NetApplications, a provider of Web-based applications that measure, monitor and market Web sites for Small to Medium Enterprises (SME), today announced its monthly Web site browser statistics for year-end 2005.
Microsoft Internet Explorer ended 2004 with 90.31% browser usage market share, and steadily lost ground, ending 2005 with 85.05% market share. Microsoft promises IE’s first major upgrade in years in 2006, but has also announced that it is abandoning the Mac version of IE. Mozilla Firefox championed the open source browser concept and is the primary challenger to IE’s dominance. Firefox ended 2004 with 4.64% market share and although it started 2005 on fire, it cooled off during the summer months. Toward the end of the year, after releasing Firefox 1.5, it regained its momentum and closed the year at an impressive 9.57%.
Apple’s Safari browser enjoyed a highly successful 2005 as the only browser to gain market share each and every month of the year. Safari ended 2004 in fourth place with 1.56% market share. Safari gained steadily to end 2005, and leaped past Netscape to grab the third leading browser spot at 3.07% market share.
Netscape joined IE as the only browsers to lose market share in 2005. Netscape ended 2004 with 2.07% of browser usage market share, and was the third leading browser at the time. After an admitted error in reporting itself as either Firefox or IE was discovered and fixed, and an announced deal with HP to include Netscape browsers with new computers, Netscape enjoyed a brief surge in September to 2.16%. However, Netscape ended 2005 in 4th place with 1.24% browser usage market share.
Opera browser from Opera Software ended 2005 with 0.55% browser usage market share, which is exactly where it ended in 2004. Opera held steady while it completely changed its business model, going from a choice of a free browser with banner ads or a paid browser without the banners to a free browser without ads model. Opera browser maintains a strong presence on handhelds, and as those devices start to become more prominent, Opera is well-placed to take advantage of it.
“The close of 2005 marks the end of the calendar year, but also sets the stage for a very interesting 2006,” observed Vince Vizzaccaro, executive vice president of marketing and strategic relationships at NetApplications in the press release. “While any company would be thrilled to hold Microsoft’s 85% market share, IE can not rest lightly. Netscape also once owned a huge percentage prior to IE’s debut.”
Vizzaccaro continued, “FireFox is very close to hitting a critical mass of 10% which could mean a more rapid adoption rate. However, IE won’t go away quietly as major, and long overdue upgrades are expected to be released in 2006. With Microsoft abandoning the Mac, combined with Apple’s continuing market share gains, Safari has even more room to grow. Netscape seems to have been hit hard by Firefox’s success, so 2006 will test the company’s vigilance to hold on to and increase its user-base.”
December 2005 Browser Market Share:
1. Microsoft Internet Explorer – 85.05%
2. FireFox – 9.57%
3. Safari – 3.07% (Dec 2004: 1.56%)
4. Netscape – 1.24%
5. Opera – 0.55%
6. Other – 0.53%
November 2005 Browser Market Share:
1. Microsoft Internet Explorer – 86.08%
2. FireFox – 8.84%
3. Safari – 2.78%
4. Netscape – 1.25%
5. Opera – 0.53%
6. Other – 0.43%
December 2005 Operating System Market Share:
1. Windows XP – 78.92%
2. Windows 2000 – 9.06%
3. Windows 98 – 4.45%
4. Mac OS – 4.35% – (Dec 2004: 3.29%)
5. Windows ME – 1.88%
6. Windows NT – 0.80%
7. Linux – 0.30%
November 2005 Operating System Market Share:
1. Windows XP – 77.92%
2. Windows 2000 – 9.82%
3. Windows 98 – 4.78%
4. Mac OS – 4.11%
5. Windows ME – 1.99%
6. Windows NT – 0.86%
7. Linux – 0.30%
Additional statistics are available at http://marketshare.hitslink.com
NetApplications uses a unique methodology for collecting this data. NetApplications collects data from the browsers of site visitors to our exclusive on demand network of small to medium enterprise live stats customers. The sample size for these sites is more than 40,000 urls and growing. The information published is an aggregate of the data from this network of hosted website statistics. The site unique visitor and referral information is summarized on a monthly basis.
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Related article:
Apple’s Mac OS X, Safari web browser show market share gains – December 03, 2005
3.07%!!!!!
BOO-YAH!!!!
(Am I the only one who’s underwhelmed??)
Somewhat surprising, given that Safari is now the only browser on my Mac or my PC that still suffers from spontaneous crashes with web pages it doesn’t like. Very much still work in progress, although clean and simple when it does work.
Is it me or today’s new are refurbished old ones?
It does seem to put a lie to the claim (made repeatedly at this site) that the % mac install base is somewhere in the teens. Hmmm…maybe they’re not using the net??
or could it be that the “install base” theory MDN keeps touting is a lie in itself?
The Trend is your friend. That’s the key. Apple is on the growing trend and MS is on the shrinking trend.
The Safari numbers are only loosely related to install base…
— Being a minority browser, many sites claim to not work with it (browser sniffing) regardless of the realities. Hence, some people will use the debug menu and spoof the User-Agent string to be MSIE 6.0 or such. Few if any MSIE users find it necessary to claim to be something else
— Firefox, as noted, is very popular. A significant number of OS X users will be using that, as well.
Additionally, without knowing the types of sites they sample from, it’s not possible to say how meaningful the numbers are. For visitors to MDN, the percentage of Safari users will be much higher. For windows-centric sites, probably lower. Popular gaming sites also would, I think, tend to be skewed towards Windows users since a smaller percentage of Mac users are, I think, gamers.
Why don’t we ever see a survey that involves actually doing telephone polling? That would likely eliminate a lot of the potential biases/errors in the study above.
Of course, it might introduce biases of its own – more Windows users will lie out of shame than Mac users, I’d bet.
I think many Mac user are using Firefox. Firefox sometimes fills the gap when a web site is written entirely for IE. I use Safari as much as I can.
Many people, like me, suffer Windows at work (since they discovered my Mac and disconnected it) and use IE. I have fought ‘the man’ and use Firefox even though it is not “approved” by my company.
I hope sanity works its way back into enterprise. Even creative agencies that build Web sites are not testing for anything but IE. There’s just no quality assurance these days!
There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.
“It does seem to put a lie to the claim (made repeatedly at this site) that the % mac install base is somewhere in the teens. Hmmm…maybe they’re not using the net??”
% Mac install base inflated? Blame it on the Internet’s “Echo Chamber” effect, which this site suffers very much from.
I take it Camino reports itself as Firefox. It would be interesting to see whether it climbs above 1% on it’s own.
Camino is by far the best OSX browser IMHO.
The opportunity for growth is staggering after comprehending that more users operate with Windows 98 than Mac.
I remember years ago reading that only 10% of the population of China had ever made a phone call.
I am at ease with the the place of the Apple in the world. I share my experiences with those frustrated by the monopoly. They relax, enjoy something new, and we move confidently forward.
C´mon people the installed base that MDN harps about is basically every Mac that has ever been built. I´ve got 4 or 5 old macs stacked up in the basement that will never be on the web (or used again)…but they are part of MDN´s claimed Mac installed base.
The dirty truth is that % of macs out there in use is small….real small.
Just think of all the Windows PCs sold and are not even hooked to the internet (think businesses) – if they were the Mac internet share would be closer to 2% or smaller.
——-
If it wasn´t for Windows users the iPod would be an iFlop. good thing some body decided to make iTunes for Windows.
Maybe Apple needs to make safari run on a Windows PC to make the Apple use look bigger….
Doesn´t this kind of blow out MDN chest thumping editorial comment the other day where MDN puffed that no one can use a Windows 98 pc anymore – they are all in the dump?
Attention MDN – There are more Windows98 pc users on the internet than all Apple users combined!!!
——
Again – MDN inserts foot in mouth before engaging brain.
Again, this whole installed-base argument. Who cares? Apple is making money, and it makes products that I like, buy, and use. If everyone in the “Real IT World” loves their virusware PCs, then let them. I have a better computer, laugh off virus attacks that I see in the news, and enjoy my computing experience. What Billy Joe Jim Bob uses next door is no concern of mine.
All those browsers remind of small pieces of colored glass arranged in patterns to make sense of the complexity of the internet. Kind of like a mosai . . .oops, never mind.
Random Coolzip, if you did a telephone poll of the average Window user asking them what browser they use, they would tell you “the Internet”. “Do you use Internet Explorer or Firefox or Netscape?” “I use the Internet.”
MDN Magic Word: “low” as in the collective brain power of the average computer user is low.
“10% of the population of China had ever made a phone call”
And what’s really weird is that half of those calls were to “The Howard Stern Show.” That’s when John started to stutter.
The other half of the calls were to General Tso for that darn chicken recipe.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A59302-2002Apr16
Where I work we have 20 Macs that are only used in pre-press that are lucky to be on the web once a week. They are purely work-horses that are used by printers. So installed base might be different.
converting workplace XP machines from IE to Firefox? I am up to 3 so far. Tabbed browsing is what my co-workers like. Keeps the f’in task bar from getting overloaded. I have Lotus Notes and 3 AS400 (shudder) screens going all the time, then I need a browser for mapping and customs border crossing stuff (and POGO). Oh and AIM also.
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Reality Check said ” Safari is now the only browser on my Mac or my PC that still suffers from spontaneous crashes with web pages it doesn’t like.”
My advice to Reality Check is to keep away from those animal farm sites which are really only designed for for Windows IE users.
Safari crashes..? None, NONE since 2.0 and Tiger 10.4. (and rare before too).
Rand -“Why don’t we ever see a survey that involves actually doing telephone polling?”
Why, when they can get the exact facts from the ISP.
From my websites I can get stats that show what computer and browser each is using. The facts.
If that 4% figure for Mac OS share is global, that means it’s doubled in the past couple of years. Apple is on the way back up. Hopefully with it’s ’06 offerings it will maintain the momentum. I’d be satisfied for them to crack double figures.
Remember when Paul said the Mac would never hit 5%
amazing…