In this post, I am providing a list of the Best FireStick Browsers. These browsers work on FireStick 2nd Gen, FireStick 4K, Fire TV Cube, New FireStick 4K, New FireStick 4K Max, and even some older models of Fire TV.
While Amazon Fire TV Stick and Fire TV are more popularly known for their streaming abilities, they can do more than play your favorite movies and shows. You can play video games and browse the internet via web browsers.
The Amazon Store offers minimal browser choices for FireStick. However, it is still better than Android TV devices, where Google has completely removed all the browsers from the Play Store.
I am rounding up the best FireStick browsers you can download on your device. You can use these browsers to access websites or stream content on web-only streaming services.
All the browsers mentioned in this article are available on the official Amazon Store. I do not recommend sideloading the unsupported browsers on FireStick. They are too much hassle and do not offer a good browsing experience.
For instance, Google Chrome is not available on Amazon Store. You can download it manually. However, you will need a mouse toggle to operate it. If you are interested, follow this guide to install Chrome on FireStick.
Attention FireStick Users
Governments and ISPs across the world monitor their users' online activities. If you use third-party streaming apps on your Fire TV Stick, you should always use a good FireStick VPN and hide your identity so your movie-viewing experience doesn’t take a bad turn. Currently, your IP is visible to everyone.
I use ExpressVPN, the fastest and most secure VPN in the industry. It is very easy to install on any device, including Amazon Fire TV Stick. Also, it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you don't like their service, you can always ask for a refund. ExpressVPN also has a special deal where you can get 4 months free and save 61% on the 2-year plan.
Read: How to Install and Use Best VPN for FireStick
How to Install FireStick Browsers
Since I recommend the official browsers, you can get them all from the Amazon Store. There is no need to sideload them onto your FireStick. Follow these steps to install the preferred Fire Stick browser:
1. Choose Find > Search on your Fire TV Stick home screen.
Select the lens icon in the top-left corner if your FireStick hasn’t yet updated to the new interface.
2. Type in the browser’s name (say, Silk browser). Click the browser in the search results.
3. Click the browser icon/tile on the following window.
4. Click Get/Download on this window and wait for the browser to download and install.
5. Click Open to access the installed browser.
Best FireStick Browsers
Here is our list of the best browsers for FireStick. There is also a bonus section at the end of the list.
1. Amazon Silk – Web Browser
Amazon Silk is a simple FireStick browser with easy controls. It was specially created for Fire TV devices, but Silk also offers a version for Kindle devices.
Just like Firefox, you can create bookmarks in the Silk Browser. However, developing and managing bookmarks with Silk is relatively more straightforward. Once you open a webpage or website, click the star icon in the menu bar on the top to create a bookmark. If you don’t see the menu bar, press the menu key on the FireStick remote to bring it up.
You can view and access all your bookmarks from the browser’s home screen.
Amazon Silk browser on Firestick allows you to request the desktop version of a website. After opening the webpage, click the TV icon in the menu bar at the top to load the desktop version. The desktop version may sometimes offer a better browsing experience.
Silk Browser is set to use Bing as the default search engine, but you can change it to your preferred search engine through the settings.
To change the default search engine, click Settings at the bottom of the home screen.
Click Advanced on the following screen.
Click Search engine next and choose Bing, Google, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, or Ecosia.
From the browser settings, you can also access several other options to customize the browser to better suit your preferences, ensuring a more personalized browsing experience. You can change cursor and scrolling speed, manage passwords, manage addresses and personal information, and change Privacy settings, Accessibility tools, and Parental controls.
Amazon Silk FireStick browser keeps the history of the visited websites and webpages. To remove history, you may click Clear History and data on the home screen of the browser.
If you don’t want the browser to keep a history while visiting websites, you can use Private mode.
Click the Enter Private Browsing icon in the menu on the top to do that
Pros:
- Easy to use.
- Create personal bookmarks.
- Displays trending videos based on your browsing history.
- Private Browsing is available.
- It lets you change the default search engine.
Cons:
- Sign-in and syncing across devices are not available.
- Do not cast tabs from other devices.
2. Mozilla Firefox for Fire TV/FireStick
Note: Firefox is no longer supported on FireStick/Fire TV as of April 30, 2021. You must now see the following prompt when you open this browser.
Upon clicking Learn More, the following webpage is displayed:
Firefox is one of the most popular names in the world of browsers; probably just second to Google Chrome. Firefox is also one of the few browsers available on Amazon Fire TV.
You can download Firefox directly from the Amazon Store. It lets you access almost any website you want, including social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. You can also open YouTube in Firefox and stream your favorite videos.
Firefox uses Google as the only search engine if you want to look up keywords or phrases. Unfortunately, there is no way to change the default search engine. If you want to use any other search engine, Bing, you must manually type the URL.
In addition to pre-pinned websites, Firefox allows you to Pin/Bookmark websites and webpages. To do so, you just need to type the URL in the address bar and click the Pin button above it.
Firefox Firestick browser also comes with a Turbo Mode that blocks the ads and trackers. Turbo Mode works with most websites, but it may cause display issues with some. You can quickly toggle between Turbo Mode and normal mode by clicking the rocket icon above the address bar on the home screen of Firefox.
You can also cast Firefox tabs from your mobile or computer onto FireStick. For that, you will need to sign in to Firefox browser and mobile/computer browser with the same Firefox account. If you don’t have an account, you can sign up here: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/accounts/
Pros:
- Easy to use.
- Let’s you pin/bookmark websites.
- Can cast tabs from mobiles/computers.
Cons:
- Google is the default search engine, and you cannot change it.
- Do not keep viewing history on the device. It does not sync history with other devices, even when you are signed in.
- There are very few settings to customize the experience.
3. Downloader
Downloader is primarily a tool for sideloading apps on Fire TV devices. However, it doubles as a browser with a built-in browser function.
Downloader will do the job just fine if you are looking for basic browsing without added features. For instance, you can access any website and click links on the web pages.
Since Downloader is a sideloading tool, it lets you directly download files (such as APK files) from the links on a webpage. The other two browsers we discussed do not support this feature.
The downside of the Downloader browser is that it does not have a built-in search engine, so you cannot look up keywords by typing them in the address bar. However, you can access a search engine by typing its URL (such as https://www.google.com).
You can bookmark webpages by adding them to ‘Favorites.’ The browser also lets you view the web pages in full-screen mode. You can zoom in and out of a webpage directly from the remote or browser menu. If a page doesn’t load properly, you can also disable or enable JavaScript and reload the page.
The following image shows the Downloader browser menu options
The following image shows the browser controls via the FireStick remote and Amazon game controller.
While Downloader is not a full-featured browser, it is good enough for quick browsing.
Pros:
- It’s a good option for basic browsing.
- Allows file downloads/side loads directly from web pages.
- It lets you add bookmarks.
Cons:
- No search engine integration.
4. Bonus – Bookmarker app for Amazon Silk and Firefox (a FireStick browser utility)
We are talking about a browser and a Bookmarker app here. With just one click, the Bookmarker app lets you quickly and easily load specific websites/webpages in the Amazon Silk or Firefox browser.
The Bookmarker app appears among the other installed apps on FireStick. You need to set the specific URL and the browser in which the URL is opened.
You can download up to nine Bookmarker apps. Each app opens only one URL and can use Amazon Silk or Firefox.
There is one Bookmarker dedicated to YouTube.com that opens YouTube in the browser of your choice.
Let me show you how it works to make it more straightforward.
Choose the Find > Search option on the Fire TV Stick home screen
If you still have the old FireStick interface, select the search option in the top-left corner of your home screen
Lookup for ‘Bookmarker’ and click it in the search suggestions
Click the Bookmarker app you want to install. You can install as many Bookmarker apps as the number of bookmarks you want to create. However, as I said, there are only 9 Bookmarker apps available. Meaning you can create up to 9 bookmarks.
Note: It is essential to remember which Bookmarker app number you have assigned to each URL for easy reference later.
You don’t have to install or use them in any specific order. For instance, you can install number 3 Bookmarker first, even if you haven’t downloaded 1 or 2. It will function the same regardless of the installation order. The flexibility allows you to organize your bookmarks in a way that works best for you.
Click Download/Get
Click Open
On the first run, you must specify the URL you want to bookmark and choose the browser with which you want to open it. You can also have the Bookmarker app prompt you to select a browser whenever you open the URL.
Type in the URL, choose the browser option, and click Save Settings.
Note: If you haven’t downloaded any browser, the Bookmarker app will prompt you to download one first. You will see the following window.
Click the Install tab to install the specific browser.
If you don’t find your already installed browser, use the Detect Browser tab.
You can now access the Bookmarker app from the Your Apps & Channels section. As I said, it seems to be installed alongside other apps on FireStick.
The app must be reset to reconfigure a Bookmarker app with a new URL or a different browser.
Go to Fire Stick Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications
Click the Bookmarker app
Next, click Clear Data, followed by Clear Data again.
This will reset the app and let you configure it again with any other URL and browser of your choic.e
Wrapping Up
You can primarily use two full-fledged FireStick browsers – Amazon Silk and Firefox. Even though Downloader doubles as a browser, it offers limited features. You probably don’t need any other browser if you have Silk or Firefox. Let me know how you like these browsers via the comments section below.
Related:
- Best Games for FireStick
- Best Remote apps for FireStick
- Best VPNs for FireStick
- Best settings for FireStick
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Is Amazon silk internet free or is there a monthly charge?
Hi Maggie, the Amazon Silk browser is free.
I just want to say thank you sooo much whoever created this whole entire sites existence because I first off all went TOO many YEARS still paying for direct tv now, start, Netflix etc.!! Then finally paid $80 for jail broke stick and it wasn’t until I needed updates and the people who sold me the stick said they did updates for $20 we’ll they ignored me so I simply, oh so simply looked and found this gem, & of course got my whole family and friends finally watching free everything with me so thank you again so much!!! so fkn simple
Can you download through Firefox as my Silk app won’t allow it, keeps saying not supported or how do you support so you can downloaf
Hi Martin, you can’t download through Firefox or Silk browsers. Instead, you can install the Downloader app from the Amazon Store. It has a built-in browser that also lets you download files.