Internet Explorer, alias IE, was a Microsoft feudal lord. It was the de facto web browser for every Microsoft PC, and it ran its kingdom with an iron fist as it saw fit. Editions six and seven had enough quirks to drive sane web developers mad. But it was big, and popular, and web developers had no choice but to accommodate its idiosyncrasies.

Google Chrome was an upstart, a serf, an open-source development that Google CEO Eric Schmidt fought against for six years. But in 2008, Google took the collar off of Chrome and let it run wild, and today, Chrome is the world’s most popular web browser claiming 45 percent market share.

Have times changed? Can IE 11 quell its upstart rebel, Chrome 36, or will Google’s web browser continue to overshadow IE’s former glory? Here is the showdown: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer: browser.

Interface
Both modern renditions of Google Chrome and Internet Explorer use minimalist interfaces. The key difference between the rivals is that IE, by default, places tabs and the address bar on the same level to conserve space. Delineating six different tabs can be a hassle.

WINNER: Tie!

Standards Support
As web programming languages evolve, web browsers must “learn” the languages to appropriately display new pages. An older browser, like IE 7, will be unable to display many modern web pages using HTML5 and CSS3 programming.

Google Chrome has the edge on HTML5. It supports drag-n-drop, geolocation, device orientation and other new-fangled features. It also supports much of CSS3.

Although Internet Explorer has come a long way since IE 7, it still lags behind in support for the latest in front-end web design. It was the last modern browser to implement support for WebGL 3D graphics.

WINNER: Google Chrome

Privacy

Using Google Chrome’s Incognito Mode, a user can surf the web without leaving local evidence of web addresses, cookies, etc. One window can be open in Incognito mode while another is open in Default mode. However, Google’s belated advanced privacy setting – Do Not Track – is buried in layered menus.

Meanwhile, Internet Explorer 11 has Do Not Track enabled by default. It also has the strongest anti-tracking feature among the top three browsers. IE 11 also has a SmartScreen filter, similar to Chrome’s Safe Browsing setting, which stops phishing attempts and barricades against malware sites.

WINNER: Internet Explorer 11

Speed
In independent industry tests, the two battling browsers from Google and Microsoft rendered basic web pages at approximately the same speed. Only persnickety computers could tell the difference.

However, when it came to HTML5 and Javascript-heavy pages – those with lots of animation and interactivity – Chrome excels.

WINNER: Google Chrome

Navigation

Since Internet Explorer 11 was handcraft for Windows 8.1, it features advanced “Live Tiles” navigation where a user can pin tiles – web windows – onto a navigation page for quick access. Where Google Chrome excels is in predictive text and pre-rendered pages.

WINNER: Tie!