I've used Brave for 6 months so far. Below is a comparison between Brave and Google Chrome in terms of speed, privacy, and security.

Speed

Unlike Chrome, Brave blocks ads and trackers by default.

This allows websites on Brave to load noticeably faster than Chrome. Below is a speed test between Brave, Chrome, and Firefox.

Brave tracks the time it saves you, and displays it when you open the browser.

Advantage: Brave

Privacy

Brave blocks ads by default (unlike Chrome, which requires a 3rd-party extension such as AdBlock).

Brave blocks 3rd-party tracking by default. On Chrome, mega-advertisers like Google and Facebook use 3rd-party cookies to track your browsing on nearly every website. By blocking 3rd-party cookies, Brave limits the amount of data Facebook, Google, and other ad networks can collect about your browsing habits.

Brave stores all your browsing data locally on your computer, which means you can delete it at any time.

Brave supports Tor browsing, making it the first all-purpose browser to do so.

Advantage: Brave

Security

Brave automatically encrypts your website connection when possible (on Chrome, this only occurs with an extension like HTTPS Everywhere).

Brave now supports all Chrome extensions, including popular password managers like LastPass and 1Password.

Advantage: Brave

Drawbacks of Brave

Every once in a while, Brave blocks part of a website that you wanted to load.

When this happens, it's easiest to click the lion icon, and toggle the shield to down.

Since the latest Brave update, this is rarely necessary (maybe once per week).

Recommendation

Brave's speed alone is enough to make the switch worthwhile, and the added privacy and security benefits are icing on the cake.

Not surprisingly, Brave has skyrocketed to popularity, going from 1 million to 4.6 million users in 2018.