Pages

June 15, 2012

101 Best Chrome Extensions

Below are a collection of top-rated Chrome Extensions from the authors of MakeUseOf.


On this page, you will find the best 101 Chrome extensions for all your browsing needs. We’ve taken the effort to categorize the extensions and picked only those we believe to be the best ones and which will most likely be useful to you.
By Category:
Bookmarking Browsing Aids Developers Email
Maps / Weather Mobile Music / Video News / Feeds
Productivity Security Shopping Social Stuff
Tab Management


Bookmarking


Diigo
A perfect tool for students/researchers. Diigo lets you highlight, sticky, share and save web pages for organization. Download
Read Later Fast
Read selected content both online and offline. It includes an excellent interface for organization of content you want to save quickly and easily. Download
Xmarks
Xmarks syncs your data across both computers and browsers. With Xmarks, you’ll also be just a few clicks away from your bookmarks, passwords and tabs. Download



Browsing Aids


Autopager
With Autopager, the next page on a website is loaded automatically as you scroll. Won’t work with every site but is compatible with many, including The New York Times, Google, and Amazon. Download
Clickable Links
This extension automatically detects and turns any link text into a hyperlink. Download
Download Assistant
Download Assistant lets you use third party download managers in place of the default manager in Chrome. Download
FlashBlock
As the name suggests, this extensions will block Flash from running in Chrome. You can whitelist sites, however, so that Flash isn’t blocked when it is crucial. Download
Goo.gl URL Shortener
This handy extension lets you shorten URLs with Google URL shortener from the browser itself. Download
Hover Zoom
Hover Zoom solves this by making images larger when you hover your cursor over them. Download
Scroll to Top Button
This button scrolls to the top of an open web page, instantly. That’s about all there is to it, but that’s enough to make it useful. Download
Plain Clothes
Plain Clothes reduces webpages to a less attractive, but simpler, format. Download
Stylish
Stylish lets a user add their own style elements to a website and the save them. The opposite of Plain Clothes. Download
Readability
This extension cuts fancy features and sexy styles and enhances the text, but only when you want it to. Download
Bubble Translate
Bubble Translate allows you to translate specific text on a web page immediately. Download
Google Dictionary by Google
Want to know what that word means? Just double click! A definition will appear in a pop-up bubble. A number of major languages are supported. Download



Developer Tools


colorPicker 0.9
ColorPicker 0.9 lets you experiment with colour and hex codes. Download
IETab
IETab helps developers who enjoy Chrome see what their sites look like in IE. Simple, but crucial. Download
Image Properties Context Menu
Displays the properties of an image and makes that information easier to access. Download
IP Address
With this extension, you can find out your IP in the blink of an eye. Download
PageRank Status
What’s the PageRank of your site? This extension will help you keep track of your site’s performance from the Chrome toolbar. Download
Pendule
Consider Pendule to be a toolbox. It can validate code, disable style elements on the fly, show hidden page elements, and much more. Must-have for serious developers. Download
QR Code Generator
Want to let a visitor send something to their mobile device? This extension will create QR codes with no fuss. Download
Speed Tracer (by Google)
Web page performance can impact its ranking in Google. This tool will help you see how your site’s load times fair, and provide what you need to find the culprits behind slow performance. Download
WhatFont?
See a font that you like? Use WhatFont and discover what font it is in seconds. Download
Zemanta
Zemanta is a blogging dashboard designed for bloggers who frequently make reference to other online content. It supports popular blog platforms including WordPress, TypePad and Blogger. Download



Email


WiseStamp
WiseStamp makes it easier to send out a signature with your social networking information with all of your emails or just some, if that is what you prefer. Download
Minimalist for Gmail
Allows you to disable entire features, change colors, and more in Gmail. Download
Boomerang for Gmail
Do you know that you need to send an email, but you won’t be near your PC? Boomerang adds email scheduling functionality to Gmail. Download
Mail Checker Plus
Allows Gmail to perform more like a stand-alone client, such as a preview pane and desktop notifications. Download
Offline Google Mail
Another extension that fills the gap between Gmail and traditional email clients. Download
Send From Gmail (by Google)
Allows you to compose email in Gmail whenever you click on an email address. Quite handy, and works smoothly. Download
Rapportive
Rapportive searches and displays available information about your email contact, including their occupation, photo, and even location. Download



Maps and Weather


Full Screen Google Maps
This is an excellent extension lets you make Google Maps full screen. Great for browsing Maps. Download
QR Maps
Need another way to send maps from Google Maps on your computer to your mobile device? QR Maps generates a code that can be read by a smartphone’s camera. Download
Rain Alarm
Thinking of going for a walk, but don’t want to get rained on? Rain Alarm can help by alerting you when precipitation is incoming. It tracks snow, too. Download
Weather Watcher Live
This simple weather extension adds a real-time temperature readout to Chrome, which can be clicked for additional local weather information. Download
Quickrr
Click on the Quickrr icon, enter the search term, and you’ll be directed to Google Maps search results instantly. Download



Mobile


Android Push Contacts
Push, shove, and send contacts from your browser to your phone. You can even send SMS messages straight from your computer. Download
MightyText
Another way to send SMS messages to and from your Android while using Chrome. Requires its smartphone counterpart. Download





Music / Video


Anesidora
Like Pandora? Don’t want to keep it open in a tab while listening? Anesidora can help by building Internet radio straight in to Chrome. Download
Clea.nr Videos
Another un-styling extension focused on YouTube and Amazon video. It eliminates almost everything on a page except for the video itself. Download
Auto HD for Youtube
The name says it all. With Auto HD, you’ll never have to mess with YouTube resolution settings again. Download
Illimutix
Great extension for those who download videos online. It bypasses the free usage restrictions of sites like MegaVideo. Download
Radio Player Live
Bored with Pandora? Radio Player Live is a multi-channel online radio player. You’ll need to download additional plug-ins, but the effort is worthwhile. Download
Turn Off The Lights
This extension solves the problem of videos embedded on light backgrounds with a single mouse click. Download
Xbox Live Dashboard
This Chrome dashboard will let you go on Xbox Live. It includes a friends list and allows for reading and replying to messages. Download
YouTube Options
No surprises here. With YouTube Options you’re able to make change how the site looks or disable certain video features, such as annotations. Download
Easy YouTube Downloader
Download any video from YouTube s MP3, high definition MP4, or FLV. Adds a download button to YouTube video pages. Download



News and Feeds


Feedly
This extension organizes feeds into an attractive thumbnail-and-headline centered format. Download
Google Alerter
Need to be notified of the latest events from multiple sources? Google Alerter draws information from Google Reader, Gmail, Voice and Wave at once. Download
iReader
Despite the name, this as nothing to do with Apple. It’s a reader that strips out extraneous page elements and allows users to view multiple feeds at once. Download
NewsSquares
This feed reader organizes feeds visually in your web browser. It’s the most attractive reader around, very functional. Download
RSS Subscription Extension (by Google)
A must-have for anyone who uses RSS. Automatically places a RSS subscription button in the browser when you visit a page that supports RSS. Download
Unburner
Unburner removes junk data from RSS subscriptions. You’ll no longer have to slog through Feedburner code you don’t need to see. Download
Minimalist for Google Reader
Minimalist for Google Reader can significantly clean up the interface and completely customizable. Download



Productivity


Send to Google Docs
This extension lets you save websites using your Google Account and sends it to Google Docs and is thus accessible from any PC. Download
StayFocused
StayFocused can help by providing an on-screen timer and alerting you when you’ve wasted more time than you’d wanted. Download
Sumo Paint
Sumo Paint is a web-only image editor. It is free, quick, and acts as a real web app. Download
Time Tracker
Logs how much time you spend on various websites. Keeps track of your productivity if you don’t have a boss leering over your back. Download
Write Space
This text editor is easy to use, and the app is entirely self-contained and offline, so it can be used at any time on any computer with Chrome. Download
Webpage Screenshot
Takes a PNG/JPG image of a website which can then be shared. Because it captures an image, the content you share can’t be changed, altered or taken down. Download
Minimalist for Google Calendar
Much like the Gmail extension, Minimalist offers a wide range of customizations for Google Calendar. Download
Awesome Screenshot
Awesome Screenshot makes it possible to capture all or part of a webpage as an image, then annotate or apply basic edits if you desire. Download
Cloud Save
Save online content using the cloud service or services of your choice. Save links, images and more by right clicking and using the new menu option. Download
Quick Note
Quick Note allows you to type and organize notes online, then access them on other computers with your Diigo account. Download
Mega Button
Mega Button acts a simple interface improvement that makes many features of Chrome accessible from a single “mega” button. Download
Smooth Gestures
Smooth Gestures makes it even easier to navigate your browser through mouse gestures. Many functions are available, and gestures can be customized. Download



Security


Click&Clean
This extension clean your hard disk, scan for malware, erase temporary files, and much more. Download
Ghostery
Ghostery takes the veil off the web, exposing tracking cookies, hidden page elements, and much more. Download
Hide My Ass! Web Proxy
Sometimes you may want to bypass site restrictions or browser the web anonymously. Hide My Ass! can help by sending your connection through a proxy server. Download
LastPass
Saves and encrypts your passwords on the LastPass web server. Log in to websites with a single click. Download
Personal Blocklist (by Google)
Frankly, this should be included by default. It adds the ability to block websites that you find suspicious (or just annoying) at any time. They’ll no longer appear in search results. Download
ScriptNo
Tired of websites running scripts without permission? ScriptNo can fix that by blocking some or all of them. Download
ViewThru
With ViewThru, you’ll be able to see the full site URL before clicking on any shorted link, which can be a huge benefit in terms of security. Download
Web of Trust
Web of Trust rates websites based on the experiences of others, so you can avoid sites that are known to be harmful and stick to those known to be legit. Download



Shopping


Add to Amazon Wish List
Wse this extension to add anything you want to your Amazon wish list. Wish List is also available on most smartphones via Amazon’s mobile app. Download
Currency Converter
Looking to buy something from a store that doesn’t use your currency? Currency Converter supports most world currencies and can convert to multiple currencies at once. Download
eBay Extension for Chrome
This official eBay extension is essential for anyone who uses the site frequently. It notifies you have new bids, allows for easy auction monitoring, and much more. Download
Ookong
Of the several Amazon price trackers on the market, this is the best. It provides a clear and accurate price history for items on Amazon. Download
PriceBlink
PriceBlink’s big advantage is that it is cross-platform and cross-store. It will help you find pricing on products from multiple stores. Download



Social Stuff


Amplify
Amplify lifts character limits in social networks and makes it easier to share blog posts. And as a bonus, clips you share can be viewed later in the Amplog. Download
Buffer for Chrome
Buffer helps by putting your tweets in a queue and sending them out over time. You can write many tweets at once, and then have them sent throughout the day. Download
Facebook for Chrome
This unofficial extension brings Facebook features to the Chrome interface. Must-have for anyone who frequently checks the news feed or uses the chat features. Download
No Theater Facebook Image Gallery
Removes the newer Facebook Image Gallery in favor of the older solution, where each image was displayed on its own page. Download
Pigeon Carrier
Pigeon Carrier makes it possible to share files over Twitter using your Dropbox account. Share files in your tweets by clicking the Add Attachment button. Download
Reddit Companion
A must-have for any Reddit fan, this extension places site functions such as vote, save and more in the Chrome interface. Download
Replies and More for Google+
Want to reply to someone who has posted an update on Google+? This extension adds Reply and Reply to Author links, as well as a few other seemingly random enhancements. Download
Silverbird
Once installed, Silverbird makes it possible to access Twitter functions from a button in the Chrome interface. Download
Shareaholic
This simple link sharing extension can connect with a number of social networking services including Facebook, Twitter, Evernote and more. Download
Surplus
Surplus provides access to Google Plus in Chrome through an interface button. Desktop notifications are also available. Download
TweetDeck
Another alternative Twitter interface, TweetDeck works in full screen and re-arranges the interface so you can see more at once. Download
G+me for Google+
Like Google+, but feeling a bit overwhelmed by the updates to your stream? G+me simplifies this by making comments collapsible. Also adds notification features that will help you stay informe. Download
eBuddy Web Messenger
Just a nice, unified web messenger built in to Chrome. It supports Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo!, FaceBook Chat, AIM and more. Download



Tab Management


MuteTab
It lets you mute audio from as many tabs as you’d want, so you can listen to what you want to without interference from other sites. Download
Reload All Tabs
Reloads all open tabs. Obviously, that’s much quicker than reloading each tab individually, so this is a must-have for serious tabaholics. Download
TabCloud
Tab Cloud lets you transfer your browsing session from one computer to another. You can also see saved sessions with a built-in interface. Download
Tabs Expose
This extension provides an alternative tab interface that includes thumbnail previews. It’s a good choice for users who keep 5-20 tabs open at once. Download
TabsPlus
TabsPlus lets you modify the default behaviors of tabs. You can change what happens when a new tab is opened, or the tab Chrome will switch to when you close an open tab. Download
Tab Scissors
Snip! Now your single browser window is cut in two. This is an awesome extension for people who need to compare websites or online documents side-by-side. Download
TooManyTabs
Designed for people who keep 20+ tabs open at a time, this extension offers a unique tiled tab interface, tab search, tab restore, and much more. Download
Speed Dial
Speed Dial replicates the functionality of the New Tab page, but allows for customization. Specific sites can be added or removed. Download