There are well over 100,000 Chrome browser extensions available, offering over 100,000 ways to customize (and hopefully improve) your browsing experience. Which ones are worth using? We asked some of ExpressVPN’s employees what’s found on their own Chrome browsers.
Chrome add-ons used by ExpressVPN employees
We’ve excluded extensions that people use to help with hyper-specific work tasks. Also note that we are not affiliated with any extensions listed here—we just like to share tech we love. Always read privacy policies to ensure you’re comfortable with how your data is handled before using a product.
Simple = Select + Search
A more efficient way to search
With this extension, you can highlight a few words, right-click, and directly choose a search engine to search in. This doesn’t just mean Google, Bing, etc. You first set it up with your preferred search services, with choices like Amazon, BBC, IMDb, Wikipedia, YouTube, etc. Recommended by Marcus T.
Honey
Automatic coupon notifications
Take the hassle out of finding a coupon code for shopping sites every time you get ready to check out. This extension shows a popup in the corner of your window when it finds a coupon code that you can apply for the site you’re browsing. Recommended by Katie W.
Momentum
A beautiful homepage to inspire your day
The Momentum extension lets you customize your homepage—what appears when you open a new tab—in a way that encourages productivity. It uses beautiful images of nature, gives you an inspirational quote, lets you specify an area of focus for the day, offers a to-do list, and more. It’s both lovely to look at and useful. Recommended by Lauren HP.
Library Scan: OverDrive + Goodreads
Find the books you want to read
This extension helps you quickly find out if your local library (or other library you have access to) carries a book in their OverDrive digital library. OverDrive is a platform for borrowing ebooks and audiobooks. Specifically, Library Scan checks for the books listed in your shelved titles on the platform Goodreads. Recommended by Andre L.
Dark Reader
While you can set your operating system and specific apps to dark mode, not all websites offer it. This extension transforms any website interface to display in dark mode. Just turn on the extension, and those glaring pages will go dark, giving your eyes a reprieve. Recommended by Marcus T.
OneTab
Does your Chrome window frequently have dozens of tabs? You’re not alone. Click on this extension’s icon, and it will convert all the tabs into a list of links. At a later point, you can restore all the tabs at once or individually. This saves memory, which could potentially mean a faster-running computer. Recommended by Tim P.
Return YouTube Dislike
YouTube removed “dislike” ratings toward the end of 2021, making it harder for users to glean the actual sentiment surrounding a video or topic. This extension brings back the the number of “dislikes” on videos, using archived dislike ratings from before they were removed while also inviting the extension users to smash that thumbs-down button (or the like button, as the case may be) to register an alternate tally of people’s feelings about a video. Recommended by Samuel G.
Picture-in-Picture Extension
Watch a video in your corner of your screen
Keep watching a video in a floating window while you do other tasks. It works with all kinds of streaming sites. It certainly can make mundane life admin a little less tedious. That said, many reviewers lament that it’s not possible to perform basic controls like pause or play within the floating video window. Recommended by Tim P.
Reddit Enhancement Suite
Set up Reddit exactly how you like it
This popular extension among Reddit users provides many extra features while you peruse the front page of the internet. These include dark mode, choosing how the posts are sorted, and hiding things that aren’t relevant to you. Notably, Reddit Enhancement Suite works with “old Reddit,” which refers to the way Reddit looked before a major redesign in 2018. This is why it’s best to use this extension with another one, Old Reddit Redirect, which ensures you load the old design. Recommended by Andre L.
SponsorBlock for YouTube
Skip over boring and annoying parts of YouTube videos
We all know how it goes: You’re watching an influencer on YouTube talk about a topic you’re interested in but they suddenly veer off and start reciting some words about a product they’ve been paid to promote. Well, with this extension, you can skip that section. It also lets you skip intros, outros, non-music sections of music videos, and other parts of YouTube people would be inclined to cut through. The service relies on crowdsourced information, with users helping to mark where the extraneous sections start and end. Recommended by Katie W.
Marinara: Pomodoro Assistant
Time yourself as you work and play
If you find it challenging to stay focused on work or some other task, this extension aims to help by letting you schedule short and long breaks and counting down work time with a timer. Recommended by Tim P.
Tactiq
Transcribe all your video meetings
Easily keep track of what’s been discussed in meetings. Install this extension and it will transcribe your video calls on Google Meet, Zoom, MS Teams, and Webex. Using ChatGPT capabilities, it can also generate meeting summaries. Recommended by Katie W.
aB Fish
Add a relaxing koi pond to the top of your Chrome window with this extension. Choose the number of fish you’d like to see swimming around and customize their color. Periodically drop in some fish food and watch them swim toward it. Recommended by Greg G.
May we also suggest…
While you find entertainment and greater productivity through the help of Chrome extensions, make your life easier with our two add-ons:
ExpressVPN Chrome extension
This VPN Chrome extension controls the ExpressVPN app on your computer. This means you don’t have to interrupt your browsing session when you want to turn your VPN on or off, change server locations, or change settings.
ExpressVPN Keys Chrome extension
ExpressVPN Keys is a full-featured password manager that comes included with an ExpressVPN subscription. It lets you store all your passwords in one place so you just have to remember one primary password. When it comes to security, it uses zero-knowledge encryption, which means even we don’t have access to your logins. While you have Keys on your ExpressVPN app on your phone, it comes in handy as a Chrome password manager extension for signing in to any sites and services on your desktop computer.
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