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Difference between Web Browser and Search Engine

December 5, 2022

The primary difference between a web browser and search engines is, that web browsers are application software designed to access websites over the internet. Search engines are programs that allow users to find information online.

image showing the difference between web browser and search engine

This article will give deep insight into key differences between web browsers and search engines, which will be very helpful for you.

Web browser

A web browser is a software application that enables users to access information on the World Wide Web. Many examples of browsers have a graphical user interface (GUI) and allow users to view hypertext documents written using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

image showing the different web browsers

Browsers may also be capable of displaying other types of files, including images, video, audio, and plain text.

Browsers are classified by their type and functionality. A few examples of web browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Edge. Most people use Google Chrome due to its wide compatibility and ease of use.

Search engine

A search engine is a tool that helps users find information online. Search engines provide information about any topic using keywords. These keywords are then searched across various websites to find the best results.

image showing the different search engines

Popular search engines include Google, Bing, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, and Yandex. Google is the most popular search engine worldwide. Google is the most popular search engine.

Components of search engine

The search engine has three main components which are given below:

Crawlers: Crawlers are programs that crawl websites looking for URLs, keywords, and links to discover new updates. They can also be used to monitor web pages or sites for changes.

Crawlers are used to gather data from websites. This data can then be used to create reports or other documents.

Search index: In order to improve the effectiveness of the search results, the crawler continuously crawls websites and builds an index of URLs, links, and keywords.

 Search Algorithm: The entire mechanism underlying the search process as a whole is the search algorithm. It operates by looking up the index and locating the best websites by comparing terms that visitors search for.

Web browser vs Search engine

The difference between the web browser and search engine is given below:

Web browserSearch Engine
Web browsers are application software designed to access websites over the internet.Search engines are programs that allow users to find information online.
We can install multiple web browsers on our system.There is no need to install the search engine, they are installed by default.
A web browser provides a Graphical Interface to help users experience an interactive online session on the World Wide Web.  there are three parts of the search engine Search index, crawler, and search algorithm  
The web browser has no database of its own.The search engine has its own database
Examples: Google Chrome Firefox Safari Edge OperaExamples: Google Bing DuckDuckGo, Yahoo Ask

Related FAQs

What is the main difference between a web browser and a website?

A search engine finds, indexes, and ranks material on the internet to respond to your requests, as opposed to a web browser that retrieves data from web servers to show web pages.

Is Google a search engine or a browser?

Google is an example of a search engine and Google chrome is an example of a web browser.

What is a Search Engine?

A program used specifically for locating specific websites on the World Wide Web that searches for and finds objects in a database that correspond to keywords or characters given by the user.

What are the three main components of a search engine?

The search engine has three main components are given below:
Search index
Crawler
Search algorithm.