Ever since Google Chrome was released in 2008, it has remained one of the most popular web browsers on the market. Along with a user-friendly interface and plenty of powerful functions, one of the things that makes Google Chrome so popular is the wide variety of Chrome extensions that the browser is able to integrate with.
From automatically finding and applying coupon discounts to your online purchases to helping you multitask while reading online documents, there is a lot that you can accomplish with the right extensions for Chrome.
While there is a massive variety of Chrome apps available for download, a few stand apart from the rest in terms of their quality and benefits. In this article, we’ll take a look at the ten “best of the best” Google Chrome extensions to help you make the most of what is already a fantastic web browser.
Our Methodology
With so many products available, choosing the best browser extensions for Google Chrome was no easy task. To separate the good from the great, we examined a few important factors, including how easy the app is to use, how valuable it will be to the average person, and the unique benefits that it offers.
From there, we separated the apps we considered into multiple categories such as apps for productivity and apps for personal health before striving to pick the very best apps available in each category. Although there are certainly plenty of excellent Chrome store extensions that didn’t make the list, we are confident that the apps we’ve selected represent some of the most worthwhile Google extensions that you will find on the market today.
So without any more delay, let’s dive into the top Google Chrome extensions for each of the five categories we considered.
Best Chrome Extensions for Productivity
Grammarly
Proofreading the emails and documents that you type is an important part of professionalism, but it’s also something that can eat up a lot of time. Ever since the early days of Microsoft Word, though, proofreading applications have tried to help with this task.
These applications have come a long way over the years, and, today, Grammarly is one of the best. When you download the Grammarly to your Chrome toolbar, the software will automatically proofread everything you type using the browser, offering recommendations to fix misspellings, grammatical errors, confusing sentence structure, and much more. With Grammarly Premium, you get a lot more features such as tone adjustment, plagiarism detection, and word choice recommendations. However, the free version offers more than enough time-saving (and face-saving!) features for most users.
Speechify
Reading page after page of digital text is a tiresome task. However, Speechify is a text-to-speech application that can boost productivity in more ways than one for those that do a lot of online reading.
To start, text-to-speech software that reads digital text aloud allows for multitasking that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. Trying to read an important document while driving to work, for example, is likely to land you in an ambulance. Listening to it on your morning commute, though, is much easier and less demanding. The same goes for any number of other chores and tasks where listening and multitasking at the same time is far easier than trying to read and multitask at the same time.
The second way that Speechify is able to boost productivity is by reducing eye fatigue. After extended periods of time, reading from a screen can tire your eyes and cause blurry vision, headaches, and difficulty keeping your eyes open – none of which are great for improving productivity. Listening to text, though, eliminates this issue.
Available for Google Chrome as well as Apple and Android phones, Speechify is capable of instantly synthesizing digital text from any web page or document into clear, easy-to-understand audio and is the leading choice for text-to-speech software on the Chrome web store.
Best Chrome Extensions for Health and Wellness
DeskAthlete
It is well documented that spending too much time sitting behind a desk can lead to joint and muscle pain. Along with proper posture, one of the best ways to prevent this is to stretch and perform low-intensity exercises throughout the workday – and this is what DeskAthlete helps you accomplish.
With DeskAthlete, you’ll be provided with a library of over 40 different exercises that you can do at your desk as well as the ability to create your own custom exercises. Each exercise includes a 30-second video tutorial of how to do it, and you can set exercise reminders or given yourself a random exercise anytime you feel like stretching.
Water Reminder
It is recommended that adults should drink at least eight cups of water a day. However, 43% of people drink less than four cups of water a day. Water is one of the most important things that we give our bodies, and not getting enough of it can lead to a variety of health problems. In many cases, though, it’s simply remembering to drink enough water each day that proves most difficult.
This is where Water Reminder seeks to help. When you download Water Reminder to your Chrome browser, you will receive automated notifications that remind you to have a drink. It’s a simple and straightforward extension, but one that can be incredibly beneficial for a large majority of people.
Best Google Chrome Extensions for Mental and Emotional Wellbeing
Calm
Almost everyone these days has a website or two where they go to do little more than simply waste time. It’s something that we’re all guilty of, but mindlessly browsing social media isn’t the best for your productivity or mental health.
When you install Calm to your Google Chrome browser, you’ll be able to “blacklist” certain websites that are draining your attention and harming your emotional wellbeing. But worry not – the app won’t prevent you from visiting these sites outright. Instead, it will present you with a reminder to take a deep breath and reconsider if visiting the site you’re about to launch is what you really want to do.
Inner Peace
Sometimes even a brief moment of relaxation is all that you need to reset your focus and mental clarity. If you would like to bring a little more peacefulness and relaxation to your internet browsing routine, Inner Peace is a great Chrome extension to download.
Each time you open an Inner Peace tab page, you will be greeted with a rotating gallery of picturesque scenery, inspirational quotes, and soothing ambient music. It’s a great app for whenever you need to take a quick mental break from the task at hand.
Best Chrome Extensions for Personal Finances
Honey
Promo codes and coupons for just about every product imaginable are floating about the internet just waiting to be used. Finding these discount codes and coupons, though, isn’t always so easy – unless, that is, you use Honey.
Each time you make an online purchase, Honey scans the web for applicable promo codes and coupons before automatically applying any discount it finds to your purchase. Along with this money-saving feature, Honey also enables you to track the prices of products and set up email notifications when there is a price drop and automatically compares the price of products to products available from other sellers.
If you would like to stretch your online shopping budget a little further, Honey is an app that is well worth using.
Cash Organizer
Cash Organizer is a Chrome extension that makes it easy to keep up with your budget and spending. Along with enabling you to divide your expenses into different categories, Cash Organizer will also generate reports detailing your spending activities.
What sets Cash Organizer apart from most budget management apps, though, is the fact that it supports multiple authorized users. This means that you can give your spouse or other family members access to the account if you are using it for personal finances or give your business partners/colleagues access if you are using the account for business purposes.
Best Chrome Extensions for Leisure and Fun
Teleparty
Streaming shows and movies together has become a beloved pastime for friends, family, and couples. But unlike most online activities, watching TV and movies with someone isn’t possible unless you’re both in the same room.
Teleparty, though, is an app that changes that by enabling you and any number of other users to synchronize playback of shows and movies from Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney Plus, and others. Along with ensuring that everyone sees the same scenes at once, Teleparty also provides a chat box so that everyone can discuss the action in real-time.
Downworthy
Are you tired of sensational, over-the-top headlines that are clearly designed to get clicks instead of telling the truth? If so, downloading Downworthy is a great way to add a little more honesty (and humor) to your online browsing.
When you use Google Chrome with Downworthy installed, the app will automatically detect sensationalized phrases in article headlines and replace them with a much more accurate phrasing. For example, “These 25 Celebrity Photographs Will Blow Your Mind” might become “These 25 Celebrity Photographs Might Mildly Amuse You While You Procrastinate From Work”.
You never know what you’re going to get when you read a heading that Downworthy has worked its magic on, and using this app is a great way to remind yourself that the internet isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
Final Thoughts
The Chrome web store offers boundless extensions designed to help you create a fully customized browsing experience. Whether it’s saving money on online purchases, listening to documents while you work, or just having a little fun with article headlines, we are sure that you will enjoy these ten best of the best Google Chrome extensions.