Helium browser
Hacker ApprovedRanked 16 of 53 web browsers by recommenders
Chromium-based browser with uBlock Origin built in, no Google bloat, and good speed; caveat: critics say it is still Chromium.
Chromium-based browser with uBlock Origin built in, no Google bloat, and good speed; caveat: critics say it is still Chromium.
62 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 51
- criticize it
- 11
- approval share
- 82%
Recommended in 11 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 6 months
Median of the 3 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 51 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 11 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
Built-in uBlock Origin support
“it's fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow” “they're maintaining manifest v2 support for uBO and even ship it OOTB”
Comment from 17 Dec 2025 in “Is Mozilla trying hard to kill itself?” “Helium browser is Chromium based but still supports uBlock Origin”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Firefox 155.0” - Comment from 7 Jun 2026 in “Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used”
- Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “Firefox is now the last major browser that still supports uBlock Origin”
- Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow”
Chromium without Google bloat
“Helium has all the benefits of Chromium but none of the Google bloat or other crazy AI, Crypto, Gaming or whatever ideas other browsers ship.”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent” “this is the browser I use now. it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “A farewell to Arc browser” “a privacy oriented Chromium fork without bullshit and focus on performance”
Comment from 3 Oct 2026 in “An Update on Orion for Linux and Windows” - Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Browser De-Slop”
- Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Chrome removes claim of On-device Al not sending data to Google Servers”
Fast, stable, efficient performance
“Helium (which is based on Chromium) loads in a second or two close to a hundred tabs.”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow” “it's fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow” “I've been impressed with how efficient and stable the Helium browser has been for me”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with M5” - Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Vivaldi 8.0: our biggest design overhaul”
Recommended as a Chrome alternative
“If you are on any of these browsers, especially Chrome please switch to Helium.”
Comment from 7 Jun 2026 in “Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used” “I will suggest people to use helium browser over this closed source browser.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Orion Browser by Kagi” “There are already better browser like firefox, helium, chromium.”
Comment from 24 Jun 2026 in “Orion 1.1 for macOS is out, with containers” - Comment from 15 Aug 2026 in “Firefox is now the last major browser that still supports uBlock Origin”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Still Chromium, tied to Google
“once Google completely strips all that out of Chromium project, that won't be a tenable option”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Transparency efforts behind the Helium Browser” “Chromium-based, so it's a non-starter.”
Comment from 17 Jun 2026 in “Google Chrome update will close the door on ad blockers” “it's still Chrome with different paint”
Comment from 1 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: I worked on a new browser for 2 years, today it passed Acid 3” - Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “Firefox 148 Launches with AI Kill Switch Feature and More Enhancements”
Linked to crypto scheme
“Take the Helium crypto scheme of antennas on roofs, but replace antennas with networked cameras, and instead of a scam it’s a protest.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Americans Are Smashing Flock Cameras” “Helium is just another crypto pyramid scheme that pollutes the airwaves.”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “My First Meshtastic Network” “proof-of-coverage gaming vectors that plagued early Helium deployments”
Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “AbzuNet: Post-internet resilient P2P network”
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.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firefox | 1,572 | 1,371 | 53% | 12 | 16 yrs125 owners | — |
| Google Chrome | 503 | 1,086 | 32% | 12 | 10 yrs11 owners | — |
| Brave | 397 | 248 | 62% | 12 | 4.9 yrs16 owners | — |
| Safari | 307 | 577 | 35% | 12 | 13 yrs27 owners | — |
| Helium browserThis page | 51 | 11 | 82% | 11 | 6 mo3 owners | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 82 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“this is the browser I use now. it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense”
“a privacy oriented Chromium fork without bullshit and focus on performance”
“Compact mode = horizontal tab bar with an integrated address bar a-la Safari, Helium, Orion.”
“found it nice to not have to hide the crypto/AI-nonsense since it doesn't exist”
“you might like helium if you are using ungoogled chromium”
“they both work on Helium, which is Chromium-based!”
“Helium browser is Chromium based but still supports uBlock Origin”
“a sane default of ungoogled chromium and I like it a lot”
“alternative, good, Chromium based browser like Helium”
“Helium comes with uBlock Origin pre-installed.”
“it's still Chrome with different paint”
“this is solved by behaviors like in Helium where Shift+RightClick forces the native menu”
“I will suggest people to use helium browser over this closed source browser.”
“I just set Helium as my default browser yesterday”
“once Google completely strips all that out of Chromium project, that won't be a tenable option”
“There are already better browser like firefox, helium, chromium.”
“Chromium-based, so it's a non-starter.”
“Helium (which is based on Chromium) loads in a second or two close to a hundred tabs.”
“ships with uBlock Origin by default”
“it's fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin”
“I think and certainly hope that Helium will fight the good fight.”
“it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago)”
“It has uBlock Origin built in. No need to eve install it.”
“If you are on any of these browsers, especially Chrome please switch to Helium.”
“super lightweight Chromium-based browser”
“Take the Helium crypto scheme of antennas on roofs, but replace antennas with networked cameras, and instead of a scam it’s a protest.”
“it's a de-googled chrome and has the same devtools”
“Helium has all the benefits of Chromium but none of the Google bloat or other crazy AI, Crypto, Gaming or whatever ideas other browsers ship.”
“I've recently moved from Firefox to Helium after 10+ years.”
“Helium (if, like me, you can't live without Chrome's bookmarks)”
“I've been impressed with how efficient and stable the Helium browser has been for me”
“proof-of-coverage gaming vectors that plagued early Helium deployments”
“yet another chromium clone”
“it’s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers.”
“I have been using it as daily driver for half a year, works a charm.”
“Helium is just another crypto pyramid scheme that pollutes the airwaves.”
“a set of great (and per fork different yet handy) features”
“I've been a happy user of https://helium.computer for a few months now after a previous Mozilla faux-pas.”
“they're maintaining manifest v2 support for uBO and even ship it OOTB”
“you can use a Chromium based browser and still enjoy uBlock Origin properly”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.