You can transform your Chromebook into a virtual powerhouse with the addition of browser extensions, all available free of charge from the Chrome Web Store. We’ve scoured the internet and found the very best Chrome extensions for your Chromebook.

Some add-ons cannot coexist with each other on the same Chromebook. For example, if you install two extensions that modify the Chrome New Tab page, one will override the other.

Buffer

The Buffer Google Chrome extension makes posting to various social media sites a breeze. Use the Chrome extension on any page to instantly blast your feeds with that URL or schedule it to post later.

  • Works with multiple social channels.

  • Analyzes social activity.

  • Provides statistics.

  • Limited to three accounts.

  • Cannot manage other peoples’ accounts.

  • Must add images manually.

Checker Plus for Gmail

There’s a reason why Checker Plus is rated nearly five out of five and has over one million users. It’s the perfect Gmail companion for the Chrome browser.

  • Manage emails without visiting Gmail.

  • Supports a do not disturb mode.

  • Customization options.

  • Not included in Chrome.

  • Must allow automatic Google updates.

  • Shortcut keys might not work as expected.

This Chrome extension keeps tabs on your email so that you don’t have to. It sits at the top of the browser with an unread count. You can click it to see all your emails without opening the full Gmail web page.

CrxMouse Chrome Gestures

Mouse gestures, which are sometimes in subcategories such as rocker and wheel gestures, let you perform virtually any action with the browser with a movement or click of the mouse—or a combination of the two.

  • Simple web page navigation.

  • Fully customizable gestures.

  • Export configuration information for another browser​.

  • Some users report spyware.

  • Sometimes, actions go off before you’re done.

  • The learning curve.

Whether it’s refreshing the current site, moving to another tab, scrolling to the bottom or top of the page, or other every day and not-so-common actions, the CrxMouse extension provides the ability to perform these actions with quick and easy gestures.

Downloads

One of the more straightforward Google Chrome extensions, Downloads is the perfect example of a developer setting out to accomplish a single task and then achieving that goal.

  • Streamlines downloading.

  • Easy shortcuts.

  • User-friendly.

  • No customizations.

  • Limited functionality.

  • Can’t disable the Chrome download bar.

There are no bells and whistles here, only a button added to the Chrome browser that opens a list of your downloaded files in a new tab.

Evernote Web Clipper

The Evernote service lets you maintain a virtual workspace containing notes, lists, photos, articles, and other documents in one centralized location.

  • Clip the whole page or selected text.

  • Image screenshots can be taken in place of clipping the whole page.

  • Supports keyboard shortcuts.

  • Occasionally hangs.

  • Saving can be buggy.

  • No option for multiple highlight colors.

The Evernote Web Clipper extension lets you easily clip articles, images, and other web page content from within the Chromebook browser. It saves content to your Evernote workspace or you can share your notes with other users in an instant using the Work Chat feature.

FireShot

One of the most powerful screenshot tools available for Chromebook users is FireShot. This Google Chrome add-on lets you capture and save full web pages as an image file.

  • Capture a complete page or a selected area of a page.

  • Save as PNG, JPG, or PDF.

  • Can email images.

  • The print button makes printing easy.

  • Set up a custom hotkey to run FireShot.

  • Only Gmail is supported when emailing the screenshot.

  • Annotation and the option to export to other programs, requires the pro version.

Google recently introduced a new Screen Capture tool available in the Quick Settings menu of Chrome OS. Saved screens and recordings are stored in a new space called Tote. This might make the FireShot extension a bit redundant, unless you like its additional features.

Google Arts & Culture

If you’re a museum buff, Google Arts & Cultural brings collections and exhibits from across the globe to your living room or office. This extension shows a new image from the collections in every tab.

  • Shows a different image for every open tab.

  • Change the setting to show the same image all day, then show a new one the next day.

  • A link to more information about the artist displays on the tab.

  • Can enable a button on a new tab page that lists the most visited sites.

  • No option to save the images.

HTTPS Everywhere

With the HTTPS Everywhere Chrome extension, many websites that natively use HTTP automatically switch to HTTPS.

  • Improves security and privacy.

  • Easy to disable.

  • Blocks unencrypted requests.

  • Can’t exclude certain sites from using HTTPS.

  • Reduces functionality on some sites.

  • Update pop-ups can be annoying.

It doesn’t work on all sites and can cause some to render or behave erratically. However, it’s an excellent option to have from a privacy and security standpoint, and you can toggle it on or off quickly.

  • Set prices for alerts.
  • Multiple alerts options.
  • Shows price history.

Looper for YouTube

Want to play your favorite song over and over on YouTube? You’re not alone, which is why hundreds of thousands of people use the Looper for YouTube add-on to set videos to play again and again without pressing any buttons.

  • Loop videos automatically or manually.

  • Set loop duration.

  • Auto-set the video quality to any resolution.

  • Some settings are experimental.

  • Can be buggy.

  • The icon sometimes disappears.

Magic Actions for YouTube

The Magic Actions extension does a great job of adding all of the functionality that you wish YouTube offered, as well as enhancements to the website’s interface that include dozens of attractive themes and different modes for day and night viewing.

  • Videos can be set to wide automatically.

  • Control with mouse or touch gestures.

  • Supports video filters.

  • Options can be overwhelming.

  • The learning curve.

  • Pop-ups can be annoying.

Updated frequently and used by millions of Chrome users, Magic Actions for YouTube is a substantial addition to your Chromebook extension library.

Momentum

Momentum is an extension that replaces the Chrome New Tab page with custom content, with an inspirational twist.

  • Built-in To Do list.

  • Displays motivational quotes.

  • Displays major goal on new tabs.

  • Limited options in the free version.

  • Can interfere with bookmarks.

  • Cannot customize quote images.

Accompanied by sometimes stunning background images and the current time and weather, Momentum incorporates a few other tactics to encourage you throughout the day.

In addition to helping you get organized, this extension can also provide an extra mental boost to get you moving in the right direction.

OneTab

OneTab is the easiest way to reduce usage in Chrome by gathering all your open tabs into one single tab.

  • Saves memory in Chrome.

  • Can open when Chrome is launched.

  • Use independently of other Chrome instances.

  • Doesn’t back up open tabs.

  • The location on the page is not saved.

  • Limited support.

When tabs are consolidated into one area, you can open a tab but the tabs don’t take up as much memory as when open in individual tabs because Chrome doesn’t identify these consolidated tabs as regular tabs.

Panic Button

PanicButton is a button that you click when you’re in panic mode and need to hide whatever you’re doing in Chrome. All open tabs are saved when you click this button and can be retrieved when the coast is clear.

  • Activated with custom keyboard shortcut.

  • Set custom pages to open.

  • The advanced protection option.

  • May remove tabs when hidden tabs come back.

  • The password is visible in the Temp folder.

  • Limited support.

Hover Zoom+

Some images are really small, which is where Hover Zoom+ excels. Install this Chrome extension to instantly see a larger version when you hover the mouse over a picture.

  • Set the zoom factor.

  • Websites can be safelisted.

  • Several advanced options.

  • Doesn’t work with all sites.

  • Some images on supported sites don’t enlarge.

  • GIFs can be problematic.

Pushbullet

Pushbullet is a must-have extension for Chromebook if you like to share content between your computer and phone. This extension might sit in Chrome but it makes communication between your devices seamless.

  • Quickly send links and files to a phone.

  • View and reply to text messages from Chromebook.

  • Reply to messages from other apps.

  • Only compatible with Android.

  • Sometimes dismisses notifications.

  • Crashes often for some users.

Google recently introduced a feature to Chrome OS called Phone Hub, which offers many of the same features as Pushbullet. You can receive and respond to texts on your Chromebook, check your phone’s battery life, turn on your phone’s mobile hotspot, and more.

RSS Feed Reader

If you like to digest as much content as possible, you need an RSS reader like this one. RSS Feed Reader tells you about new feeds from the top of Chrome so that you’re always aware of what’s happening on your favorite websites.

  • Supports filters.

  • Mark articles as read or unread.

  • Works on iOS and Android.

  • Doesn’t show thumbnails in the extension pop-out.

  • No sidebar with the latest items.

  • Dark Mode is premium.

Session Buddy

Session Buddy is the easiest way to stow away your open tabs to reopen those tabs quickly any time you need. However, unlike other extensions that can also do this, Session Buddy keeps track of your past sessions.

  • Save and access unlimited past sessions.

  • Easy to use.

  • Can organize tabs into separate sessions.

  • Uses excessive memory.

  • No cloud sync.

  • Occasionally buggy.

What does this mean? If Chrome crashes, or if your Chromebook shuts off without warning, you can get those open tabs back again.

Shortcuts for Google

Since you’re a Chromebook user, there’s an excellent chance that you use several Google services such as Gmail and Google Drive.

  • Supports over 500 services.

  • A small memory footprint.

  • Managing services is easy.

  • Shortcuts can’t be removed from the button.

  • Dragging can be buggy.

  • Update pop-ups can be annoying.

This add-on for Chrome can access most Google services, even the lesser-known ones, from a pop-out window accessible on the Chrome browser’s main toolbar.

Speed Dial

Fans of the Opera browser might recognize the name of this Chrome extension, whose feature set is similar. Speed Dial lets you customize the browser’s New Tab page in several ways.

  • Provides visual bookmarks.

  • Recently closed tabs can be shown.

  • Many options to tweak.

  • Settings aren’t intuitive.

  • Can be buggy.

  • The background isn’t customizable.

Todoist

Keeping track of everything you need to get done daily can sometimes prove more daunting than the actual tasks. The Todoist extension solves that, organizing a hectic schedule into a neat, easy-to-use HTML5 interface, accessible from the Chrome browser.

  • Create tasks manually.

  • Create tasks from highlighted text.

  • Easy to set reminders.

  • It’s a mini window for the Todoist app.

  • Sometimes glitchy.

  • Can hang.

Turn Off the Lights

This Chromebook extension lets you watch videos in the browser more easily by dimming the outer areas of the page like text and other content so that you can focus on the video. This visual effect can be toggled on and off from the lamp button in the toolbar.

  • Works on variety of websites.

  • Adjust on a per-site basis.

  • Dim automatically.

  • Some users report spam.

  • Not compatible with all video sites.

  • Can’t dim the address bar.

In addition to the main feature, the Chrome extension also provides other customizable options, including atmosphere lighting, eye protection, and flash detection.

Wikiwand

Widely publicized and with a solid five-star review, the Wikiwand extension gives Wikipedia a complete makeover. It provides access to the same content but in a neater, more attractive format by directing you to the same article that you wish to view, but on the Wikiwand site.

  • Switch between Rich and Minimal view.

  • Bookmark links or text.

  • Articles can be shared.

  • The Definition feature is problematic.

  • “Do not show on websites” is often thrown to a console.

  • Images don’t always appear.

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