Opera Browser for Windows

Opera 136.0.6008.22 is the stable release of the free browser for Windows from Opera Software, published on 17 September 2026. You can download it for Windows from opera.com; according to catalogue data, the previous build came to about 133.06 MB.

Opera is one of the oldest browsers still around: the company dates it to 1995, and the first release came out a year earlier, in 1994.

Who Opera is for

Opera suits people who like a browser with a long track record and a steady release rhythm but do not want to be tied to the browser that came with the computer. Its history explains a lot about its character. The early versions ran on the company's own Presto engine and even included a BitTorrent client, back when that was unusual for a browser. The modern Opera for desktop was later rebuilt on WebKit-family technology and the V8 JavaScript engine, so sites that work in other mainstream browsers work here too. What remains distinctly Opera is the interface and the way the company packages its extras around the engine. If you are moving from another browser, the first-run screen offers to bring over your bookmarks, passwords and history, and the switch takes minutes rather than an evening.

It is also a sensible second browser: many people keep one browser for work accounts and another for personal browsing, so logins and tabs never mix.

Which version to install

Opera updates often. The stable channel moved from 135.0.5973.142, released on 15 September 2026, to 136.0.6008.22 two days later. There is also an early alpha of 137, and the changelog for 137 shows what is coming. For daily use take stable; the browser keeps itself up to date.

System requirements

• Windows 10 or later.
• Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 processor or newer with SSE2 support.
• macOS 12 or later on a Mac.
• On Linux: 64-bit Ubuntu 18.04+, Debian 10+, openSUSE 15.2+ or Fedora 32+.

The full list is on Opera's requirements page.

How to install Opera on Windows

1. Go to the official download page.
2. Run the downloaded installer and accept or adjust the settings.
3. Choose whether to import data from your current browser.

Opera is also listed in the Microsoft Store if you prefer installing from there.

Is it free and safe?

Opera is free to download and use. It is proprietary software, so the code is not public. Install it only from opera.com or the Microsoft Store: browser installers are popular bait on file-hosting sites.

Advantages and drawbacks

• A long history and a distinct interface.
• Easy import from other browsers.
• Frequent stable updates.
• The start page and sidebar can feel busy until you trim them.
• Fewer people use it, so help forums are smaller.

Opera also exists for Android, where it is published on Google Play under the same name.