Maxthon

CNET Editors' review

Based on Internet Explorer's engine, Maxthon is probably something of a curiosity for most North American users. It never really caught on there, but elsewhere--especially China--it's one of the most popular browsers around. It renders pages fast and comes loaded with features, as if Firefox came with 90 percent of its most popular plug-ins. Maxthon 2 features loads more customization ability, but sacrifices a bit of stability for the privilege. Its design is stylish compared to the old version, and its new approach to accessing functions makes this free browser more competitive.

All the basics are represented here, from tabbed browsing to skins to add-ons, and many of the rolled-in features make Maxthon hard to ignore. Some of our favorite features include rolled-in auto-form filling, the ability to set up bookmark groups that open on start-up--excellent for news or blogs, the ability to autoscroll Web pages, and pop-up and content filters for blocking ads and specific content formats you don't want. There are also customizable hotkey commands for such nifty features as auto-completing URLs, so if you type "download" and hold down the Ctrl key, it will auto-fill the "http://" and the ".com". The online favorites service is similar to that offered by other browsers, and works well.

We also like the super drag-and-drop feature, which lets you directly select and drag keywords to a current Web page or directly to the address bar. Maxthon is fast, small, flexible, and easy to use, and the extra features make it a browser we highly recommend for those looking for a change of pace.

Publisher's Description

More Popular Web Browsers downloads

  1. Google Chrome

    119,834 downloads

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    86,456 downloads

  3. Opera

    17,100 downloads

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  5. Apple Safari

    11,122 downloads

  6. Google Chrome Portable

    11,000 downloads

  7. Mozilla Firefox Portable

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  8. Internet Explorer

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  9. Internet Explorer

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All User Reviews
  • All versions:

    3.9 stars

    out of 222 votes

    • 5 star: 99
    • 4 star: 66
    • 3 star: 24
    • 2 star: 7
    • 1 star: 26
  • Current version:

    4.0 stars

    out of 25 votes

    • 5 star: 13
    • 4 star: 5
    • 3 star: 3
    • 2 star: 1
    • 1 star: 3
  • My rating:

    0 stars

    Write review

Results 1-10 of 25

  • 1.0 stars

    "crashes alot"

    April 3, 2013  |   By jaguar0

    Version: Maxthon 2.5.18.1000

    Pros

    Record video, without opening another program up.

    Cons

    Crashes to much. Every fews days everything is gone and you have to start over. It will not let me into site i been to before after it crash and you fix it.

    Summary

    Next crash this is history.

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  • 1.0 stars

    "crash continius by youtube"

    March 17, 2013  |   By loooping8

    Version: Maxthon 2.5.18.1000

    Pros

    crash always by Mega upload

    Cons

    uninstall it!

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  • 4.0 stars

    "Big surprise!!I like Maxthon"

    February 17, 2013  |   By neil e. potter

    Version: Maxthon 2.5.18.1000

    Pros

    It is fast and find it to be very much to the point without excess extra stuff.

    Cons

    I has a LastPass plug in that does't work and I must have a Password Manager as I do with Firefox,Chrome and IE.

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  • 1.0 stars

    "Basically useless"

    February 11, 2013  |   By lopmIII

    Version: Maxthon 2.5.18.1000

    Pros

    Fairly fast for the mondane stuff.

    Cons

    Many pages are not properly displayed. I was trying to pass an order on a website it took for ever to process it. The final order confirmation page hung and finally crashed.

    Summary

    Unrealiable, hence I uninstalled it right away.

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  • 5.0 stars

    "Excellent bullet-proof browser, very user friendly."

    December 18, 2012  |   By LJB001_1969

    Version: Maxthon 2.5.18.1000

    Pros

    Very stable browser that rarely complains about anything unlike IE9 0r 10 which fall over at each and every given opportunity. Built-in download-manager is basic but functional. It deals with my proxy settings by itself and without complaint, and has definitely grown on me over time. It works fine with my Win 8 pro o/s and is not noticeably slow or clunky which I was expecting it to be. Overall, it was a pleasant surprise and made the process of bending Win 8 back into shape. I advise anybody who'se installed 8 to download a third party start-button and with Maxthon installed as default browser you suddenly have a whole new familiar and powerful machine again. For those who like a bit more privacy there is Comodo, but for everyday hassle-free interwebbing Maxthon has got what it takes for a happy new relationship with your previously horrible machine. You get a Maxthon multi-search option already built-in which was innovative too, which can be handy for finding well, anything really.

    Cons

    Not many cons at all. Download manager could use a bit of tarting-up and facilities for hitting mirror sites for those fast downloads. A choice of Nice techhy skins and bolt-ons would be nice for advanced users, but the icons it comes with aren't that bad. Could maybe just be a little quicker, but if the leisurely speed is the price of stability it works for me.

    Summary

    Download it, try it, it's not a huge program and once you've gotten used to it I'm pretty sure it'll not be long till you default it.
    It's strong, it never panics, it does what you want it to. It has a lot to offer and if it's not ruined by over-zealous development it's gonna be a serious rival to some browsers such as IE. which is buggy as a mangy dog by comparison. The combination of IE with an un-corrected Win 8 is a recipe for misery and frustration. Maxthon goes a long way to fixing that and making using your PC or laptop nice again. I have Win 8 on my new laptop, and I very nearly took it back to the shop to get my money back it was that nasty. But again, a 3rd party start button and Maxthon made it all nice like it shoulda been to start with. I'm enjoying my computing again - Hurrah!!
    So, plenty of good points and plenty of potential. Does what you want, when you want. Now that's gotta be good.

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  • 3.0 stars

    "What happened?"

    November 7, 2012  |   By pangdudu

    Version: Maxthon 2.5.18.1000

    Pros

    Has a lot of features,like the UI.

    Cons

    takes up too much resource and crashes very often.

    Summary

    Don't know if its maxthon' problem or my computer. This browser doesn't work very well.Crashes frequently and the Memory usage is huge. I have switched back to Avant .

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  • 3.0 stars

    "Not what i was looking for."

    October 27, 2012  |   By newgamer2040

    Version: Maxthon 2.5.18.1000

    Pros

    Did seem to load pages as quick as Chrome sometimes faster.

    Cons

    I was unable to download a youtube video using sniffer,right click menu(download with maxthon)as many here claim.
    Tabs crashed 35% of the time.
    Tried to install Funmoods etc.(although I was able to opt. out of this)

    Summary

    I was very disappointed with the downloading capabilty of Maxthon and spent TIME researching this to no avail.
    After 24 hours I've uninstalled (left many files behind)and I now love Chrome much more.
    Bottom line is no I would not recommend Maxthon

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  • 5.0 stars

    "perfekt portable"

    October 25, 2012  |   By kaso911

    Version: Maxthon 2.5.18.1000

    Pros

    speed better dan chrome

    Cons

    manny recklame

    Summary

    for my n.1

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  • 5.0 stars

    "fantastic browser"

    September 12, 2012  |   By smsm619

    Version: Maxthon 2.5.18.1000

    Pros

    i havnot seen any browser like that browser it is really great

    Cons

    exellent try it

    Summary

    very good better than chrome and fire fox with agood download manager espicially for videos

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  • 5.0 stars

    "best faster browser"

    August 31, 2012  |   By rohmatnewr

    Version: Maxthon 2.5.18.1000

    Pros

    best faster browser

    Cons

    best faster browser

    Summary

    best faster browser

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Results 1-10 of 25

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Maxthon