Apps for all windows

There are plenty of apps available in the Microsoft Store, but the best Windows apps can remain elusive. Calendar apps are a popular choice for those looking to improve productivity, and there are plenty of free apps you can choose from if you don’t want to pay for the privilege.

To help you choose, we’ve put together a list of the best Windows 10 and Windows 11 apps for every user to try out, whether you want better productivity or just seek to be entertained. And if you’re on the other side of the aisle and want to know the best Mac apps, we’ve got you covered there too.

Best Windows apps in 2025

• Duolingo
• Dropbox
• Microsoft To Do
• Microsoft OneNote
• Microsoft Sticky Notes
• Backiee — Wallpaper Studio 10
• Rambox
• Slack
• Fresh Paint
• Open Live Writer
• Autodesk SketchBook
• Fused
• Adobe Photoshop Express
• VLC Media Player
• Spotify
• Netflix
• Audible
• Pandora
• Xbox
• Instagram
• WhatsApp
• Discord
• Flipboard
• Microsoft News
• MSN Weather
• OneLocker Password Manager
• Dashlane

Best Windows apps for productivity

Картинка с сайта: www.digitaltrends.com

Duolingo

Trying to brush up on your language skills? Need a little bit of help for a language class? Planning on a trip to a foreign country? This free app may be exactly what you need to prepare. It’s a language learning app with tons of gamification, along with plenty of rewards and achievements for a variety of quizzes. The app’s ultra-casual nature means you can use it for minutes at a time and still learn something, so why not give it a try?

Dropbox Cloud Storage

Are you looking for one of the best Windows apps for cloud storage? Well, not everyone needs or uses OneDrive, which is included in Windows 10. If your business or school prefers Dropbox as the cloud storage solution of choice, well, there’s an app for that. This slick piece of software allows you to view your pictures or videos using a grid — or as a list when dealing with documents. The free-to-use Basic plan gets you 2GB of free storage, and it’s only a few dollars to get a lot more than that if you need it.

Microsoft To Do

If you don’t already have an app for planning, making lists, and collaborating, then Microsoft To Do is a great option for you, as it can really help improve your productivity and scheduling. It might even help reduce stress. It comes with a My Day view feature, which has a daily planner with recommended tasks. Other cool features include setting up grocery lists and a dark mode.

Microsoft OneNote

OneNote is a note-taking app designed to integrate completely with the Microsoft 365 system, with excellent support for all levels of note-taking. Do you want a digital binder filled with different notebooks for specific topics? No problem. Do you want to sketch out some new design ideas? Never been simpler. You also can insert web videos or add files.

In addition to content creation, the app supports excellent sharing options for colleagues and robust collaboration features that include freeform highlighting and annotation.

Skype for Windows

Skype remains one of the most popular chat clients for long-distance communication, and it’s another example of an app that integrates very well with Windows 10. Chances are good that, if you’re already using a video chat service at home or work, you know exactly what to download. But if you haven’t done much video chatting in the past and want to explore this type of communication with friends and family, Skype is a great place to start, and you should give this app a chance.

A version of Skype is already integrated with Windows, but the official desktop app also allows you to share pictures, opt in for translation, and share your screen for troubleshooting purposes.

Microsoft Sticky Notes

This app lets you create digital sticky notes as reminders, and then place them on your desktop screen. The latest version comes with a few new tools as well, including the ability to add images to your notes, use the Surface Pen to create handwritten notes and work in dark mode. You can even sync your notes across apps and devices.

Backiee — Wallpaper Studio 10

Yes, a wallpaper app can be a productivity app, too — especially when you find out how much time it saves on your 4K background hunt. This app offers top-notch, high-resolution background wallpapers that you can change with a click without depending on sketchy sources online. Wallpapers go up to 8K resolution, and you can apply a lot of different search filters to find the wallpaper you want, making this an easy recommendation for new Windows users.

Rambox

Already have a lot of apps to juggle? Rambox is here to help: It’s an app-management app, or a “workspace browser” that collects all the apps you use in one spot, no matter where they come from. It supports everything from email apps, to chat tools, to calendars, to social media. The dashboard allows you to instantly search for a specific app, gather your communication apps in one spot to always see if there are any new messages, and favorite or pin the apps you use the most.

However, the real fun begins when you start opening and using apps. The browser space allows you to position multiple apps next to each other so they can be open and active at the same time, just like traditional browser windows on your computer. You even have the ability to create custom apps for the tasks you frequently have.

Slack

Slack is a communication and collaboration platform designed for teams and organizations. It offers a chat-based workspace where users can communicate in real time through channels and direct messages. Slack is known for its versatility and is widely used for business communication, project collaboration, and team coordination. While certain individuals prefer using the web version of the app, it makes a lot of sense to just install the app as it works well with Windows 11’s notifications and Focus Assist mode.

Best Windows creation apps

Картинка с сайта: www.digitaltrends.com

Fresh Paint

Fresh Paint was popular on Windows 8, but it’s even better on Windows 10. The painting application lets you choose from a variety of palettes and activity packs to color in designs or work from the ground up, or you can upload your own art and apply filters or paint in the style of your choice. The software can’t exactly take the place of something like Photoshop — nor should it — but it is fun, and it’s the best Windows app for entertainment. It is a free app and can be especially fun if you have a Windows tablet with a pen, as you can color in between lines, draw, and so much more.

Open Live Writer

Prefer a more desktop-oriented program for sculpting your latest blog entry or web page? Open Live Writer is designed to do just that. Inside you can create text, photo, or video posts, then publish them to your site whenever you want. The app also works with WordPress, TypePad, Blogger, and other website builders.

Autodesk SketchBook

Autodesk SketchBook is a great app tailored for both creative professionals and artists. It provides an extensive toolkit to empower users in crafting exceptional works of art on their PC. The app also offers comprehensive support for touch input, catering to users with touchscreen devices. It also seamlessly integrates with the Microsoft Surface Dial, making it an essential tool for those who own a Surface Studio.

Fused

Want more interesting effects for your photos than the usual apps offer? Before you upload to Instagram, take a look at Fused, which is designed to blend photos into a background and foreground to create different effects. Going into all the ways this can be used would take a long time, but it can make your photos look awesome with the right work. If you like to create your own backgrounds, or just get a thrill out of posting impressive photos, check out what Fused has to offer.

Adobe Photoshop Express

While you may have to pay for access to Adobe’s full suite, there is a free version of Photoshop available for Windows 10, and it’s easily one of the best apps for photo editing. The aptly titled Express gives you limited access to Photoshop’s photo-editing tools, allowing for plenty of customized work. It’s a very useful tool if you’re familiar with Photoshop and want to work on some images but don’t need or want access to the application’s full feature set. Keep in mind that you’ll need an Adobe ID login to make this app work.

Best Windows entertainment apps

Картинка с сайта: www.digitaltrends.com

VLC Media Player

For many users, VLC is an old standby that handles nearly any popular video format you can throw at it. The media player can play pretty much any video file ripped from a common source, including discs and network streaming protocols. If you use a lot of media on your computer, it’s a great addition to your arsenal.

Spotify Music

Spotify is readily accessible through the Windows Store, eliminating the need to download the desktop version for an exceptional music-listening experience. The app offers a comprehensive feature set akin to the Spotify application on any other platform, making it essential for music enthusiasts, including those keen on discovering new music. The app also comes with an elegantly designed user interface, ensuring user-friendliness. It also seamlessly synchronizes all your data across various platforms, enabling you to transition effortlessly from your desktop to your mobile device without skipping a beat.

Netflix

If your computer functions more as an entertainment box than one made for productivity, we suggest downloading the Netflix app so that you can quickly access it directly from your desktop. Netflix also syncs across devices — if you start watching something on your computer, for example, you can finish on your Xbox One. Of course, if you aren’t a Netflix fan, then there are official apps for Hulu and other streaming services as well.

Audible

Audible is a popular audiobook and spoken-word entertainment service offered by Amazon. It allows users to purchase, stream, and download audiobooks, as well as other spoken-word content such as podcasts, radio shows, and original audio content. Audible offers a wide selection of audiobooks across various genres, making it a convenient platform for people who enjoy listening to books or other audio content while on the go.

Pandora

Everyone has their favorite music service, so feel free to substitute whatever app you prefer in here. Pandora has really stepped up with a strong app for both desktop and mobile devices, one that makes it easy to stream your favorite tunes. The app also boasts compatibility with the Xbox One and is generally more Windows-friendly than Spotify.

Xbox

Since Microsoft is working on converging as much Xbox and Windows gameplay as possible, this app comes with some unique features, like the ability to stream games or movies from an Xbox One to your PC. The app also comes with social and sharing features, meaning you can quickly share game clips or join clubs. It is already built into your Windows 10 PC, and there is no need for an extra download.

Best Windows social media apps

Instagram

Картинка с сайта: www.digitaltrends.com

You probably don’t need a reminder to download social apps like Facebook, but we still like to mention Instagram’s Windows app, which provides a lot more functionality than a web page. The app isn’t always updated by Facebook, but it does provide basic access to most Instagram features on the iOS or Android versions of the app. That includes access to Instagram Stories and the Instagram Feed, as well as messages and the search feature. It’s a nice desktop companion with quick social media management tools.

WhatsApp

If you or your friends use WhatsApp, you deserve this clean desktop version that makes it easy to carry on multiple detailed chats at the same time. The app also offers complete syncing so you can pick up conversations on any other device as needed, without worrying that the conversation isn’t updating properly.

Twitter

Twitter is home to late-breaking news and hot takes. You can read and write to everyone from celebs to politicians to your favorite authors posting their thoughts there, for better or worse. It’s also one of the best Windows apps because it loads fast, runs smoothly, and looks and feels like a native app.

Discord

Discord has expanded its horizons beyond the gaming community, although gamers still comprise the largest percentage of its user base. You can use Discord to participate in study groups, enjoy live-streaming video content, or engage in conversations in languages like Latin or ancient Greek right on the platform. Discord hosts vibrant communities catering to developers, musicians, entertainment enthusiasts, and naturally, fans of both major and niche multiplayer games. The user interface is not only sleek, but also thoughtfully crafted for an optimal user experience.

Best Windows news and feed apps

Картинка с сайта: www.digitaltrends.com

 

Flipboard

Flipboard is a news aggregator designed for tile-based exploration and reading, making it a perfect fit for Windows 10. The program has you create a “magazine” filled with stories you choose, based on the themes and sources that best align with your preferences. Then, the app saves your personalizations for the next time you want to check the news. This curation process saves you the time and energy of sorting through every news story to get to the ones that interest you, making it one of the best Windows apps for news.

Microsoft News

Staying informed is crucial, and you can use Windows 10’s Microsoft News app to keep up with all the news you need. After you’ve downloaded it, you can choose which topics you want to receive daily updates about, personalizing your stream of information. Additionally, the team will ensure that you get stories that are accurate and exciting. Whichever news you prioritize, Microsoft News supplies a wide range of topics, reliably sourced, to bring you breaking information on the news that matters most to you. You can even sync your preferences across the web. The app works in 20 different countries and collects content from more than 3,000 publications.

MSN Weather

Paul Simon once said the only news he needs is the weather report. He probably uses MSN Weather.

Microsoft’s own weather app usually comes installed on Windows, but things happen, and sometimes you end up removing it. It is easy to reinstall, thanks to the revamped Microsoft Store. You’ll get up-to-the-minute weather conditions, long-range forecasts, humidity readings, and more. All of it comes on a beautiful graphical interface complete with maps, satellite and radar images, and, of course, animated weather.

Best Windows security apps

Картинка с сайта: www.digitaltrends.com

OneLocker Password Manager

OneLocker is the perfect password manager if you have a lot of passwords to remember. It comes with a jump list, a QR code scanner, templates, and more.

Dashlane

Dashlane remains one of the most popular password manager apps, thanks to its simple setup and easy-to-use design. As per its job description, Dashlane expects you to store every one of your passwords. The security app can handle any number of passwords you may have from as many sources as you want, offering highly efficient organization and steadfast protection. Additionally, it works with Windows 10.

Best free Windows apps

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Windows is absolutely overflowing with fantastic free apps. Many of the best are ones we’ve mentioned above, including WhatsApp, Spotify, Netflix and Instagram. But there are plenty of other great free Windows apps that don’t charge you a penny.

One such free app is ChatGPT, which has quickly established itself as the leading artificial intelligence provider on the planet. Its app gives you access to its AI mind for free, but you can also pay for a premium membership if you want more credits and extra features.

There are a couple of media apps worth mentioning here, namely Audacity and DaVinci Resolve. The former is an audio recorder and editor that comes with tons of powerful tools and export options. The latter is a full-fledged video editor that even the pros enjoy using. You can pay for a more capable upgraded edition, but the free version is more than enough for most people.

Our final pick here is Ninite, which is an app for other apps. What do we mean by that? Well, have you ever installed Windows on a fresh machine and dreaded the thought of having to install all your apps one by one? Ninite solves this problem. Just go to its website, select the apps you want for your next PC, then download the installer. When you run it, it’ll install all the apps you selected automatically, without you needing to lift a finger. It’s a massive time saver.

Best Windows 11 apps

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Windows 11 introduced a new Start menu style, and it’s not for everyone. If you want to go back to the Windows 10 Start menu — or just want more control over how the Start menu works — try Start11 from Stardock. With this app installed on your PC, you have a huge array of options for the Start menu. You can change its position, add tiles, change its search capabilities, and adjust its colors, among many other features.

And while we’re on the topic of tweaking Windows 11, Rectify11 might be up your street. It comes with a vast suite of tools to customize Windows 11 to your liking, and these abilities touch almost every aspect of the operating system. Want to improve Windows 11’s animations? It can do that. Looking to give more power to the right-click menu? Look no further. Need better transparency and color effects? This is the app for you.

Here’s another great app that’s exclusive to Windows 11: QuickLook. As the name suggests, this app is inspired by the similarly named Quick Look feature in macOS. In this app and in macOS, you press the space bar to get a quick preview of the file you’ve clicked, without needing to open it fully. It’s a handy way to view files to check they’re what you’re looking for when you’re pressed for time.

Best Windows 10 apps

Картинка с сайта: www.digitaltrends.com

If you’re still running Windows 10, chances are you have a fairly old machine — or you will in a few years’ time. If it’s a Windows laptop, you’ll want to take care of its battery, and the Battery Mode app will help you do just that. It gives you fine-grained control over your display’s backlighting, a customizable scheduled to help manage your sleep and wake settings, detailed info on your battery health, and a wealth of other handy tools.

And if you’ve decided to stick with a Windows 10 laptop rather than upgrade to Windows 11, it’ll be important to manage your storage space to ensure you can keep using your device as long as possible. Here, WinDirStat can be invaluable. It scans your drives and uses colored blocks to visualize which apps and files are taking up the most space on your machine. It’s a brilliantly quick way to identify space hogs and uninstall them in a flash.

Best Windows apps for students

Картинка с сайта: www.digitaltrends.com

If you’re a student, you’re going to need some apps to organize your work and research. Microsoft 365 is a great way to do this, as not only is it a complete suite of apps, but you can often get it for free through your education provider, or deeply discounted if not. It comes with popular apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, plus OneDrive storage, Microsoft Defender for security, Copilot for AI, and much more.

We also like Zotero, which works as a home for all your research notes. You can save papers and articles from the web and JSTOR, then organize them all into categories or using tags. Once that’s done, you’ll be able to search through your saved research or add citations directly into word processing apps.

Best Windows Android apps

One of the most exciting features of Windows 11 is the fact that it supports Android apps from the Amazon App Store. Initially, there was only a selection of mobile apps and games available for download on Windows 11 but now there are quite a few options to choose from. These include games like Lords Mobile, June’s Journey, Coin Master, and kid’s content like the Kindle app, Khan Academy Kids, and Lego Duplo World.

Again, these Android apps can only be installed if your PC is compatible with the feature. You can check for more information on this over at Microsoft’s website. Most modern hardware released in the last two years should run these Android apps just fine.

Best Win32 apps in the Microsoft Store

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Alongside the incoming option to run Android apps, another signature feature of Windows 11 is the ability to download traditional Win32 apps directly from the Microsoft Store. These are the types of apps that use a .exe installer.

Usually, you’d have to find these apps on a developer’s website, but Windows 11 makes discovery easier by listing select Win32 apps inside the Microsoft Store. Currently, you can find the screen recorder OBS Studio, as well as the popular PDF reader Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. Even Zoom is now listed in the Microsoft Store as a Win32 app.

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

I’ve been a Windows (power-) user for a decade, and throughout the journey, I found tools and apps which made me work more efficiently on Windows. In this article, I categorized these tools under their use cases. All tools are free to use (or freemium with a generous free version), and many of them are even open-source (source code links are provided where applicable).

PS: I switched to Mac (M1 MBP) at starting of 2022. Loving it so far. Someday, I’ll probably write a similar list of tools I use on Mac.

Productivity

Ditto — Clipboard manager

Ditto is a lightweight and feature-rich clipboard manager for Windows. Trigger a hotkey to invoke popup window and paste any of your past clipboard items. It’s a game-changer. Supports images, text transformation on the fly, search, pin items, auto-clear entries, etc. Works in every input field.

• Homepage: https://ditto-cp.sourceforge.io/
• Open-source: https://github.com/sabrogden/Ditto

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

QuickLook — Quick preview

QuickLook enables a quick preview of file contents by just pressing the Spacebar inside File Explorer. It supports images, audio, videos, word, excel, and many other file types.

• Download: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/quicklook/9nv4bs3l1h4s

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

Everything — Instant search for files

Everything lets you locate files and folders by name instantly. Seriously, it’s damn fast (due to indexing) and can be invoked by a hotkey.

• Homepage: https://www.voidtools.com/

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

PhraseExpress — Text expander

No more typing common phrases again. PhraseExpress is a free and highly customizable app to configure global and per-app basis text snippets.

I use it to paste social media URLs, addresses, current date and time, current IP address, etc.

Few more features:

• a powerful Macro Recorder to record and playback repetitive tasks
• Forms filler with dynamic inputs
• System-wide spelling correction
• Clipboard manager
• Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux
• Download: https://www.phraseexpress.com/download/

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

Clover — Add tabs to file explorer

Clover is a free tool that adds multi-tab functionality to Windows Explorer, similar to the Google Chrome browser.

• Download: http://en.ejie.me/

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

TidyTabs — Add tabs to apps

TidyTabs adds chrome-style tabs to all apps. You can further customize it to disable tabs in certain apps and for full-screen mode.

• Download (Freemium): https://www.nurgo-software.com/products/tidytabs

Stardock Groupy is also a similar (Freemium) app to add tabs to programs: https://www.stardock.com/products/groupy/

PowerToys

PowerToys is an open-source tool from Microsoft that adds multiple useful features like:

• show SVG icons (.svg), Markdown (.md), and PDF file previews in the preview pane in File Explorer
• Instantly resize images via right-click
• bulk rename file names
• Instantly search and launch any app with a shortcut
• Hotkey to globally mute both your microphone and camera when in a video conference (for those embarrassing zoom call moments when every second adds up to it)
• Remap keys and create your own keyboard shortcuts
• Always on Top
• create complex window layouts
• Keep system always awake, color picker
• And more

Download: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/

source-code: https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys

AutoHotkey — Automation scripts

AutoHotkey is an open-source scripting software for Windows that is used to automate repetitive tasks, remap keys, build small utility tools, etc.

See my favorite scripts and how to use them: https://gourav.io/blog/autohotkey-scripts-windows

• Homepage: https://www.autohotkey.com/

RBTray — Minimise apps to system tray

RBTray is a small program that runs in the background and allows windows to be minimized to the system tray by right-clicking its minimize button.

• Homepage (open-source): https://github.com/benbuck/rbtray
• Download: https://github.com/benbuck/rbtray/releases

Advanced Renamer

Advanced Renamer is a batch renamer program that can dynamically rename multiple files and folders at once.

• Homepage: https://www.advancedrenamer.com/

FreeFileSync — Sync files and folders

FreeFileSync is a free and cross-platform (Win, Linux, Mac) to synchronize files and folders. Supports 2-way live sync.

• Homepage: https://freefilesync.org/

Customization

Bing Wallpaper — Dynamic wallpapers

Static desktop background can get boring after some time. Bing Wallpaper (from Microsoft) is a lightweight app that sets a new high-res beautiful image each day as your desktop wallpaper (same as shown on their Bing search page).

• Download: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/bing-wallpaper

NetBalancer — Show internet traffic

NetBalancer shows network traffic in taskbar toolbar. Helpful to keep an eye if some application is consuming massive bandwidth (ahem ahem Windows update). You could also configure it to throttle the internet for some applications.

• Homepage: https://netbalancer.com/

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

Winaero Tweaker

(for advanced users)

Winaero Tweaker is an all-in-one app that comes with dozens of options for fine-grained tuning of various Windows settings and features. For example: Customize context menu, permanently disable Windows Update, customize entries in Navigation Pane in File Explorer, Alt+Tab Appearance, etc.

• Homepage: https://winaerotweaker.com/

(for advanced users)

Multiple tools are available to add/edit/delete entries in your right-click context menu.

• Context Menu Tuner by Winaero: https://winaero.com/context-menu-tuner/
• Easy Context Menu: https://www.sordum.org/7615/easy-context-menu-v1-6/
• ShellMenuView by NirSoft: https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shell_menu_view.html
• ShellExView by NirSoft: https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shell_menu_view.html

TaskbarX — Customize Taskbar

• Homepage: https://chrisandriessen.nl/taskbarx
• Open-source: https://github.com/ChrisAnd1998/TaskbarX

Image viewers and editors

Image Glass — Image viewer

Image Glass is an open-source, lightweight image viewer that supports a wide format of images. It also supports fast switching between images—much more feature-rich than the built-in Windows image viewer.

• Homepage: https://imageglass.org/
• Open-source: https://github.com/d2phap/ImageGlass

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

Paint.net — Image editor

Not to get confused with Windows built-in paint app. Paint.net is an easy-to-use and lightweight image editing software with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of powerful plugins to extend its capabilities.

It has been compared to other digital photo editing software packages such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro, but it’s free and doesn’t suck up all the RAM!

• Homepage: https://www.getpaint.net/

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

GIMP is another popular image editor, but it has a considerable learning curve and an overkill for quick edits.

RIOT — Image optimization

RIOT (Radical Image Optimization Tool) is a free tool to optimize and compress images with live preview (side-by-side).

• Homepage: https://riot-optimizer.com/

Squoosh.app

Squoosh (by Google) is an image compression app that reduces image sizes through numerous formats. It’s technically a web app but can be downloaded as a PWA for offline access as a desktop app. It supports side-by-side live previews of images and the results are indeed impressive.

• Homepage: https://squoosh.app/
• Source-code: https://github.com/GoogleChromeLabs/squoosh

Screen capture

ShareX — Multipurpose

ShareX is probably the most advanced screen capturing, annotating, and recording tool out there for Windows.

You can build your own workflow like a single shortcut for:

• Record GIF of a region → upload it to Imgur → copy upload URL to the clipboard
• Capture screenshot → copy image to the clipboard and save it to a folder

These are just the basic ones I used frequently, but they could get pretty advanced if you’d like.

Apart from capturing screenshots and recording GIF/mp4, it also supports other utility tools like color picker, screen ruler, image editor, file sharing, etc. A must-have tool for designers and web developers.

• Homepage: https://getsharex.com/
• Open-source: https://github.com/ShareX/ShareX

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

ScreenToGif — Screen recorder

ScreenToGif is an open-source, easy-to-use tool that allows you to record your screen, webcam feed, or sketch board drawings. Afterward, you can edit and save the animation as a gif, png, video, psd, or png image.

• Homepage: https://www.screentogif.com/
• Open-source: https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif

Loom — Screen recorder

Loom is a freemium app to record and instantly share video messages of your screen, cam, or both sith others. A popular choice for a collaborative work environment.

• Homepage: https://www.loom.com/

OBS Studio — Live streaming and recorder

OBS Studio is a heavyweight but a popular tool amongst streamers. It’s free, open-source, and a cross-platform software for video recording and live streaming.

• Homepage: https://obsproject.com/
• Source-code: https://github.com/obsproject/obs-studio

Free video editors

Shotcut

https://shotcut.org/ — Free, open-source, cross-platform video editor. It also supports screen and webcam recording.

OpenShot

https://www.openshot.org/ — Another free and open-source video editor.

VSDC

https://www.videosoftdev.com/ — Free suite for editing video and audio files.

Lightweight text editors

Notepad++

Notepad++ is an open-source text and source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages.

• Homepage: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/
• Open-source: https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus

Sublime Text

Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, markup, and prose. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

• Homepage: https://www.sublimetext.com/

Notepad2-mod

Replace the built-in Notepad app with a modified open-source version that adds extra features like advanced Find & Replace, line numbers, Word auto-completion, Syntax highlighting, Code folding.

• Homepage: https://xhmikosr.github.io/notepad2-mod/

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

Local Markdown editors

Local MD editors are editors where 100% of your content is stored in a folder on your local machine, nothing goes out. You could still use external services like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc., to keep your folder backed up.

If you’re looking for online markdown editor apps, there are a few popular ones like Notion (https://notion.so) or Roam Research (https://roamresearch.com/).
New note-taking apps pop out all the time on HackerNews. See latest search results.

Typora

Typora is an excellent markdown editor for writing and exporting content in markdown format. Unlike other markdown editors, it provides inline-preview, which means there is no need to open a side preview pane to see how it looks.

It’s gone paid now (~$15), but it looks like you can continue to use the free trial indefinitely even after the trial period is over.

• Homepage: https://typora.io/

Obsidian

Obsidian is a relatively a heavyweight md editor app as it’s built on top of Electron; however, it’s way more feature-rich, for example, backlinks, graph view, plugins support, etc. Preferred app for those who’re into building an extensive knowledge base, aka the second brain (Zettelkasten ftw!).

• Homepage: https://obsidian.md/

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

RemNote

RemNote is also built on Electron but has unique features like Anki flashcards.

• Homepage: https://www.remnote.com/

WinDirStat — Drive usage

WinDirStat is a free and open-source disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool. Useful to find unnecessary large files taking space on your disk.

• Homepage: https://windirstat.net/
• Open-source: https://sourceforge.net/projects/windirstat/files/

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

Windows10Debloater

(for advanced users)

Windows10Debloater is an app to debloat Windows 10, e.g., remove Windows pre-installed unnecessary applications, stop some telemetry functions, stop Cortana from being used as your Search Index, disable unnecessary scheduled tasks, and more.

• Homepage (Open-source): https://github.com/Sycnex/Windows10Debloater

Bulk Crap Uninstaller

(for advanced users)

BCU is a free tool to bulk uninstall programs with advanced automation. It excels at removing large amounts of applications with minimal to no user input while requiring next to no technical knowledge.

• Homepage: https://www.bcuninstaller.com/
• Open-source: https://github.com/Klocman/Bulk-Crap-Uninstaller

O&O ShutUp10++

(for advanced users)

It’s a free antispy tool for Windows 10 and 11. O&O ShutUp10++ means you have full control over which comfort functions under Windows 10 and Windows 11 you wish to use, and you decide when the passing on of your data goes too far.

• Homepage: https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10

Autoruns — Stop auto-running apps

(for advanced users)

Autoruns allows you to permanently stop programs that start auto-running in the background during startup, thus making your PC slow. This small tool exposes hidden auto-running programs not shown in the Task Manager → Startup tab.

• Homepage: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

SUMo — Software update monitor

SUMo is a free tool that quickly scans your machine for out-of-date software, lists them all, and then provides options to update them.

• Download: https://www.kcsoftwares.com/?sumo

Advanced Task Managers

Below are some good alternatives to the built-in Task Manager (ctrl+shift+esc) with more features.

TaskExplorer

(for advanced users)

Task Explorer is an advanced Task Manager tool with emphasis on monitoring what applications are running and finding out what applications are doing.

• Homepage (open-source): https://github.com/DavidXanatos/TaskExplorer
• Download: https://github.com/DavidXanatos/TaskExplorer/releases

Картинка с сайта: gourav.io

Process Explorer by Microsoft

(for advanced users)

Ever wondered which program has a particular file or directory open? Now you can find out. Process Explorer shows you which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded.

• Download: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Uncategorized

Panda Dome — Lightweight Antivirus

Built-in Windows Defender still can’t catch all viruses (especially at run-time). Panda Dome is a lightweight antivirus companion runs in the background and actively provides extra protection.

• Download: https://www.pandasecurity.com/en/homeusers/free-antivirus/

7-Zip — File archiver and encrypter

7Zip is a free and open-source replacement of WinRAR. It supports various formats (zip, rar, tar, gzip, etc.) with a high compression ratio and encryption (password-protected zip/rar files).

• Homepage: https://www.7-zip.org/
• Open-source: https://sourceforge.net/projects/sevenzip/files/

Cut-off internet of other devices

(for advanced users)

Tools that enable you to turn off the internet connection of any devices connected to the same WiFi / LAN network.

• Netcut by Arcai: https://arcai.com/download_netcut/
• Selfishnet: https://www.google.com/search?q=selfishnet+windows

Well, that’s all from my side. Which are your favorite Windows tools?

💬 Discuss on Github

That’s all, folks!