Hacker ApprovedDepartments

Dillo

Hacker Approved

Ranked 17 of 53 web browsers by recommenders

Recommended as a very light, fast browser for old hardware and simple sites. Main caveat: no JavaScript, so many modern websites break.

Recommended as a very light, fast browser for old hardware and simple sites. Main caveat: no JavaScript, so many modern websites break.

55 people gave an opinion

recommend it
49
criticize it
6
approval share
89%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 10 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: recommended
  2. December 2025: recommended
  3. January 2026: recommended
  4. February 2026: recommended
  5. March 2026: recommended
  6. April 2026: recommended
  7. May 2026: recommended
  8. June 2026: recommended
  9. July 2026: recommended
  10. August 2026: recommended
  11. September 2026: not recommended
  12. October 2026: not recommended
  13. November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)

Owned for 20 years

Median of the 3 owners who said how long they have had it.

Each square is one year.

Why it carries the badge

  • 49 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
  • 8.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
  • Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.

The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works

What people say about it

The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.

Why people recommend it

Each mark is one comment

  • Fast and lightweight

    “The computer was too slow for the rest of the software of the era but Dillo was still fast!”

    Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

    “Dillo is hands down the best ultra lightweight browser ever developed in my opinion.”

    Comment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

    “because it was faster, cleaner, and left more RAM free for other uses”

    Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”
  • Runs well on old hardware

    “I used Dillo in 2001-2002 with the PlayStation 2 Linux kit. With 32MB of RAM for Linux, and 4MB for the graphics. It worked really well”

    Comment from 15 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

    “I've successfully run Dillo on machines with 40-64 MB of RAM before now, and it hasn't changed that much”

    Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

    “Dillo gave new life to lots of hardware out there that could have otherwise end up in the trash.”

    Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”
  • Works without JavaScript

    “You can use Dillo and explore the light web, gopher and gemini with no JS or big plugins at all.”

    Comment from 25 Apr 2026 in “Using the internet like it's 1999”

    “Disable Javascript or use Lynx, Links or Dillo to open the articles from your newsreader.”

    Comment from 22 Mar 2026 in “PC Gamer Recommends RSS Readers in a 37MB Article That Just Keeps Downloading”

    “the lightness and lack of javascript can be very therapeutic”

    Comment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”
  • Supports Gopher and Gemini

    “You can use Dillo and explore the light web, gopher and gemini with no JS or big plugins at all.”

    Comment from 25 Apr 2026 in “Using the internet like it's 1999”

    “dillo now has plugins for both Gemini and Gopher and the plugins work find on the various BSDs”

    Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Kevin Boone: The "small web" is bigger than you might think”

    “DIllo is much lighter and it supports Gopher, Gemini, Info, Man”

    Comment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

What people warn about

Each mark is one comment

  • Breaks sites that need JavaScript

    “it does not support JavaScript at all. There aren't many or any sites/apps that I regularly use that would work without JavaScript.”

    Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

    “it would just fail on most modern websites”

    Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Damn Small Linux”
  • Incomplete CSS and web font support

    “Dillo (from git) has worse CSS capabilities than netsurf but more than often the webs aren't broken as often as NetSurf.”

    Comment from 30 Jun 2026 in “Old Computer Challenge”

    “It runs my dev blog quite well. Some of the CSS alignment is off and it doesn't load web fonts”

    Comment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

Other web browsers people recommend

The four most recommended other web browsers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.

Dillo compared with 4 alternatives
ProductRecommendCriticizeApprovalMonthsOwnedBadge
Firefox1,5721,37153%1216 yrs125 owners—
Google Chrome5031,08632%1210 yrs11 owners—
Brave39724862%124.9 yrs16 owners—
Safari30757735%1213 yrs27 owners—
DilloThis page49689%1020 yrs3 ownersApproved
See all 53 web browsers, ranked

What people said

40 of the 83 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“A single http request that loads fast from a comparatively simple application that also loads fast.”

RecommendsComment from 10 Aug 2026 in “Windows 11's built-in Weather app wastes more than 1 GB of RAM”

“Dillo from git it's uberfast and good enough for news, blogs and HN.”

RecommendsComment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Reviving a 15-year-old netbook with Arch Linux”

“Dillo (from git) has worse CSS capabilities than netsurf but more than often the webs aren't broken as often as NetSurf.”

RecommendsComment from 30 Jun 2026 in “Old Computer Challenge”

“it is very lightweight ad it has been recently updated”

RecommendsComment from 18 May 2026 in “This Month in Ladybird - April 2026”

“Dillo was the browser enabled me to view the web at all on my first old 486 PC”

RecommendsComment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Dillo Browser Release 3.3.0”

“Dillo (3.2.0) crashed quite often on my system because of this bug.”

MixedComment from 26 Apr 2026 in “Dillo Browser Release 3.3.0”

“dillo could very well be the go-to browser on Linux and BSD”

RecommendsComment from 26 Apr 2026 in “Dillo Browser Release 3.3.0”

“You can use Dillo and explore the light web, gopher and gemini with no JS or big plugins at all.”

RecommendsComment from 25 Apr 2026 in “Using the internet like it's 1999”

“Disable Javascript or use Lynx, Links or Dillo to open the articles from your newsreader.”

RecommendsComment from 22 Mar 2026 in “PC Gamer Recommends RSS Readers in a 37MB Article That Just Keeps Downloading”

“dillo now has plugins for both Gemini and Gopher and the plugins work find on the various BSDs”

RecommendsComment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Kevin Boone: The "small web" is bigger than you might think”

“You should consider contributing to a similar small browser - Dillo”

RecommendsComment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I built a small browser engine from scratch in C++”

“Include offline installers for browsers like Dillo or Firefox”

RecommendsComment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: Iran's 120h internet shutdown,Phones back. How to stay resilient?”

“and thanks to DPI and dilloc it can be really powerful”

RecommendsComment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Text-Based Web Browsers”

“Mainline dillo from their Git and not the outdated one from the repos.”

RecommendsComment from 6 Jan 2026 in “Raspberry Pi and mini PC home lab prices hit parity as DRAM costs skyrocket”

“DSL contains Dillo which is arguably the latest modern-ish (to the most extent possible) and lightest browser in existence.”

RecommendsComment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Damn Small Linux”

“it would just fail on most modern websites”

MixedComment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Damn Small Linux”

“my all-time favorite web browser, Dillo, which was fine for most sites up to about 2018”

RecommendsComment from 6 Dec 2025 in “Tiny Core Linux: a 23 MB Linux distro with graphical desktop”

“HN works under Dillo and you don't needs JS at all.”

RecommendsComment from 4 Dec 2025 in “The RAM shortage comes for us all”

“I'm using 1GB with TWM, DIllo, TUI tools, XTerm, MuPDF and the like.”

RecommendsComment from 4 Dec 2025 in “The RAM shortage comes for us all”

“I am finding I am using dillo more and more these days.”

RecommendsComment from 30 Nov 2025 in “Migrating Dillo from GitHub”

“you can use dropbear/bearssl and even Dillo happily with just a light lag”

RecommendsComment from 23 Nov 2025 in “Unusual circuits in the Intel 386's standard cell logic”

“I used Dillo in 2001-2002 with the PlayStation 2 Linux kit. With 32MB of RAM for Linux, and 4MB for the graphics. It worked really well”

RecommendsComment from 15 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“I've successfully run Dillo on machines with 40-64 MB of RAM before now, and it hasn't changed that much”

RecommendsComment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“because it was faster, cleaner, and left more RAM free for other uses”

RecommendsComment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“it does not support JavaScript at all. There aren't many or any sites/apps that I regularly use that would work without JavaScript.”

CriticizesComment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“Dillo gave new life to lots of hardware out there that could have otherwise end up in the trash.”

RecommendsComment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“Dillo can take a little bit of getting used to but it's a usable text oriented browser”

MixedComment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“The computer was too slow for the rest of the software of the era but Dillo was still fast!”

RecommendsComment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“It still has great looking icons, a proper boarder bevel, and real scroll bars.”

RecommendsComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“DIllo is much lighter and it supports Gopher, Gemini, Info, Man”

RecommendsComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“I have been using dillo more and more as time goes on”

RecommendsComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“It runs my dev blog quite well. Some of the CSS alignment is off and it doesn't load web fonts”

MixedComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“I have the fondest memories of running dillo under netbsd”

RecommendsComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“gives you a glimpse how fast live could be without bloat”

RecommendsComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“I remember it feeling revolutionary to open up a webpage on something other than my linux desktop computer”

RecommendsComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“Dillo is hands down the best ultra lightweight browser ever developed in my opinion.”

RecommendsComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“the lightness and lack of javascript can be very therapeutic”

RecommendsComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“1.1Mb executable that is so freaking, shockingly fast.”

RecommendsComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“I was a student and couldn't afford a very nice laptop so it was fluxbox + dillo for me.”

RecommendsComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

“I only reached for it if Dillo couldn't render a page”

RecommendsComment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Dillo, a multi-platform graphical web browser”

Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.