Microsoft's Edge Browser Losing Windows 10 Users Month After Month According to Three Leading Sources

Microsoft's Edge browser, which arrived with Windows 10 as a much needed replacement for the archaic Internet Explorer, has been continuing to lose users on the platform to other browsers month after month since its debut earlier this year in July, according to a report by Gregg Kiezer at Computerworld.

The steady decline has been reported by three separate data analysis companies – Net Applications, StatCounter, and the Digital Analytics Program (DAP). Since Edge only runs in Windows 10, it is easier for analysts to estimate the percentage of Windows 10 users who are using Edge, whereas gathering the same statistics for other major browser that are compatible with various operating systems is a bit more challenging.

All three of the aforementioned companies published varying statistics in their reports (due mostly to differences in data collection methods), but the end conclusion of each report is the same – a continual decline in Edge's popularity within Windows 10 since its debut.

The Numbers Vary But Tell the Same Tale

Net Applications has been tracking Edge's global share by analyzing the user agent stats of visitors to their clients' websites. Using this method the company has estimated that roughly 39% of Windows 10 users were using Edge back in August, after which the user share declined steadily each month, reaching the most recent low of 31.2% as of the end of November.

StatCounter gave an even lower initial estimate, pinning the percentage of Windows 10 users using Edge in August at only about 15%. However, the company's report corroborates the findings of Net Applications' by showing a continual decline in the following months, with Edge's worldwide usage among Windows 10 users being at only 12.9% as of the end of November. StatCounter bases its statistics on page view data from sites that utilize its analytics tools.

The Digital Analytics Program's report also reveals the continual decline in Edge's usage, showing that 24.6% of Windows 10 users were running Edge in September, falling gradually to 22.4% by November. The DAP bases its data on visitor statistics from more than 400 U.S government domains, like the Social Security Administration and the National Weather Service.

Screenshot of statistical graph from Computerworld:

Lack of Add-on and Extensions Hurting Popularity?

Many analysts have been surprised by the fact that Edge is failing to retain users, even as the default browser in Windows 10. Despite heavy promotion by Microsoft, Edge has faced poor adoption and retention rates from the start. There seems to be a consensus that, aside from the browser's newness, one of the main reasons for the lackluster welcoming is the lack of support for add-ons or extensions.

As of now Edge is simply a basic browser that doesn't really have many special features to set it aside and place it ahead of the competition. Unfortunately, Microsoft has stated that Edge won't be getting any add-ons or extensions until some time in 2016. Until then, we can probably expect to continue to see a decline in Edge's share of Windows 10 users, as increasingly tech-savvy surfers are switching to extension-rich browsers like Chrome and Firefox.