wezm.net/v2/content/posts/2024/how-much-is-a-browser-worth.md

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+++ title = "How Much Is a Browser Worth?" date = 2024-07-03T17:22:01+10:00

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updated = 2024-06-04T07:49:36+10:00

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Apparently people are excited about funding independent browser efforts this week. I have little interest in funding yet another browser built in C++ in 2024 but Servo is still alive. Since Mozilla refuse to let us directly fund Firefox I shall set up a recurring donation to Servo.

The next question is how much is a web browser worth to me? Based on minutes spent using a browser, quite a lot!

Once upon a time you could pay for Netscape. It seems that in 1996 Netscape 3.0 cost US$49. Adjusting for inflation that's US$97 in 2024. Let's round that up to an even US$100. At the time of writing Numbat tells me that's AU$150 or AU$12.50 per month, which seems reasonable.

Some other services for comparison (I don't actually have an active YouTube Premium subscription):

  • Netflix: AU$18.99/m
  • YouTube Premium: AU$16.99/m
  • JetBrains Rust Rover: US$129/y (AU$194, AU$16/m)

A browser is a least as useful as these, almost certainly more. So, I've set up a US$15/m (AU$22.50) recurring sponsorship on GitHub. I encourage you to do the same.