Are you confused by the thousands of different extensions in the Chrome Web Store? Do you find it difficult to distinguish the best apps from the time wasters? We're here to help.

In this article, you'll find our curated list of the best extensions for Google Chrome. They include suggestions from both our readers and our writers.

Make sure you leave your own tips and suggestions in the comments; we'll consider them next time we update the page.

Quick Links: Privacy and Security | News and Weather | Entertainment | Productivity | Shopping | Social | Tab Management and Bookmarking

Last updated: June 8, 2017

Privacy and Security

The first step to enjoying yourself online is making sure you're safe. Install these privacy and security extensions to protect yourself 24/7.

Click&Clean

clean-and-clean

Do you share your computer with another user? Are you paranoid about sites tracking you and leaving cookies on your system?

Click&Clean lets you delete URLs, clear caches, remove cookies, and wipe your download and/or browsing history, all through a single button.

GetHoneyBadger [No Longer Available]

gethoneybadger

Heartbleed. Yahoo hacks. Credit card theft. There are so many online dangers you need to be aware of.

GetHoneyBadger will check stats and information of any site you visit. It will give you an insight into whether a site is suspicious by revealing which technologies the site is using.

Web of Trust

wot

This is a crowd-sourced tool that rates websites based on a site's trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy, and child safety -- helping you browse safely. At its core, it lets you avoid sites that are known to be harmful, but like all crowd-sourced software, it should be used with discretion.

ScriptSafe

scriptsafe

Also known as ScriptNo, ScriptSafe is for advanced users only. It works in a similar way to Ghostery, but it much less exclusive. It means you'll be alerted to almost every script on a website, and disabling them all will make lots of sites fail to load.

On the flipside, it's easy-to-use interface will guide you, making sure you only load the scripts that are needed for the content you want to see.

HTTPS Everywhere

https-everywhere

This extension encrypts your web usage to HTTPS whenever possible to help keep your private information safe. It is part of a collaboration between the Tor Project and the Electronic Frontier Foundation – so you know it's both trustworthy and safe.

LastPass

lastpass

LastPass saves and encrypts your passwords on the LastPass web server, letting you log into websites with a single click.

RSS Subscription Extension

rss

Google's RSS extension will automatically place an RSS subscription button in Chrome's omnibox whenever you visit a page that supports RSS feeds. You can add any web-based feed reader to the extension by clicking Manage option in the drop-down box, though you'll need the appropriate URL for your reader of choice.

Weather

weather

The aptly named Weather extension will give you both the current and upcoming weather outlook for your location. You can customize it to show personalized locations and preferred units of measurement.

Also consider: Currently

Entertainment

Whether you want to supercharge YouTube, listen to music, or find engaging content to read, we've got you covered with these entertainment-based apps.

Spoiler Protection

If you spend a lot of time on sites like Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook, it's extremely difficult to avoid spoilers for popular TV shows and films. It's even worse for sports games; you never know when someone might innocently mention the results.

Spoiler Protection covers up any mention of the shows you don't want to hear about. All the filters are fully customizable.

Magic Actions for YouTube

A video is a video, right? What could be improved?

As it turns out -- loads. Magic Actions revolutionizes the YouTube experience by adding auto HD, ad blocking, a cinema mode, mouse wheel volume control, and a whole lot more.

Torch Music

Torch Music is a music discovery tool. You can share music with friends, work on collaborative playlists via Facebook, and see trending songs in your local area.

Best of all, it's completely free to use and works on a wide variety of devices.

Turn Off the Lights

With a single click of the extension button, Turn Off the Lights makes an entire page – with the exception of the video – fade to dark. It's a neat way to solve the problem of videos embedded on light backgrounds.

Google Cast [No Longer Available]

 

cast

If you own a Chromecast dongle, this extension will let you send media, web pages, and other content directly from your computer to your television.

Panic Button

panic-button

Ever need to hide websites when your boss enters the room? Or perhaps when you're trying to buy an online gift for somebody when that very person sneaks up behind you? Panic Button is the answer.It lets you hide and save all of your opened tabs with a single click – the best part is that they'll be password protected, so only you can resume the session.

It lets you hide and save all of your opened tabs with a single click – the best part is that they'll be password protected, so only you can resume the session.

Google Similar Pages

google-similar-pages

Sometimes you get to the end of an article you're reading, or have exhausted all the new content on one of your favorite sites, and you wish there was more. This extension helps you discover web pages similar to the page you're currently browsing – perfect for both research and casual browsing.

StumbleUpon [No Longer Available]

stumbleupon

A click on the StumbleUpon extension will either take you to a random page or a specific page within your field of interests. You can define your interests to help the app find content you will enjoy.

Also consider: Clock Radio

Productivity

If you can drag yourself away from YouTube and Netflix, you might actually be able to get some work done. Use these extensions to take your productivity to the next level.

Hover Free [No Longer Available]

Hover Free will enlarge thumbnails whenever you scroll your mouse over them. It is compatible with more than 100 sites.

If you've been using Hover Zoom, delete it and install this extension instead; Hover Zoom is now infested with trackers and spyware.

Block Site

The web has too many distractions. If you're the type of person who struggles to focus, there are various techniques you can try. Alternatively, you can take a more draconian approach and block any site which you procrastinate on.

Block Site lets you set up filters for times and days of the week. It offers a pre-populated list of common sites, but you can also add your own.

Image-Toolbar

Image-Toolbar will display a toolbar over any image you find on the web. The toolbar will let you download the image to a location of your choosing. You can also program some of its other buttons, letting you perform tasks such as opening an image in a new tab and bringing an image to the front of a page.

Speed Dial 2

Speed Dial 2 is a new tab replacement page. It gives you fast access to your most visited websites, your bookmarks, and your browsing history.

The app syncs across all your devices, so you will have the same experience regardless of how you're accessing the web.

Send from Gmail

Send from Gmail is an official Google extension, but it's frequently overlooked.

The extension places in icon in the top-right hand corner of Chrome which, when clicked, instantly opens a floating "New Email" window. It's the best way to quickly send emails on-the-fly without disrupting your workflow.

Black Menu

blackmenu

If you rely heavily on Google's suite of services, this handy extension will save you a lot of time. When clicked, it will show you a pop-up menu that gives you one-click access to all your most-used Google products.

PushBullet

pushbullet

Pushbullet brings your PC and phone closer together. It lets you receive alerts from your Android or iPhone directly in your browser and provides a way to easily share media and other content. You can mute unimportant apps and can also respond directly from your computer for certain apps.

Journey (Diary, Journal) [No Longer Available]

journey-app

Journey has one simple goal -- to let you log your life with diary entries. It comes with a calendar, photo and atlas view that present all your entries in a beautiful and easy-to-digest format. It syncs with Android and the web app.

Save to Google Drive

save-to-drive

Google's official Drive shortcut means you can seamless add new content to your Google Drive account with a single click.

CiteThisForMe

cite-this-page

This one is aimed primarily at students. It makes bibliography creation easier, letting you quickly create a properly formatted website citation for the APA, Chicago, MLA, and Harvard citation styles. It even allows you to maintain project bibliographies – perfect for not getting bogged down in citations whilst in a creative flow.

iPiccy Photo Editor

ipiccy

Do you want a lightweight and easy-to-use photo editor? iPiccy includes lots of web-based photo-editing tools such as auto-fix, rotate, crop, resize, and color adjustment -- as well as some more advanced processing features.

eAngel

You can read and re-read an important email a thousand times, but you can guarantee that as soon as you hit send you'll find a typo. eAngel lets you send emails and documents to real humans who will then check it for syntax and typos.

WhatFont

whatfont

Do you often find yourself struggling to find the perfect font? Microsoft Word's and Adobe Photoshop's quickly become old. WhatFont lets you discover any web fonts by simply hovering over them.

Save Text 2.0 [Broken URL Removed]

There are lots of cool note-taking apps on the market, but if you're searching for something simple, try Save Text 2.0. Just click the bookmarklet, start typing, and your notes will be automatically saved to Google Drive.

Momentum

momentum

Some days you need a helping hand to keep your brain and productivity on track.

Momentum is that hand. It will replace your new tab page with a personal dashboard that includes your to-do lists, the weather, and some visual inspiration.

Boomerang for Gmail

Boomerang is a browser add-on available for Chrome that lets you schedule emails for a point in the future, even if you're not online. It's perfect for automated business replies, not forgetting birthdays, and sending messages at a time when you know the recipient will be available.

RightToCopy

righttocopy

How annoying is it when you right-click on a web page but the site prevents you from accessing the context menu? RightToCopy solves the problem, it lets you highlight text and copy text on pages that have disabled the features.

Instapaper

instapaper

Do you often find yourself offline with nothing to read? Try Instapaper.

It will let you save any interesting links you stumble across then allow you to read them later on your iPhone, iPad, Android, computer, or Kindle.

StayFocusd

stayfocussed

If you are easily distracted and find concentration is a problem, StayFocusd offers a solid solution. You can set yourself a time allowance for particular sites such as social networks, RSS readers or news sites, and once you've hit that limit accessed will be blocked.

Better History

better history

Better History replaces Chrome's native history tool. It adds more controls to help you find your old content quickly and more effectively. You can jump between days or hours with a single click, and easily delete visits in a set time frame.

goo.gl URL Shortener [No Longer Available]

url-shortener

This extension lets you quickly access the goo.gl URL shortener – giving you short and portable URLs. It's particularly useful for long, difficult URLs or for character-limited content such as Tweets.

Also consider: Time Tracker, Any.Do, Checker Plus For Gmail, timeStats, Lazarus Form Recovery

Shopping

Along with productivity and entertainment, shopping is the internet's other great time-consuming activity. Use these extensions to find the best deals and bag yourself a bargain.

The Camelizer

camel

The Camelizer is the definitive price-checking extension for Chrome, including advanced features like price graphs, price alerts, and price trends for a number of popular online retailers.

Honey

Want discounts put don't want to shop around? Install Honey. It automatically finds and tests coupon codes for more than 100 online stores, and works as you checkout of a site – so you don't need to shop through third party affiliates.

Add to Amazon Wish List

amazon

Fairly self-explanatory. This extension lets you add items to your Amazon wish-list from any website.

eBay Extension for Google Chrome [No Longer Available]

ebay-ext

Addicted to eBay? You need this official browser add-on. It means you'll never miss a good bargain and you can monitor your existing bids without needing to be logged into the main site.

Chrome Currency Converter

chrome-currency

Unlike the Yahoo Currency Convertor extension, the Chrome Currency Convertor automatically changes any figures in a web page to your desired currency. It's not only good for shopping but also reading long-form articles that quote prices and figures from around the world.

Social

These days, there are so many social media networks that it's difficult to stay on top of them all. Download these extensions to make life a bit easier.

Flatit

Are you a Reddit user? If so, you need Flatit in your life.

The extension cleans up a lot of "junk" off the web-based Reddit homepage, giving you a faster and more streamlined layout. Flatit is compatible with the Reddit Enhancement Suite (which everyone should be using).

Google+ Notifications [No Longer Available]

google-plus-notifications

If you're one of the increasing numbers of people who are leaving Facebook behind and finding new ways to use Google Plus, you might find the ability to get notifications from the network without being on the site itself to be very useful.

Instazzap for WhatsApp

If you're a WhatsApp junkie, Instazzap is a "must-have". You can see your unread chats in the toolbar, share web content with your contacts, and easily use emojis.

RES - Reddit Enhancement Suite

res

A must-have for Reddit lovers. It shows you comment karma, gives you username tagging, increases your viewing options, and removes the need to click through pages thanks to 'Never Ending Reddit'.

Silver Bird [No Longer Available]

silverbird

Once installed, Silver Bird makes it possible to access Twitter functions from a button in the Chrome interface.

Also consider: Buffer, Social Fixer for Facebook, Facebook For Chrome

Tab Management and Bookmarking

Having too many tabs open at once drains your battery, eats your RAM, and ties up your CPU's resources. Install a tab manager or bookmarking tool to eliminate the problem.

The Great Suspender

The Great Suspender will automatically freeze any tabs you're not using, thus saving your computer's RAM usage. They become "live" again as soon as you click on them. You can also retain tabs between browsing sessions.

Session Manager [No Longer Available]

Session Manager comes highly recommended from several of our readers. The extension allows you to save any tabs you're working on when you shut your browser, then instantly reload all of them at a later time.

You can also create groups of tabs to open with a single click. For example, perhaps you have a group of sites you check every morning or your want to open all your favorite news sites at the same time.

OneTab

onetab

Are you the type of person who has hundreds of tabs open at the same time? OneTab lets you keep those tabs open, but reduces memory by up to 95 percent.

Tabs Outliner

TabOutliner creates a file tree on tabs on the right-hand side of the screen. Inactive tabs don't use memory, and you drag and drop the tabs to keep yourself organized.

Save to Pocket

pocket

Pocket helps you manage a reading list of articles from the internet. The extension lets you save any article to your account with one click, and also allows for both article tagging and offline reading.

It has apps for several platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Blackberry.

Evernote Web Clipper

evernote-ext

This spin-off of the popular Evernote is so much more than just a bookmarking tool. It not only lets you save web pages, but also random notes, audio, PDFs, and videos. You can also make and manage to-do lists and search existing notebooks.

OneNote Clipper

You can make a strong argument to say OneNote's quality has now surpassed that of Evernote. If you use the Microsoft note-taking app, this is a "must-have". You can grab web pages, PDFs, images, videos, and more directly from the internet and save them into OneNote.

TabCloud

tab-cloud

Tab Cloud lets you transfer your browsing session from one computer to another. You can also see saved sessions with a built-in interface.

Awesome New Tab Page

awesome-tab

This replaces the normal new tab interface with an attractive, Windows 8 style customizable tile-based interface that can provide quick access to both web apps and web pages.

SimpleUndoClose

simpleundoclose

SimpleUndoClose offers an easy way to restore closed tabs – just click the icon and just which pages you want to reopen.

What Chrome Extensions Do You Love?

We've given you an introduction to some of the best Chrome extensions out there, but given the size of the Web Store, it's impossible to cover them all.

Thankfully, we've got someone who can alert us to any awesome extensions we've overlooked - it's you, the reader!

So, tell us about your favorite extensions. Which Chrome extensions couldn't you live without?

You can leave all your tips and suggestions in the comments below.