There is a lot of confusion and only a handful of techies know what is the difference between browser and search engine? I discovered that these two phrases cause tremendous confusion among users, with only a few individuals actually able to tell the difference between browser and search engine.
You might know that Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. are the search engines, and Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, etc. are the browsers. But what makes them differentiable? How are they different? Let’s understand all these queries. Also, read our article on the difference between the Internet and Intranet.
What Is A Browser?
A browser is used to browse a specific website to extract the information from it. It’s a piece of software or a program that is designed to gather and display data from web URLs or HTML files stored on web servers.
You can use any browser like Chrome, Safari, etc. to retrieve information from the Internet or Web. When you type anything on the address bar of a browser and hit the enter button, the browser starts extracting information from the web using the specific search engine.
In other words, a Web browser is a user application that makes connections to Web servers across the Web at the request of the browser user using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).
What Is A Search Engine?
A search engine is much more complex and holds a large database which is used by browsers to extract information. It’s a piece of software that uses keywords and phrases and enables users to explore the information they’re seeking on the Internet.
To extract any information from the search engine, you have to use a browser that further communicates with the server. Suppose, you are using the Google search engine, but before searching on Google, you have to open a browser that lets you take data from Google.
What Is The Difference Between Browser And Search Engine?
So, is there any difference between browser and search engine? Yes, obviously. Both the browser and the search engine are distinctive in many aspects, yet they are complementary to each other. What does it mean?
Either the browser or search engine, none of them work alone. To conduct an online search, you need to use both programs at the same time in order to find the information you seek.
The search engine is far more sophisticated than the web browser, which is merely a means of interacting with the information available online. Before it has been presented to visitors, a search engine validates all content on the Internet.
Unlike the browser, the website uses various tools like web crawlers, index tools, and search algorithms. All of these tools make sure that users get the most relevant information for their searches.
The other major difference between browser and search engine is that the browser uses the Internet to access information and the search engine uses the websites for the same purpose. Also, learn What is the difference between a database and a website.
Comparison Between Browser And Search Engine: Browser Vs Search Engine (Table)
Browser | Search Engine |
Use the internet for data. | Use websites for data. |
A browser is a must to open a search engine. | Not require a search engine to open a browser. |
Not dependent on search engines. | Dependent on the browser. |
Not require a database. | Have its own database. |
Display URLs and results. | Gather URLs and information. |
Known for simplicity and simple algorithm. | More sophisticated, have various tools like crawlers, trackers, etc. |
Examples are Chrome, Safari, Opera, Firefox, etc. | Examples are Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yandex, etc. |
Is Google A Search Engine Or A Browser?
While you know the difference between browser and search engine, from the above definitions we can say that Google is a search engine. Firstly, Google has a database where it stores all the information, and we know only search engines have a database.
Secondly, To access Google, we need a browser, which is a built-in function of the search engine, so we can say Google is a search engine (Google is dependent on browsers).
Final Thoughts
It is all about what is the difference between browser and search engine. The majority of users either don’t care about these differences or are unable to understand browser and search engine differences.
We have discussed in detail what is browser, what is a search engine, and the difference between browser and search engine with a detailed comparison table.
In simple terms, a web browser uses the Internet to access the Internet while a search engine uses its database or websites to extract information. I hope you understand these differences. If you have any confusion let me know in the comments.