Best Google Chrome Extensions

There was a time when Internet Explorer was one of the most common web browsers for Windows users, while Safari has always been what Mac users used. Today, things are different because a new player took the internet browser game by storm. We’re talking about Google Chrome, and it’s undoubtedly one of the top browsers on the market today. You can do so much with it; installing extensions will elevate your experience even further. 

Some Chrome extensions enable you to access your most-used apps quickly, and others work in the background to improve your browsing experience. There are extensions that help with productivity, whether you’re doing a project for school, inputting data, or writing an article. You can also find extensions that ensure your safety while you’re online.

There are countless extensions available today, but we’ve gathered a list of the best ones we believe most people will find handy. In our selection, you’ll find Google Chrome extensions aimed at numerous purposes. We strived to include tools to entertain you or the opposite, keep you focused, protect your privacy, optimize the computer’s CPU usage, and much more. Read on to maximize your internet experience.

If you regularly browse the internet, you’d notice how common it is for ads to pop up out of nowhere. Many sites use ads as their primary source of income. Although it’s a part of modern browsing life, sometimes pop-up banners get annoying. If ads are ruining your browsing experience, an extension like AdBlock Plus can be of great help.

AdBlock Plus is dedicated to blocking video ads and banners and fighting malware to let you browse the web without distractions. It can also block pop-ups, stop any tracking, and provide customization features. The extension can also tell you exactly how many ads were detected on a particular page or website. It’s the most popular ad-blocking software on the market, with over 500 million happy users. Furthermore, the extension is absolutely free. 

Once you enable ad-blocking, you’ll find that your browser works faster since ads no longer take up load time. Optionally, you can add favorite sites to the whitelist. Installing the extension isn’t rocket science since all you need to do is search for it, add it to Chrome, and click on its icon to get started. You will immediately see how much of a difference AdBlock Plus makes when browsing the internet.

Pros

• Whitelist function
• Fights malware and pop-up banners
• Prevents tracking

Cons

• May sometimes block access to an entire site

If you log into several websites on Chrome, you’d know how confusing it can be to remember all your usernames and passwords for every single site. While Chrome stores your data for you, there are times wherein it gets faulty and stores outdated. Thankfully, you can download an extension like LastPass, which is an award-winning password manager. 

The extension keeps all your critical information safely stored and automatically fills in the necessary information when needed. You can bid farewell to getting locked out of your accounts because your login info will always be saved. LastPass doesn’t just save your usernames and passwords, but it can also keep information about your credit card, passport, insurance cards, and more. 

LastPass is also available for download on your mobile devices, so you can access your directory of saved information on all your devices. Once a username and password are saved on one device, it will automatically be synchronized to all your other devices. The extension can also let you know whether your passwords were reused or weak. It can give your dark web monitoring alerts, allowing you to see when you have information that is at risk. LastPass can also think of passwords for you, so you can rest assured that you have a strong and unhackable password. Don’t worry about someone trying to hack your LastPass account because it has multifactor authentication. 

There are times when you want to share your login information with a colleague, friend, or family member. With LastPass, you can easily share your information safely and securely. Users will have to create a master password for their vault, which will be the only password you’ll have to remember for everything. 

Pros

• Store all critical information in one place
• Auto-fill information when needed
• Automatically syncs info with all your devices that have LastPass
• Dark web monitoring alerts
• Tells you which passwords are weak
• Multifactor authentication
• Securely share login info with others

Cons

• Business account isn't free

There are times when you come across a webpage that catches your attention, but you won’t immediately have time to go through it. You will then want to save it for later, so you can read it during your free time. Evernote Web Clipper was created to help you save all the things you find online in one place. An Evernote account is required to use the extension. With this app, you can clip sections and pages, Gmail threads, images, videos, and other content in a few clicks.

You can choose how to save the selected data – take a screenshot, save the link, or annotate. The extension even has a feature for annotations and stamp additions directly onto a screenshot. No messier bookmarks, as Evernote Web Clipper enables you to filter and sort saved data for maximum convenience. Apart from saving content found on the web, Evernote Web Clipper lets you create to-do lists and take notes to keep your thoughts organized.

You can attach your Office docs, PDF files, and photos to notes or clips. Evernote Web Clipper is your ultimate web notepad and bookmark library. You can also use your webcam to scan documents and handwritten pieces. The extension is entirely free and available in 24 languages.

Pros

• Available in 24 languages
• Scan documents
• Take notes
• Clip any content, whole pages, or certain parts

Cons

• Requires Evernote account

For those who use Chrome for both work and play, you’d know how easy it is to accumulate numerous opened tabs without you noticing. What many of you might’ve not known is that browser tabs may noticeably slow down your computer, using a large percentage of the RAM. Sluggish computers may be devastating when you need to work with multiple tabs at a time while also keeping other software running. The Great Suspender is an extension that can suspend tabs that are not in use, resulting in faster and smoother computer performance. It may not free up all your RAM, but it can help speed up browsing due to multiple open tabs.

This Google Chrome extension is dedicated to reducing the browser’s footprint. It automatically suspends tabs that have not been viewed after a set period. You can select specific URLs or domains that you don’t want to suspend regardless of the time that’s passed since they were last viewed. There’s no need to add YouTube or Spotify to the whitelist.

The extension automatically detects tabs where music is playing and doesn’t close them. The same applies to tabs containing forms with user input, so your documents or job application will always remain safe. Optionally, you can select to show a screen capture of a tab before the extension suspends it. If you’re curious, the extension’s source code is open to anyone for full transparency.

Pros

• Automatically detects tabs with forms and music not to suspend them
• Custom suspension periods
• Optional screen capture before tab suspension

Cons

• Only available in English

When you use Chrome for a critical task that you need to get done, things don’t always fall into place because there are plenty of distractions online. You might’ve been starting a document or research project but thought you’d check Facebook or Youtube first. What was supposed to be a quick browse could quickly turn into a 1-2-hour delay from finishing your task.

We’ve got a solution if you’re struggling to stay focused on work. You can download the Chrome extension called StayFocusd, which aims to boost your productivity. With its help, you can limit the amount of time spent on different websites. For instance, you can limit the daily time spent on Twitter to 15 minutes. After the time passes, the site automatically closes, and you won’t be able to load it – as long as you don’t disable the block (that’s a temptation you’ll have to resist on your own).

The extension is highly configurable. You can block or allow whole sites, specific pages, paths, or on-page content such as videos or games. Furthermore, instead of blocking a site for the entire day, you can make it unavailable during specific times like your work or school hours.

StayFocusd helps you get work done by improving your time management but still lets you take the occasional peek at social or entertainment sites – if you configure it that way. The extension is free and available in eight languages: English, German, Russian, French, Turkish, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.

Pros

• Helps boost productivity
• Specify pages or content to disable
• Custom site-blocking times
• Eight languages

Cons

• You can easily disable the extension even during the selected site-block times

Many people work remotely, and there are numerous occasions when one might need to know the time in different parts of the world. This is when an extension like FoxClocks comes in handy. The extension will add an easy-to-read world clock at the bottom part of your Chrome browser. You’ll get to see the country’s time, name, and colored flag.

Users can pick between different time formats, or they can create one of their own. This is useful because there are some people who prefer 12-hour or 24-hour formats. Upon downloading and adding the extension, you will see a FoxClocks icon beside your address bar. Clicking it will give you quick access to all the clocks you have without minimizing the webpage you’re in. The Zone Picker tree of the extension will let you scan through all the time zones in the world according to city, region, or country. FoxClocks is constantly updated with a particular time zone’s database, so the time you see is always accurate, even when a place is on daylight saving time. 

Pros

• Adds a world clock to your browser
• Customizable formats
• Adjusts to daylight savings time

Cons

• Overall design could be more modern

Not everyone needs to save an entire web page, and there are instances when you just want to screenshot a particular part of a page. The extension called GoFullPage allows you to conveniently take screenshots of your web page whenever you want. You won’t need to request extra permissions to get it done. 

The extension allows you to take a screenshot of an entire web page and save it to your computer’s hard drive as a picture or PDF file. Taking a screenshot is quick and easy; all you need to do is press the icon of the extension or the shortcut Alt+Shift+P. The screen capture technology GoFullPage possesses is like no other because it will capture embedded iframes and inner scrollable elements. You’ll have to be patient when it screenshots an entire web page because it will have to scroll through the whole page first from top to bottom. Users are advised not to move their mouse when this is happening. The extension will split it into two photos for web pages that could be too large for a single picture. The extension has gone through several updates over the years, and users can now add emojis, annotate, and crop their screenshots. 

Pros

• Screenshot webpages
• Save screenshots as photos or PDF files
• No extra permissions needed
• Captures embedded iframes and inner scrollable elements

Cons

• Could take screenshots faster
• Not all web pages will fit into one photo

When you’re working on your computer and have several tabs opened on Chrome, you will most likely still have your smartphone in arm’s reach in case you get an important message you need to answer. What if we told you there is a way to get all your notifications from your devices on your browser instead, so you don’t need to turn your attention elsewhere? 

Pushbullet is the extension that will change your life. It will allow you to read all the notifications you get on your other devices on your Chrome browser instead. It can receive and send SMS messages, but it will also allow you to reply to messages you get on apps like Messenger, Kik, and Whatsapp. The only catch is that you’ll have to be an Android user, so this won’t be suitable for those with Apple devices. 

The extension won’t only let you know when you have a new message but will also tell you when someone’s calling. Users have the option to dismiss certain notifications on their browsers, which will automatically get dismissed on their mobile devices. You can create Pushbullet Channels, so you can only get notified by essential things. This extension makes life easier because instead of picking up your phone to reply, you can respond straight from your computer’s keyboard. You can also use the extension to share a link or file to your mobile devices quickly.

Pros

• Get notifications straight from your browser
• Send and receive messages
• Supports SMS messaging or messages from Messenger, Kik, and Whatsapp

Cons

• You must be an Android user