Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

KHTML VS WebKit

Compare KHTML VS WebKit and see what are their differences

KHTML logo KHTML

KHTML is a web-based rendering engine that is entirely based on the KParts technology; widely used by common browsers including Microsoft edge, Chrome, Safari, Google Chrome, Opera, and many more.

WebKit logo WebKit

WebKit is a layout engine designed to allow web browsers to render web pages.
  • KHTML Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-18
  • WebKit Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-05

KHTML features and specs

  • Lightweight Design
    KHTML is recognized for its lightweight architecture, which allows it to operate efficiently with lower resource consumption compared to other rendering engines.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source project, KHTML allows developers to freely use, modify, and distribute the code, fostering a collaborative environment for improvements and customization.
  • Integration with KDE
    KHTML is designed to integrate seamlessly with the KDE desktop environment, providing a consistent user experience for those using KDE applications.
  • Historical Importance
    KHTML has been influential in the development of other rendering engines, most notably serving as the basis for WebKit, which is used by major browsers like Safari.

Possible disadvantages of KHTML

  • Limited Features
    Compared to more modern rendering engines, KHTML lacks support for many of the latest web technologies and standards, limiting its compatibility with newer web applications.
  • Smaller Community
    With a smaller development community compared to more prominent engines like WebKit or Blink, KHTML may have slower progress and fewer contributors for enhancements and maintenance.
  • Niche Usage
    KHTML is primarily used within the KDE environment, limiting its adoption across different platforms and reducing its presence on the wider web.
  • Reduced Support
    As the web development community has largely transitioned to other rendering engines, there is reduced support and documentation available for KHTML.

WebKit features and specs

  • Open Source
    WebKit is an open-source web browser engine, allowing developers to contribute and adapt the code for their own projects.
  • Performance Optimization
    WebKit is designed to efficiently render web pages, often resulting in fast performance and responsiveness.
  • Cross-Platform
    WebKit is used in various operating systems, including macOS and Linux, allowing for consistency across platforms.
  • Community Support
    Being widely adopted, WebKit benefits from a large community that contributes plugins, extensions, and valuable resources.
  • Strong Security
    WebKit incorporates several security measures and is regularly updated to address vulnerabilities.
  • HTML5 and CSS3 Support
    WebKit has robust support for modern web standards like HTML5 and CSS3, making it suitable for developing rich web applications.

Possible disadvantages of WebKit

  • Limited Browser Diversity
    Many browsers using WebKit may mean less diversity in rendering engines, potentially stifling innovation as they share a common base.
  • Resource Intensive
    WebKit can be resource-heavy, leading to high memory and CPU usage, especially with complex web pages.
  • Inconsistencies Across Implementations
    Different adaptations of WebKit (like those used in different browsers) might introduce inconsistencies in behavior and features.
  • Lag in Feature Updates
    While WebKit is actively maintained, certain new web developments might appear first in other engines, leading to lag in supporting cutting-edge features.
  • Complex Codebase
    WebKit's large and complex codebase can make it difficult for new developers to understand and contribute to the project.
  • Dependency on Apple
    Since WebKit is heavily supported by Apple, changes and development priorities can be influenced by larger strategic objectives of the company.

KHTML videos

Mozilla/5.0 (KHTML, like Gecko)

WebKit videos

Commute talk: How I became a WebKit reviewer

More videos:

  • Review - Rendering in WebKit
  • Review - Kindle 3 WebKit Web Browser Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to KHTML and WebKit)
Web Browsers
29 29%
71% 71
SEO
0 0%
100% 100
Web Development Tools
40 40%
60% 60
Tool
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using KHTML and WebKit. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, WebKit seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 29 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

KHTML mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of KHTML yet. Tracking of KHTML recommendations started around Mar 2022.

WebKit mentions (29)

  • A Comprehensive Guide to Modern JavaScript Package Managers: npm, pnpm, Yarn, and Bun
    2022: Bun was introduced by Jarred Sumner. It quickly gained attention for its performance, leveraging the JavaScriptCore engine from WebKit. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Opera Vtuber
    WebKit is a browser engine, a part of the software which, under the hood, makes an internet browser function. Apple's Safari browser uses WebKit directly, and then there's the Chromium-based browser family, which uses a previously forked version of WebKit; so browsers based on Chromium, such as Chrome and Edge, use something which was once WebKit, but has had years of development making it different in some ways. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • C++ Specification vs Implementation
    Exactly the same as JavaScript engines. Be it Mozilla's SpiderMoneky, Google's V8, Apple's Webkit, or Microsoft's Chakra. No matter how specific we draft a specification there is always room for interpretation. Every team has a different take on what part of a spec is describing. Oftentimes it's just a matter of varying pros and cons of different approaches on the road to matching spec; various teams just kind of... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Why gnome โ€œWebโ€ Browser show as Safari on WhatsApp Web?
    Because both Safari and Gnome Web uses WebKit, but if you are a website on internet and have to guess who is using WebKit, what browser will you guess, Safari or Gnome Web? Source: about 2 years ago
  • Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft
    Well, the rendering engine is open source. https://webkit.org. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing KHTML and WebKit, you can also consider the following products

Blink Rendering Engine - Blink is the rendering engine used by Chromium / Chrome / Edge

WebKitGTK+ - WebKitGTK+ is the port of the portable web rendering engine WebKit to the GTK+ platform.

NetSurf - Small as a mouse, fast as a cheetah and available for free.

Goanna - Goanna is the name for the Open Source layout and rendering engine as used in Unified XUL Platform (UXP) applications like the Pale Moon web browser and the Interlink mail/news client.

Servo - PHP builder application which uses a combination of a powerful editor and drag & drop to make...

Tkhtml - Tkhtml is a open-source browser engine written in C using the Tk widget toolkit. It was used primarily by the Html Viewer 3 (Hv3) minimalist web browser.