Overview

Based on Mozilla Firefox ESR with added privacy and security changes, Tor Browser sends its web traffic through the Tor network to help conceal a user's real IP address and resist tracking, surveillance, and censorship. That focus makes it a practical choice for sensitive browsing, but users who need protection for other applications will need a separate solution.

Key features

Letterboxing, user-agent spoofing, and first-party isolation make browser fingerprinting harder. Tor Browser also uses different Tor circuits for different websites, while keeping connections to the same website on one circuit. This separation is useful for people seeking less linkable browsing across sites, though it does not make the browser a device-wide privacy layer.

HTTPS-Only Mode upgrades connections to HTTPS where possible, helping guard against eavesdropping and tampering. Standard, Safer, and Safest security levels restrict browser features to different degrees. The stricter options may disrupt page behavior, so they suit users willing to trade compatibility for stronger browser security rather than those who need every site to work normally.

Tor Browser can access onion services, which conceal their locations and IP addresses and encrypt traffic with Tor users end to end. People in censored regions can configure bridges during setup to connect to Tor. These capabilities make it especially relevant when ordinary browsing access is restricted or a service is available as an onion site.

Tor Project recommends verifying the download signature; GetTor can provide the package, signature, signing-key fingerprint, and checksum. It strongly discourages extra browser add-ons because they can affect privacy, security, or functionality, and does not support those configurations. Users who depend on extensions should weigh that limitation before adopting Tor Browser.

Pricing

Tor Browser is free and open source, with no free-trial period or paid tier to weigh against its core browser features. Its plan is 0.00 USD per free. There are no seat or usage quotas attached to this plan in the stated terms; the principal trade-off is the browser's limited traffic scope, not a subscription cap.

Platforms

Tor Browser is available for Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows. That covers major desktop systems and Android, but not iOS.

Who it's for

Choose Tor Browser if your priority is concealing the origin of browser traffic, reducing tracking and fingerprinting, reaching onion services, or setting up bridges in a censored region. It is less suitable as a default choice when compatibility across every site, add-on support, iOS availability, or protection for non-browser apps is essential.

Pros and cons

Pro: Tor routing, fingerprinting defenses, and circuit separation provide a focused set of browser privacy controls for sensitive browsing.
Pro: Onion-service access and bridge configuration address use cases that ordinary browsing alone does not cover.
Pro: The browser is free and open source, with support from a user support team and a public forum.
Con: Only Tor Browser's own traffic goes through Tor, leaving other applications outside its protection.
Con: More restrictive security levels can cause pages to work improperly, and installing add-ons can undermine supported privacy, security, or functionality.
Con: There is no iOS version among its supported platforms.

Alternatives

Choose Brave Browser if you want a free browser with ad and tracker blocking across a broader set of platforms, including iOS; its pricing model is freemium. For another free, open-source browser without a premium tier, consider Waterfox. Mullvad Browser is another free, open-source option for Linux, macOS, and Windows if those are your target platforms.

LibreWolf is a free, community-driven open-source browser for Linux, macOS, and Windows. SnowHaze may fit iOS users looking for tracker blocking, ad blocking, fingerprinting protection, and Tor integration. IronFox is a free, open-source Android alternative. Nav0 is a free browser for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Consider DuckDuckGo Browser if you want a free browser with search and browsing protections across Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows.

For a broader comparison, see Privacy browsers and Web browsers.

Verdict

Tor Browser is the right choice for users who need Tor-routed browsing, onion-service access, or a way to connect through bridges, and want those protections without paying. Look elsewhere if you need device-wide traffic protection, dependable compatibility with every page, browser add-ons, or iOS support.

	Ladybird	Tor Browser
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	—	Free
Open source	Yes	Yes
Platforms	Linux, macOS	Android, Linux, macOS, Windows
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Supported platforms	both	both
Browser engine	other	—
Built-in ad blocking	Yes	—
Open source	Yes	Yes

Ladybird vs Tor Browser

Ladybird

Tor Browser