You can switch from Chrome to Firefox in about fifteen minutes without giving anything up. Firefox ships with a built-in migration wizard that pulls your bookmarks, browsing history, saved passwords, and autofill data straight out of Chrome. It copies rather than moves, so nothing is deleted from Chrome — if the switch doesn't stick, your old setup is exactly where you left it.
The one thing that doesn't move automatically is your extension list. Extensions have to be reinstalled from Firefox's own add-ons store, though nearly every widely used Chrome extension has a Firefox version or a close equivalent. Here is the order of operations that avoids every common gotcha, plus an honest look at what feels different afterward.
Key takeaways
- Firefox imports bookmarks, history, saved passwords, and form data from Chrome through a built-in wizard. Chrome keeps its own copy, so the process is risk-free.
- Extensions don't transfer directly. You reinstall them from Firefox's add-ons store, where most big names have official versions.
- On some Windows setups, recent Firefox versions can't read Chrome's saved passwords directly. The fix is a quick CSV export from Chrome — then delete the file afterward.
- If your passwords live in a dedicated password manager instead of Chrome, the switch costs you nothing: install the extension and sign in.
- A free Mozilla account enables Firefox Sync, which carries your data to your phone with end-to-end encryption.
What transfers automatically — and what doesn't
Before you start, it helps to know exactly where the wizard's limits are. This table is the whole picture:
| Data | Transfers via wizard? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bookmarks | Yes | Folder structure is preserved |
| Browsing history | Yes | Comes over with the same import |
| Saved passwords | Mostly | CSV fallback needed on some Windows setups |
| Autofill (addresses, form data) | Yes | Saved payment cards may not carry over — re-add those manually |
| Cookies and active logins | No | You'll sign in to sites again the first time |
| Extensions | No | Reinstall from Firefox's add-ons store; the wizard can suggest matches for some popular ones |
| Open tabs | No | In Chrome, right-click a tab and choose "Bookmark all tabs" first |
| Per-site settings | No | Permissions and zoom levels reset |
Nothing on the "no" list is destructive. The worst case is a few minutes of signing back in to sites you use daily.
Step 1: Tidy up Chrome first
Five minutes of prep makes the import cleaner. Delete bookmarks you'll never open again — this is the cheapest moment to prune. If you have important tabs open, bookmark them all into a folder so they survive the move.
Then decide where your passwords should live. If they're currently in Chrome's built-in manager, this switch is a natural moment to move them into a dedicated tool instead — our roundup of password managers covers the trade-offs, and Bitwarden is a solid open-source, freemium starting point. A standalone manager makes every future browser or device switch trivial, because your logins stop being tied to any one browser.
One Windows-specific note: recent Firefox versions can no longer read Chrome's password store directly on some Windows systems. If the wizard skips your passwords, export them from Chrome (Settings → Passwords → Export) as a CSV file, import that file into Firefox or your password manager, and then delete the CSV. It's plain text, so don't leave it sitting in your Downloads folder.
Step 2: Run the import wizard
Download Firefox from Mozilla's official site only — no third-party download portals. On first launch, Firefox offers to import your data from other browsers it finds on the system. If you skipped that screen, you can reach the same wizard any time via Settings → Import Browser Data, or from the Bookmarks Library under "Import and Backup."
Pick Chrome, pick the profile if you have several, tick the data types you want, and let it run. The import usually finishes in under a minute, and you can re-run it later if you left something out.
Keep Chrome installed for a week or two as a safety net. There's no rush to uninstall, and having it around makes the switch feel reversible — which, genuinely, it is.
Step 3: Rebuild your extensions
This is the only part that takes real effort, and it's smaller than it looks. Search Firefox's add-ons store for each extension you actually use — a look through your Chrome extensions page usually reveals several you forgot existed, which you can simply drop.
Mozilla runs its own review process and marks a curated set of add-ons with a "Recommended" badge, which is a reasonable first filter. Most household names — content blockers, password managers, dark-mode tools, tab managers — have official Firefox versions.
There's also a structural difference worth knowing. Chrome has completed its move to the Manifest V3 extension framework, which — as widely reported — removed capabilities that full-featured content blockers relied on. Firefox continues to support both the old and new frameworks, so extensions like uBlock Origin still run there in full. For a lot of switchers this is the main reason for the move, not a side benefit.
Step 4: Turn on sync and make it official
Create a free Mozilla account and enable Firefox Sync. Your bookmarks, passwords, history, and open tabs then follow you across devices, and Mozilla documents that sync data is end-to-end encrypted, so the company can't read it.
Install Firefox on your phone, sign in to the same account, and set Firefox as the default browser on both desktop and mobile. The default-browser step matters more than it seems: links from other apps are what quietly pull people back to their old browser.
What actually feels different
Honesty helps here. A small number of sites are built and tested against Chrome first, so once in a while you'll hit a page that nags you about your browser or misbehaves slightly. It's rarer than it used to be, and Firefox lets you report broken sites in one click.
Firefox also runs on its own engine rather than Chrome's, which is precisely the point for many people — it's the main independent alternative left. You can see how it scores on permissions and data handling in our Firefox security review, and how we grade every app in our methodology.
If you're still weighing options, our Firefox vs Brave comparison covers the other popular Chrome exit route, and the private browsers roundup includes stricter choices like LibreWolf, a Firefox variant with hardened defaults, for when stock settings aren't private enough.
The bottom line
Switching from Chrome to Firefox is a copy, not a leap: import, reinstall a few extensions, turn on sync, set the default. Your old browser stays untouched until you're sure. Features change over time — always check the official Firefox site and current documentation before relying on any specific behavior.
Frequently asked questions
Will switching to Firefox delete anything from Chrome?
No. The import wizard copies data; it never removes anything from Chrome. Both browsers can coexist on the same machine indefinitely, which makes the switch easy to trial and easy to reverse.
Do my Chrome extensions work in Firefox?
Not directly — the two browsers use separate extension stores. Almost all popular extensions have official Firefox versions, and the migration wizard can suggest equivalents for some common ones. Budget ten minutes to reinstall the handful you actually use.
Can I sync Firefox between my computer and phone?
Yes. A free Mozilla account syncs bookmarks, passwords, history, and open tabs across desktop and mobile, with end-to-end encryption. Install Firefox on your phone, sign in to the same account, and set it as the default browser on both devices so links from other apps don't pull you back to Chrome.
What happens to my saved passwords if the wizard skips them?
Export them from Chrome as a CSV file (Settings → Passwords → Export), import that file into Firefox or a dedicated password manager, then delete the CSV — it is plain text, so it should not sit in your Downloads folder. Recent Firefox versions cannot read Chrome's password store directly on some Windows systems, which is when this fallback is needed. If your logins already live in a standalone manager such as Bitwarden, you can skip the step entirely and just install the extension.