Chrome extensions can add useful functionality to the browser, but they can also slow down your browsing experience. We’ve tested the page speed impact of 5,000 Chrome extensions as part of our 2024 report on Chrome extension performance.
Find out what popular extensions increase CPU processing, how some extensions delay page load times, and what difference ad blockers can make.
A Content Security Policy (CSP) lets developers improve security by putting restrictions on what resources can be loaded on a page. For example, a CSP can only allow requests from certain domains, or block inline script tags.
This report investigates how 1000 of the most popular Chrome extensions impact browser performance and end-user experience.
For my report on extension performance I first needed a list of Chrome extensions. This post takes a deeper look at the full list, looking at the most popular extensions, extension ratings, paid extensions, and top extension authors.
Update: read the 2021 Chrome Extension Performance Report
I tested how the 1000 most popular Chrome extensions affect browser performance.
The main metrics I'll consider are CPU consumption, memory consumption, and whether the extension makes pages render more slowly.
I tested 26 Chrome extensions to measure their impact on CPU consumption, page download size, and user experience.