# Basilisk browser

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Basilisk browser and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Free browser, a Goanna-based fork that people suggest for old laptops that still browse the modern web fine.

## Why people recommend it

- Usable on old, lightweight machines (2 comments): "looks great when you want lightweight browser to run on old laptops" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48624786)) "can browse the modern web just fine" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47867152))
- Independent fork with its own direction (2 comments): "You can also try Basilisk, which is the upstream version without those tweaks." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48624473)) "Basilisk is an actual fork which has lead development in it's own direction" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48632171))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Firefox for Android](https://hackerapproved.com/p/firefox-for-android.md): 76 recommend
- [Opera browser](https://hackerapproved.com/p/opera-browser.md): 70 recommend
- [NetSurf](https://hackerapproved.com/p/netsurf.md): 17 recommend
- [Dia browser](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dia-browser.md): 14 recommend
- [Floorp Browser](https://hackerapproved.com/p/floorp.md): 13 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Basilisk browser", https://hackerapproved.com/p/basilisk/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).