Post Published on March 17, 2013.
Last Updated on August 28, 2016 by davemackey.
Here is a fairly huge and curated list of Google Chrome extensions. Those I use are bolded, those I have used are italicized, and those which I am considering using have an asterisk. Which ones am I missing that you can’t live without?
Productivity
- Google Keep – This isn’t an extension, but a web app., but it might as well be an extension. In any case, it integrates with Google Drive making it awesome and simple. There is also a nifty Android app. as well.
- Sticky Notes – This was my preferred application before Keep, it lacked sync however.
- Quick Note.
- Chrome NotePad.
- Browser Clipboard.*
- Springpad – For taking notes.
- Google Calendar Checker.*
- Meeting Scheduler for Google Calendar.*
- CleanPrint.*
- EasyBib Tools.*
- Lazarus Form Recovery.
- Google Translate – A useful extension, but one I wouldn’t use frequently enough to make worthwhile.
- Print Friendly & PDF – Allows you to select actually what you want to print on a page and print to PDF.
- Google Calendar.*
- StayFocusd.
- Ginger – Corrects spelling and grammar.*
- Spell Checker for Chrome.*
- After the Deadline.
- Harvest Time Tracker.
Tabs
- TabCloud
- OneTab – This turns your tabs into a list, freeing up memory.
- Speed Dial – Choose which sites appear on your new tab page.*
- TabJump – Intelligent Tab Navigator.*
- IE Tab – Are there really sites you still need to browse in IE? Yes, a few.
- Incredible StartPage.*
- FoxTab Speed Dial.*
Phone
Updated: 3/20/13
- Google Chrome to Phone – Send a page from your computer to your phone’s browser.
- Google Voice.*
- SMS to PC Options – Now has an entire page reviewing the various options.
Web Master
- Google Publisher Toolbar.
- Create Amazon Affiliate Link (from Travis Illig).*
- Zemanta – I ended up just installing the plugin into WordPress, it is an excellent way to find related articles for blog posts and Creative Commons licensed images to insert into posts.
- Buffer.*
- SEOquake.*
- Alexa Traffic Rank – I may replace this with something like SEOQuake which provides a fuller view from more services.
- Silver Bird – This is a sleek, streamlined Twitter client. As with all Twitter clients I’ve found, they don’t offer a “mark as read” feature, making them and Twitter, IMHO, essentially useless.
- Twitter for Chrome
- TweetDeck
- Smartr Inbox for Gmail – Made by Xobni, provides integration with social networks and intelligence about relationships using data within email.*
- PowerInbox – Social network integration, blahh, blahh.
- Attachments.me for Gmail.
- ToutApp for Gmail.
- Streak – CRM in your email.*
- Cleaner Gmail.*
- Contactually – Offers CRM in your inbox, but feature set is very limited for free, then moves up to $20/mo/user.
- Yesware – Tracks who opens your emails.
- Rapportive.
- Boomerang for Gmail.
- Right Inbox.*
- YouSendIt for Webmail – Allows you to send large attachments via email.
Todo
- Any.do
- Google Tasks – Integrates with Google’s official tasks management application, but inferior to most others.
- Remind Me (by Astrid) – If I didn’t use Asana, I would use Astrid. They are amazing, integrate with Google Tasks, have this app and a mobile app.
- Toodledo Tasks.
- Todoist.
- Taskforce.
- GQueues.
- Teambox for Gmail.
- Google Mail Checker – I just keep a pinned tab with GMail open.
- Wunderlist.
Clipping
- Save to Google Drive
- Diigo Web Collector – Makes it easy to highlight text on webpages, save and clip portions of pages.
- Evernote Web Clipper – I use Diigo instead.
Image Editing
- PicMonkey – Allows one to edit photos, can integrate with Google Drive.
- Explain and Send Screenshots.
- Pixlr Editor.
- Awesome Screenshot Capture & Annotate.
Bookmarks
- Xmarks Bookmark Sync – Once the leader in bookmark syncing it has fallen sadly behind Google Chrome’s native capabilities, though it still rules for cross-browser syncing. Wish LastPass would put some time into this extension/site.
- Bookmark Sentry – Checks for dead or duplicate links.*
- Kippt
- Delicious Bookmarks.*
Discovery/Sharing
- StumbleUpon – The grand-daddy of site discovery.
- Pinterest Pin It Button by shareaholic.
- AddThis – For sharing stuff.
- Pearltrees
- Similar Sites Pro – I find it easy enough just to go to their website, no need for an extension.
Security
- Dr. Web Anti-Virus Link Checker.
- Ghostery.
- LastPass – A robust password management solution. A must-have.
- Web of Trust (WOT) – Helps you to find trustworthy/safe websites.
RSS
- Feedly / Feedly Plus – These look the same to me, I’m not sure why there are two separate apps. A robust RSS reader.
Search
- Wajam
- Google Personal Blocklist – Allows one to remove specific sites from your Google Search results. I use it mainly to get rid of content farm articles.
- Google Webspam Report – Allows one to report spammy results via Google Webmaster Tools. I think I wouldn’t use it frequently enough to make it worthwhile, can just manually go to GWT.
Uncategorized
- Evernote Clearly – Removes distractions from pages you want to read. I don’t find this necessary, and I like to support blogs monetization.
- Adblock Plus – A favorite of many, I don’t use it b/c I believe in supporting sites that use ads as their basis for revenue.
- Pulse.
- Last.fm Scrobbler – For listening to music.
- Better History.*
- Send to Kindle (by klip.me).*
- iMacros for Chrome.*
- FreshStart – Cross-browser session management.*
- Session Manager.*
- Session Buddy – Looks interesting.*
- Anti-Porn Pro (by clouduacl).
- Blocksi.
- FoxFilter.
- CloudMagic – Search multiple online web apps.
- Yoono*
- AppJump App Launcher and Manager.
- TLDR
- OneReceipt.*
- Bitly.*
Bibliography
- MakeUseOf. “Best Chrome Extensions.”
- Eric Griffith. “The Best Google Chrome Extensions 2012.” PCMag.com, June 22, 2012.
- Aritra Roy. “50 Best Chrome Extensions You Will Ever Need.” dapazze, April 30, 2012.
- Chrome Fusion. “20 Best Google Chrome Web Apps and Extensions.” Chrome Fusion, May 10, 2012.
- Drew Prindle. “Best Chrome Extensions.” Digital Trends, November 25, 2012.
- David Nield. “20 Best Chrome Extensions.” TechRadar, April 20, 2012.
- Geeks Desk. “50 Best Google Chrome Plugins and Extensions.”
- Harsh Bhardwaj. “11 Chrome Extensions to Increase Productivity While Browsing.” HBwor1d, March 9, 2013.
- SkyTech. “30 Best Google Chrome Extensions for Web Developers.” skytechgeek, April 12, 2012.
- Sunalini Rana. “25 Chrome Extensions for Everyone.” slodive.
- Ricco Mossesgeld. “The 40 Best Google Chrome Extensions.” Tom’s Guide, Dec. 10, 2012.
- Caroline Phillips Rodin. “The Top 10 Chrome Extensions I Can’t Live Without in 2013.” SEOmoz, January 9, 2013.
- Allie Gray Freeland. “11 of the Best Google Chrome Extensions for Students.” Getting Smart, Sept. 25, 2012.
- Asam Shah. “10 Essential Google Chrome Extensions.” The Next Web, July 28, 2012.
- Alex Bracetti. “The 25 Google Chrome Extensions You Need to Download.” Complex, January 17, 2012.
- Marshall Kirkpatrick. “Best Google Chrome Extensions.” Listly.
- Peg Fitzpatrick. “12 Most Super Handy Chrome Extensions.” 12most, January 25, 2013.
- Hammad. “5 Google Chrome Extensions to Improve Your Gmail Experience.” February 20, 2013.
- Tech Shortly. “10 Best Chrome Extensions for Better Gmail Experience.”
- Aaron Couch. “Turn Gmail into a Productivity Beast with these Chrome Extensions.” MakeUseOf, July 31, 2012.
- Matt Silverman. “8 Google Chrome Extensions to Boost Your Productivity.” Mashable, August 12, 2012.
- Natalie Real. “CHROME EXTENSIONS THAT BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY.” Digital Trends, November 15, 2012.