Ever since Microsoft Edge transitioned over to a Chromium codebase, it has enjoyed a lot of renewed popularity and some amazing new features. Now, Microsoft Edge has dethroned Mozilla Firefox from its number three spot, and it's still gaining popularity.

Microsoft Edge's New Claim to Fame

Statcounter has been quietly analyzing what browsers people use to access the internet and presented the results as a chart for a while now. For the first time, Statcounter reported that Microsoft Edge's worldwide usage had surpassed that of Firefox.

Microsoft Edge has put up an incredible fight in recent months by adding new features and improving performance. At the same time, Firefox seems to be hemorrhaging users, losing just over 1 percent of the total browser user base in the space of a year.

The combination of these two trends allowed Microsoft Edge to overtake Firefox. It's still very close; at the time of writing, Microsoft Edge holds 8.03 percent of the total share, versus Firefox's 7.95 percent. However, if both browsers continue the current trend, you should see this gap widen as the months pass by.

While this news is bound to be a good sign for Microsoft, it's not a huge surprise. Back in November 2020, Microsoft Edge overtook Firefox in the US market. This gap has continued to widen to this day.

Now it seems the trend we saw in the US is now reflecting in the worldwide market. If it continues to follow this path, Microsoft Edge will solidify its position as the third most-used browser globally.

Why Are More People Using Microsoft Edge?

The news may come as a surprise to some, as Microsoft hasn't had a great reputation with its browsers in recent years. While Internet Explorer used to be the be-all and end-all for browsing the internet, it was eventually surpassed by Chrome and Firefox until it became the laughing stock of the browser world.

Microsoft tried to get back into the game by creating a new browser called Edge. However, the browser was still lagging behind its competitors and didn't pack quite the punch that the Redmont tech giant hoped for.

Then, Microsoft tried a new plan. With a move that adopted the idea of 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em,' Microsoft released a Chromium-based version of Edge in January 2020. This new version adopted all of Chrome's best bits, the most popular browser on the internet.

As such, people began to take note of Microsoft Edge and used it more often. Microsoft responded in kind and kept the momentum going by adding fantastic new features, like a built-in price comparison tool.

Related: Microsoft Edge's Shopping Tool Is Here, and It's Even Better Than Before

Eventually, it got to the point where Microsoft sunsetted the original Edge, now called "Legacy Edge." Now, Microsoft is putting all of its chips on the new Chromium Edge, and the results so far seem to be very promising.

On the Edge of Something Great

Microsoft Edge has shown a lot of promise in the past few months, and now the software giant's plans are coming to fruition. We'll have to see if Edge can maintain its lead over Firefox and what it means for Mozilla's stakes in the running.

The big question is, how does Microsoft Edge stand up to its biggest rival, Chrome? We recently compared the two and deduced that Edge is the better choice for Windows 10 right now.

Image Credit: Albert999 / Shutterstock.com