Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

WebKit VS Servo

Compare WebKit VS Servo and see what are their differences

WebKit logo WebKit

WebKit is a layout engine designed to allow web browsers to render web pages.

Servo logo Servo

PHP builder application which uses a combination of a powerful editor and drag & drop to make...
  • WebKit Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-05
  • Servo Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-20

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.

Servo features and specs

  • High-Performance
    Servo is designed to take advantage of modern hardware architectures, making it potentially faster in rendering web pages compared to some other engines.
  • Parallelization
    Servo is built to run web elements in parallel, utilizing multicore processors to enhance performance efficiency and speed.
  • Memory Safety
    Written in Rust, Servo benefits from Rust's memory safety features, helping to prevent common programming bugs like buffer overflows and null pointer dereferences.
  • Modularity
    Servo is developed as a collection of independent libraries, which promotes easy testing, maintenance, and potential reuse in various projects.

Possible disadvantages of Servo

  • Incomplete Feature Set
    Servo, being an experimental browser engine, does not yet support all web standards and features that mature engines like Blink or Gecko support.
  • Stability
    As a project in active development, Servo might not be as stable as mainstream engines, which may impact its reliability for everyday use.
  • Limited Adoption
    Due to its experimental nature and ongoing development, Servo has limited adoption in the industry, resulting in less community support and fewer real-world testing scenarios.
  • Compatibility
    Websites optimized for engines like Webkit or Blink might encounter unexpected issues or rendering problems on Servo due to differences in implementation.

WebKit videos

Commute talk: How I became a WebKit reviewer

More videos:

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

Servo videos

No Servo videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to WebKit and Servo)
Web Browsers
40 40%
60% 60
Testing
0 0%
100% 100
SEO
100 100%
0% 0
SEO Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Servo should be more popular than WebKit. It has been mentiond 64 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.

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 / 11 months 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: over 1 year 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: over 1 year ago
  • Why gnome “Web” 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: almost 2 years ago
  • Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft
    Well, the rendering engine is open source. https://webkit.org. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
View more

Servo mentions (64)

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What are some alternatives?

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

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

Yext - Yext provides your business with the tools you need to engage with customers and gives you more control over how your branding is presented throughout the various platforms that make up the online marketplace.

Surf - A simple web browser based on WebKit2/GTK+

Moz - Backed by industry-leading data and the largest community of SEOs on the planet, Moz builds tools that make inbound marketing easy.

Nyxt Browser - Extensible, keyboard-oriented web-browser for power users.

Otter Browser - Web browser controlled by the user, not vice-versa.