Mozilla Firefox vs Floorp in 2026

Floorp is a Japanese Firefox fork that answers a specific complaint: that Firefox's interface stopped being flexible enough. It keeps Gecko, Mozilla's privacy work and the full Firefox extension library, then rebuilds the layer you actually touch.

What Floorp adds

The additions are substantial. Floorp ships split-screen browsing and workspaces natively, neither of which Firefox offers without extensions. Firefox caught up on vertical tabs in version 136, but Floorp had them years earlier and pairs them with multiple tab bar designs and layouts you can switch between, plus far more control over where interface elements sit. It also enables an ad blocker by default, which Firefox does not. Both score 5 for customisability, but they mean different things by it: Firefox exposes a deep configuration layer for behaviour, Floorp gives you the interface controls Firefox never shipped.

Because it is Gecko, everything that makes Firefox worth choosing carries over. Full extension support including the older APIs that let content blockers filter without Manifest V3's restrictions. Tracker and fingerprinting protection on by default. Fully open source. Both score 4 for privacy.

Platform reach and longevity

The differences that should decide it are structural rather than featural. Firefox runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android; Floorp is desktop only, with no mobile build, so if you want your browser on your phone, Firefox is the only one of the two that goes there. Firefox Sync is mature and covers everything across all those devices, and while Floorp supports sync, it is riding Mozilla's infrastructure on a smaller project.

Then there is longevity. Firefox is backed by a foundation with a twenty-year track record. Floorp is a much smaller project, and forks depend on a small number of maintainers keeping pace with upstream security releases. Floorp has been reliable about this, but it is a real consideration for software you use every day.

Which should you choose?

Choose Firefox if you want the browser on your phone as well as your laptop, value the backing of a large organisation, and are content to add split view or workspaces with an extension if you want them.

Choose Floorp if you browse on desktop only and want Firefox's engine and privacy with the interface flexibility Mozilla never built — split view, workspaces and multi-row tabs natively, plus ad blocking on by default. It is the most complete answer to the specific frustration of liking Firefox but wanting more control over its shell.