill starts from the other end: workspaces instead of a tab strip, WebKit instead of Chromium, and zero network calls of its own instead of an ecosystem.
The quick answer
Choose Chrome if…
- You depend on specific Chrome extensions — password managers, ad blockers, dev tooling
- You need sync across desktop and mobile, and live in the Google ecosystem
- You occasionally hit sites or web apps that only behave in Chrome
- Chrome DevTools' full surface is part of your daily work
Choose Sill if…
- Your tab strip is a source of dread — workspaces with real hibernation fix the pileup
- You want your browsing to be nobody’s business, verifiably: zero calls of the browser’s own
- You want built-in ad blocking, no autoplay, and no sign-in prompts
- You want mail counts and meeting nudges without connecting an account
- You like native macOS apps — light, WebKit-based, at home on the platform
Chrome vs Sill: core features
| Feature | Sill | Chrome |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | WebKit (native macOS) | Chromium |
| Platforms | macOS 14+ (Apple Silicon & Intel) | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, ChromeOS |
| Price | Free (early access) | Free |
| Account required | No | No (Google account optional, heavily encouraged) |
| Open source | Source on GitHub | No (built on open-source Chromium) |
| Workspaces | Yes — hibernating workspaces | Tab groups & profiles — no true workspaces |
| Memory model | Whole workspaces hibernate and release their memory; favorites stay loaded | Memory Saver deactivates inactive tabs |
| Ad & tracker blocking | Built in — ad networks blocked natively; videos never autoplay | No built-in ad blocking; extensions (with Manifest V3 limits) |
| AI features | None — routine detection is deterministic, local, and off by default | Google AI features rolling into the browser (cloud) |
| Browser's own network calls | Zero of its own — no telemetry, no analytics, no account | Telemetry plus deep Google-account integration |
| Developer tools | API client, MCP explorer, Web Inspector, JSON tree viewer | Chrome DevTools — the industry standard |
| Sync & mobile | None — single Mac, fully local | Google account sync everywhere |
| Extensions | No extension store (blocking & dev tools are built in) | Chrome Web Store — the largest catalogue |
Accurate to the best of our knowledge as of 13 July 2026; Chrome's details come from its public documentation.
Where Chrome shines
- The compatibility baseline. The web is tested against Chrome. If a site or web app misbehaves anywhere, it probably works there — an advantage no smaller browser, Sill included, can fully match.
- Extensions for everything. Whatever the niche need, the Chrome Web Store has an answer, from enterprise SSO helpers to obscure dev tools.
- Continuity across your life. Sign in and your history, passwords and tabs follow you from desk to phone. Sill has no answer to this — by design, since it keeps everything local.
See it for yourself: visit Chrome’s official site ↗ (opens in a new tab).
Where Sill shines
- Structure instead of a strip. Chrome offers tab groups on one long strip; Sill gives each part of your life a workspace that hibernates when you leave — memory released entirely, scroll position restored when you return.
- Private by construction. No account, no telemetry, no analytics — zero network calls of Sill’s own, checkable in Little Snitch. Chrome is many things; this is not one of them.
- Calm defaults. Ad networks blocked natively, videos never autoplay, plain ⌘K search with no ranking tricks or sponsored anything.
- Dev tools without extensions. A full API client with OpenAPI/Postman import, an MCP explorer, and the Web Inspector on every page — built in, not installed.
The privacy picture
Chrome's relationship with your data is the documented cost of its ecosystem: telemetry, sign-in integration, and a parent company whose revenue is advertising. Google is transparent about much of it, and Chrome never claims to be a private browser. Sill makes the claim and structures itself so you can check it: no account exists, no telemetry exists, the only traffic is your sites, and the local routine engine is deterministic, opt-in, metadata-only, and blind to banking, health and government domains.
Verdict
Frequently asked questions
Will every site work in Sill?
Sill uses WebKit — the same engine as Safari — so site compatibility is broadly Safari's: excellent for the modern web, with rare exceptions for Chrome-only web apps. If something insists on Chrome, nothing stops you keeping Chrome around for just that.
Does Sill sync like Chrome?
No. Sill has no account and no sync service — everything stays on your Mac. That is a real limitation if you work across devices, and a feature if you want browsing that cannot follow you.
Is Chrome bad for privacy?
It's nuanced. Chrome is well-engineered and Google documents much of its data collection, but the browser is built to work best signed into an advertising company's ecosystem, and it makes no privacy promises. Browsers like Sill exist precisely for people who want the opposite default.
How is Sill's memory use different from Chrome's Memory Saver?
Memory Saver deactivates individual inactive tabs on Chrome's judgment and reloads them when clicked. Sill hibernates whole workspaces the moment you switch away — every tab's memory is released, and the workspace wakes exactly where you left it, scroll position included.
Try it yourself:Sill is free early access for macOS 14+ — no account, nothing leaves your Mac.
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