Microsoft Edge

Microsoft's Chromium-based browser, distinguished by IE mode for legacy applications and by its integration with Microsoft 365 management.

As of 30 August 2026, Microsoft Edge is free to use. Edge is Chromium with Microsoft's management layer on top: Entra ID sign-in, Intune and Purview policy, and IE mode for internal applications that still need Internet Explorer. Softwr lists it under Technology.

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Overview

What Microsoft Edge does

Microsoft Edge is a web browser built on the open source Chromium project, with Microsoft's own interface, services and management layer on top. It is free, ships for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, and is preinstalled on Windows 10 and 11 where it also replaced the retired Mail and Calendar applications as the default handler for various system links. Because it is Chromium downstream, it renders identically to Chrome, runs Chrome extensions, and inherits Chromium's four-weekly release cadence and its Manifest V3 extension rules. The one thing that distinguishes it commercially is Internet Explorer mode. Edge can render a specified list of internal sites using the MSHTML engine inside a normal Edge tab, driven by an Enterprise Mode Site List that an administrator maintains, and Microsoft has committed to supporting IE mode through at least 2029. For an organisation with an intranet application built on ActiveX, VBScript or an old Java applet, that is not a convenience feature, it is the reason the application still runs at all, and it converts a rewrite project into a configuration file. The second half of the argument is the Microsoft 365 integration: Entra ID sign-in, Intune configuration, Purview data loss prevention applied to browser sessions and Defender SmartScreen, all managed from consoles an M365 tenant already has. The organisations that genuinely benefit are Windows shops on Microsoft 365 with legacy web applications and a compliance requirement. The trade-off is that the value is almost entirely conditional on that stack. On Google Workspace you get Chromium with Microsoft's promotional surfaces attached and very little of the manageability, and on Windows you cannot fully opt out: outside the European Economic Area Edge cannot be uninstalled, and Windows components keep reopening it regardless of which browser you set as default.

What people use it for

A Windows estate with intranet applications that still require Internet Explorer, where IE mode buys years before a rewrite
Microsoft 365 organisations that want browser sessions covered by Purview DLP and conditional access without a separate secure browser product
Fleets managed through Intune that need one browser configured by the same console as the rest of the desktop
Users who work with many tabs at once and want vertical tabs and automatic tab suspension without installing extensions

The honest half

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Microsoft Edge.

Outside the European Economic Area, Edge cannot be uninstalled from Windows, and Windows components such as Widgets, help links and taskbar search results open in it whatever the default browser is set to, so an organisation standardising on Chrome still has to manage and patch Edge.
It is Chromium downstream, so Manifest V3 applies exactly as it does in Chrome; full-strength blocking extensions cannot run, and Microsoft's add-ons store adds a second review process rather than a workaround.
Almost all of its advantage is conditional on Microsoft 365 and Entra ID; a Google Workspace or AWS-centred organisation gets Chromium plus Microsoft's promotional surfaces and none of the Purview, Intune or conditional access value.
Consumer-facing features including Copilot, the Discover pane, shopping notifications and sidebar apps default to on and reappear after feature updates, so suppressing them requires a maintained policy set rather than a one-off configuration.
IE mode is a bridge with a maintenance owner attached: the Enterprise Mode Site List must be curated by somebody, and MSHTML receives security fixes but no new capability, so an application parked there gains nothing and its eventual rewrite is only deferred.
By default browsing data feeds Microsoft services for Copilot, Discover and shopping features, which in a regulated environment turns the deployment into a policy exercise before it can be approved.

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Microsoft Edge

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

Microsoft Edgevs
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox: Fast, private & safe web browser
Microsoft Edgevs
Safari
Safari: The best way to experience the internet on all your Apple devices
Microsoft Edgevs
Google Chrome
Google Chrome: Fast, secure browser built for the modern web
Microsoft Edgevs
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook: Email, calendars and contacts in one place, on desktop, mobile and web

Capabilities

Features

Internet Explorer mode
Renders a listed set of internal sites with the MSHTML engine inside an Edge tab, supported through at least 2029
Enterprise Mode Site List
An administrator-maintained list that decides which URLs open in IE mode, deployable by policy
Entra ID integration
Signs in with a work account for single sign-on, conditional access and profile separation from personal browsing
Purview DLP for browsing
Applies Microsoft Purview data loss prevention policies to what users paste, print or upload in the browser
Intune and Group Policy
Several hundred policies configurable from Intune or ADMX templates across Windows and macOS
Vertical tabs and Workspaces
Tab list down the side, and shared named tab sets that a group can open together
Sleeping tabs
Suspends background tabs after a timeout to reduce memory and CPU use
Chrome extension compatibility
Installs extensions from the Chrome Web Store as well as Microsoft's own add-ons store

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Can I uninstall Edge from Windows?

In the European Economic Area, yes, because the Digital Markets Act requires it. Elsewhere you cannot, and several Windows components will continue to open it regardless of your default browser.

How long will Internet Explorer mode be supported?

Microsoft has committed to supporting IE mode in Edge through at least 2029. It is a migration window rather than a permanent home, since the underlying MSHTML engine gets security fixes but no new capability.

Do Chrome extensions work?

Yes. Edge installs extensions from the Chrome Web Store as well as its own store. Manifest V3 restrictions apply identically, so extensions that Chrome no longer supports do not work here either.

Is it worth deploying if we are not a Microsoft 365 organisation?

Usually not for the management features, which depend on Entra ID, Intune and Purview. Without that stack it is Chromium with a different interface and additional Microsoft promotion.

Does it run on Linux?

Yes, there are official Linux builds. Some Windows-specific features, including IE mode, are not available there.

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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Microsoft Edge, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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