16 Best Chrome Extensions for Productivity

Chrome is my go-to web browser just like two-thirds of the desktop users around the world. Whether you’re a student trying to finish your assignments, or a working professional switching between Slack and YouTube, Google Chrome sits at the center of it. It makes sense to use Chrome extensions that can help improve productivity and browsing experience. Let’s check out some of the best Chrome extensions for productivity that we recommend.

Chrome Extensions to Boost Productivity

While using Chrome extensions can help improve workflow, using too many extensions can reduce performance and result in lags. Especially if your system is not powerful enough. We recommend installing only those extensions that you need and disable them when not in use with the help ofextension managers.

1. Hoverzoom+ | Quickly Preview Images Without Clicking

Hoverzoom+ has been an incredibly important part of my Google Chrome experience as it offers an intuitive way of previewing images on the internet. I browse through a ton of images on the internet while looking forstock images and mockups. Hoverzoom+ lets me fetch a full-sized preview and opens it on top of the website, just by hovering over the link. Naturally, this saves me a ton of clicks and I don’t need to open multiple tabs. It’s a must-have.

AddHoverzoom+to Chrome

2. Zoom Scheduler | Schedule Zoom Meetings

Zoom Scheduler is a handy Chrome productivity extension that allows you to schedule meetings and sync events with Google Calendar. The idea is to get a seamless notification on your devices as you would if you were to use Google Meet. Not only the extension would let you schedule a meeting for yourself, but others as well. And there are evenmore Zoom extensionsthat power users can explore.

AddZoom Schedulerto Chrome

3. Sauron | Dark Mode for Google Chrome

The problem with mostdark mode Chrome extensionsis that you just get an inverted webpage where white is replaced with black and so on. Also, images remain the same and that’s why those extensions don’t actually offer a good experience. However, Sauron offers an option to dim the images along with inverting the text and webpage background. It’s better than most Chrome extensions.

AddSauronto Chrome

4. INSSIST | Post to Instagram from Desktop

Instagram is a mobile-first app so much so that there’s isn’t an official app for iPad either. However, you’re able to browse Instagram on desktop but can not upload posts from it. Inssist Chrome extension gives you a mobile interface on a desktop browser with all the features such as posting photos, IGTV, downloading posts, and dark mode. If you’re an Instagram professional who needs to manage your social media on the desktop,Inssist is a decent optionfor Instagram.

AddINSSISTto Chrome

5. Minimal Twitter | Remove Clutter from Twitter

While Twitter is the exact opposite of productivity, I still get the latest updates from reliable sources and most news breaks on Twitter first. I have found the culprit to be the Twitter trends section which bombards you with trends that you don’t even want to know about. Minimal Twitter is a nifty Chrome extension that removes all the unnecessary sections such as Trends, who to follow, etc. After installing the extension, all you get is a nice and clean feed so that you don’t drift off. If you like using Twitter on Chrome, check out theseChrome extensions for Twitter.

AddMinimal Twitterto Chrome

6. Meet Chat Notifications | Get Text-Style Notifications On Google Meet

Google Meet is just as popular as Zoom and is used by thousands of users worldwide. However, one legit problem that I found with Google Meet is that you don’t get any notifications of the Chats. If you don’t open the Chat tab, you won’t know of any messages. That’s where Meet Chat Notifications comes to the rescue, it fetches all the latest chat messages and sends those as a Text notification. It’s really convenient and you should check out otherChrome extensions made for Google Meet.

AddMeet Chat Notificationsto Chrome

7. Volume Control for Chrome | Mute a Tab on Chrome

Chrome has removed the option to mute individual tabs and you’re able to only mute a particular site now. This was a complaint by so many users that it gave birth to this extension. You can not onlymute individual tabs on Google Chrome, but can also control the volume of each tab.

AddVolume Control for Chrometo Chrome

8. Google Results Previewer | Hover to Preview a Webpage

Just like Hoverzoom+, I use Google Results Previewer to preview links without opening countless tabs. It sits neatly on the extensions area and you just need to hover over any Google results link to load the page. It comes in handy when you need to quickly gloss over a number of results for your work or assignment.

AddGoogle Results Previewerto Chrome

9. Google Keep Chrome Extension | Add Stuff to Google Keep Directly

Google Keep is a fantastic note-taking app for users who rely on Google apps. It’s fast, lets you take notes in different formats, and deeply integrates with Google apps. With this Chrome extension for Keep productivity, you’re able to quickly add any page to Google Keep from the right-click menu. Whether it’s a webpage, text, or an image, you can save those to Google Keep in a jiffy. You should also check out theChrome extensions for Google appsif you use them extensively.

AddGoogle Keep Chrome Extensionto Chrome

10. Boomerang | Schedule your Email on Gmail

AddBoomerang for Gmailto Chrome

11. Prioritab | Visualize the Day

There are days when I am left wondering how quickly the hours went by. Proritab is aChrome extension to manage new tabs. It shows information such as the current date and time, a percentage of the day elapsed, etc. The productivity extension for Chrome also shows a to-do list that’s minimal and sleek looking.

AddPrioritabto Chrome

12. GoFullPage | Capture Full Page Screenshots

All desktop OS have their own way of capturing screenshots natively. For example, macOS has CMD+Shift+4 and Windows has Win+Shift+S keyboard shortcut. However, none of the OS can take a full-page screenshot of a webpage. GoFullPage is a Chrome extension that lets you capture an entire webpage with a click of a button. Once it starts capturing, wait for it to finish, and then you can simply download the PDF with the screenshot inside. We have talked aboutChrome extensions that bring more featuresto the table when it comes to taking screenshots.

AddGoFullPageto Chrome

13. FocusMe | Pomodoro for Google Chrome

Pomodoro is one the most effective productivity strategies out there and FocusMe puts a Pomodoro Timer right in your Chrome browser. It’s got a simple interface where you may adjust both your work time and break time. Once the timer begins, you begin work and receive a notification when it’s time to take a break.

AddFocusMeto Chrome

14. Time Your Web | Track Your Internet Usage

Tracking time on Chrome with extensionscan be an effective way of accurately managing time but Time Your Web is a little different. Instead of logging your productivity, it measures the time spent on websites. If you have multiple tabs open, it would only count time for active tabs or one that you have currently open. You can export the data collected by the productivity extension in a Flow chart, stack chart, and summary.

AddTime Your Webto Chrome

15. Grammarly | Fix Your Grammatical Mistakes in Chrome

Grammarly is truly one of the most important Chrome extensions for productivity one must have at all times. It’s lightweight, doesn’t interfere with websites or apps, and only suggests possible mistakes that you have made in your email or essay. I say this as a writer that you can never proofread your work enough and Grammarly would surely make it a lot easier. It’s free with limited features and costs $12/month.

AddGrammarlyto Chrome

16. StayFocusd | Block out Distractions on Chrome

Blocking unnecessary distractions on Chrome gets really simple with StayFocusd. It’s a Chrome extension designed to keep you focused and block out distractions with a single mouse click. It’s fully customizable and you can choose active days, active hours, daily reset time, blocked or allowed sites, and a nuclear option. The good thing about the extension is that you don’t need to manually open each site to block it as it already lists all the usual suspects.

AddStayFocusdto Chrome

Which Is Your Favorite Chrome Extension for Productivity

These are some of the Chrome extensions that I really appreciate exist. All of the extensions aim to boost your productivity by improving your existing workflow. StayFocusd and Hoverzoom+ are absolutely essential to my workflow. How about you? What are your favorite Chrome extensions for productivity? Let me know on Twitter.

Works as an in-house Writer at TechWiser and focuses on the latest smart consumer electronics. Closely follows the latest trends in consumer IoT and how it affects our daily lives. You can follow him on Twitter. Yes, he sometimes speaks in Third Person.