Windows 11 Apps: Top Picks for 2026

While Windows 11 brings a modern Fluent design and built-in features like a tabbed File Explorer, native archive extraction, and Snap Layouts, power users quickly realize that the out-of-the-box experience still leaves a lot to be desired. Whether you need precise window snapping, instant sub-second desktop search, granular per-app audio controls, or deep system customization, the right utilities can transform your PC experience.

To help you set up a fast, productive, and bloat-free system, we have tested and curated the essential Windows 11 apps and utilities for 2026. From open-source power tools to lightweight system monitors, every tool on this list has been verified for compatibility with the latest Windows 11 builds (including 24H2 and 25H2/26H2).

Quick Setup: Core Essentials Cheat Sheet

If you just installed a fresh copy of Windows 11 and want to get straight to work, here is the complete breakdown of the must-have utilities with their official winget package identifiers:

1-Click Terminal Batch Setup

Instead of manually downloading and running setup installers one by one, you can copy and paste the command below into Windows Terminal (PowerShell) to install the core everyday pack automatically:

winget install --id Microsoft.PowerToys -e ; winget install --id M2Team.NanaZip -e ; winget install --id PaddyXu.QuickLook -e ; winget install --id voidtools.Everything -e ; winget install --id ShareX.ShareX -e ; winget install --id File-New-Project.EarTrumpet -e ; winget install --id VideoLAN.VLC -e

1. System Essentials & Power Tools

Microsoft PowerToys

Developed directly by Microsoft as an open-source utility suite, PowerToys is the single most valuable collection of productivity tools available for Windows 11. It fills nearly every workflow gap left by the default operating system.

Highlights include FancyZones (which vastly outperforms standard Windows 11 Snap Layouts by allowing custom multi-window grid configurations), Text Extractor (OCR any unselectable text on your screen with Win + Shift + T), PowerRename (batch file renaming with regex support), Awake (keeps your PC from sleeping on demand), and Paste as Plain Text.

🔗 Download Microsoft PowerToys (GitHub) | Terminal: winget install Microsoft.PowerToys

UniGetUI (formerly WingetUI)

Windows 11 comes with Microsoft’s official package manager (winget), but typing commands into a terminal isn’t for everyone. UniGetUI gives winget, Chocolatey, and Scoop a gorgeous, intuitive graphical user interface.

With UniGetUI, you can search across multiple software repositories, batch-install applications without visiting shady download websites, and update all installed programs on your computer with a single click. It completely replaces legacy bulk installers like Ninite.

🔗 Download UniGetUI | Terminal: winget install SomePythonThings.WingetUIStore

Everything (Voidtools) + EverythingToolbar

Default Windows 11 search is notoriously slow, resource-heavy, and often pushes unwanted Bing web results. Everything indexes your entire hard drive and SSD storage in less than a second, allowing you to locate any file, folder, or document instantly as you type.

Pair it with EverythingToolbar to replace the default Windows 11 taskbar search icon with an instant, zero-lag local search bar.

🔗 Download Everything | Terminal: winget install voidtools.Everything

QuickLook

One of the most praised features of macOS is Quick Look the ability to highlight any file and press the Spacebar for an instant preview. QuickLook brings that exact seamless functionality to Windows 11.

Simply select an image, PDF document, video, MP3, archive, or code file in File Explorer and press Spacebar. The preview opens instantly without launching full standalone programs.

🔗 Download QuickLook | Terminal: winget install PaddyXu.QuickLook

2. File Management & Archiving

NanaZip

While Windows 11 finally added native support for opening basic .tar, .7z, and .rar archives, its built-in tool is sluggish, cannot create encrypted 7z archives, and lacks compression settings. Traditional 7-Zip is fantastic, but its interface looks stuck in 1998 and is hidden under the annoying “Show more options” menu in Windows 11.

NanaZip is an active fork of 7-Zip designed specifically for Windows 11. It integrates directly into the new modern right-click context menu, features Fluent Design aesthetics, and includes high-performance multi-threaded compression algorithms (including Zstandard).

🔗 Download NanaZip | Terminal: winget install M2Team.NanaZip

Files App (Files Community)

If you find the default Windows 11 File Explorer too basic, Files App provides a full modern alternative. It features dual-pane browsing, color-coded file tagging, integrated Git status indicators, cloud drive integration, and rich file previews all wrapped in a clean, customizable Fluent UI.

🔗 Download Files App | Terminal: winget install Files-Community.Files

LocalSend

Sending files between a Windows PC, an Android phone, an iPhone, or a Mac used to mean emailing files to yourself or setting up shared folders. LocalSend is a free, open-source, local-network file transfer app that works like AirDrop across all operating systems.

It requires zero internet connection, sends files at maximum Wi-Fi speeds, has no file size limits, and requires no accounts or cloud servers.

🔗 Download LocalSend | Terminal: winget install Localsend.Localsend

3. Productivity & Screen Capture

ShareX

The built-in Windows 11 Snipping Tool is adequate for simple captures, but ShareX remains the undisputed champion for power users and creators. It offers customizable hotkeys, scrolling webpage captures, screen recording to GIF/MP4, automatic watermarking, pixelation tools for sensitive information, and instant uploading to custom cloud destinations.

🔗 Download ShareX | Terminal: winget install ShareX.ShareX

Notepad++

Windows 11 updated its stock Notepad with tabs and dark mode, but for handling large log files, inspecting configuration scripts (JSON, XML, YAML), or doing multi-line search and replace with regex, Notepad++ is unmatched in speed and reliability.

🔗 Download Notepad++ | Terminal: winget install Notepad++.Notepad++

RustDesk

Legacy remote desktop software like TeamViewer has become increasingly frustrating with aggressive “Commercial use suspected” timeouts and forced accounts. RustDesk is a modern open-source remote desktop client built in Rust. It delivers crisp screen sharing, end-to-end encryption, and smooth remote administration with zero licensing nag screens.

🔗 Download RustDesk | Terminal: winget install RustDesk.RustDesk

4. Hardware Monitoring, Fan & Audio Control

Fan Control (by Rem0o)

Laptop and desktop fans often cycle up and down erratically, especially under light Windows background tasks. Outdated utilities like Notebook Fan Control frequently crash on modern Windows 11 builds. Fan Control is the modern benchmark: it detects all motherboard, CPU, and GPU temperature sensors and allows you to create custom, whispersoft fan response curves.

🔗 Download Fan Control | Terminal: winget install Rem0o.FanControl.App

EarTrumpet

Windows 11 improved the volume slider in Quick Settings, but adjusting individual app audio levels still takes multiple clicks into Settings. EarTrumpet replaces your system tray volume icon with a single-click multi-track volume mixer. You can independently control Spotify, Discord, Chrome, and your active game in seconds.

🔗 Download EarTrumpet | Terminal: winget install File-New-Project.EarTrumpet

HWiNFO64

Older utilities like Core Temp only measure basic CPU package temperatures and often bundle unwanted third-party software in their setup packages. HWiNFO64 is the industry standard for hardware diagnostic telemetry. It provides detailed, real-time readouts for CPU core clocks, GPU memory junction temperatures, NVMe SSD health, and system voltages.

🔗 Download HWiNFO64 | Terminal: winget install REALiX.HWiNFO

5. Media Playback & Image Editing

VLC Media Player or mpv

Windows 11’s default Media Player struggles with certain MKV containers, ASS subtitle styling, and proprietary audio tracks unless you purchase codecs from the Microsoft Store. VLC Media Player is the classic workhorse that plays anything you throw at it. For purists who prefer a minimalist, GPU-accelerated video player with zero interface chrome, mpv is a phenomenal alternative.

🔗 Download VLC (winget install VideoLAN.VLC) | Download mpv (winget install shinchiro.mpv)

Paint.NET

While Microsoft added background removal and layers to the default Paint in Windows 11, it is still too barebones for quick cropping, drop shadows, color balancing, and transparent PNG manipulation. Paint.NET remains the perfect sweet spot between basic Paint and bulky, expensive editors like Photoshop.

🔗 Download Paint.NET | Terminal: winget install dotPDNLLC.paintdotnet

6. System Maintenance, Cleaning & Security

Bulk Crap Uninstaller (BCUninstaller)

Standard Windows 11 “Installed Apps” settings uninstall programs one at a time and frequently leave behind gigabytes of cached data, user roaming files, and orphaned registry keys. BCUninstaller scans your system, detects hidden and leftover software, and can quietly uninstall dozens of programs in sequence while automatically purging all leftover traces.

🔗 Download BCUninstaller | Terminal: winget install Klocman.BulkCrapUninstaller

Bitwarden

Relying on individual web browser password managers locks your credentials into a single browser ecosystem and leaves them vulnerable if your profile gets corrupted. Bitwarden is an open-source, zero-knowledge encrypted password vault. It features seamless Windows Hello biometric unlocking (fingerprint / facial recognition) on Windows 11 and synchronizes smoothly across all your mobile devices.

🔗 Download Bitwarden | Terminal: winget install Bitwarden.Bitwarden

BleachBit

Rather than using bloated commercial “PC Cleaners” that bundle background services and upsell subscriptions, BleachBit is an open-source disk cleanup utility. It safely wipes browser caches, temporary Windows dump files, thumbnail databases, and application logs without touching your personal files.

🔗 Download BleachBit | Terminal: winget install BleachBit.BleachBit

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a third-party defragmenter for Windows 11?

No. Modern Windows 11 computers use NVMe SSDs or SATA solid-state drives. Traditional defragmentation causes unnecessary write cycles that degrade SSD lifespan. Windows 11 handles solid-state maintenance automatically using the TRIM command through built-in Storage Sense (accessible in Settings > System > Storage).

How do I use Winget to update all installed apps?

Open Windows Terminal (PowerShell) and run:

winget upgrade --all

Windows will check repositories for every supported software application on your system and download their latest updates in the background without needing you to click through setup wizards.

Old article (for reference)

Supercharge your PC with the best Windows 11 apps. From PowerToys and NanaZip to QuickLook and Everything, here are the must-have utilities for peak performance.

While Windows 11 offers a clean interface, some users miss features from previous versions. This guide explores essential apps that personalize your Windows 11 experience and unlock its full potential.

While we understand that not everyone wants productivity-specific apps on their system, many of these apps were inspired by our essential apps list. We hope you find this list of 30 popular and useful applications for Windows 11 helpful! We made a wild guess and put together this list to provide a variety of options for our readers.

Installing Windows 11 is a breeze, and while some users may miss certain functionalities from previous versions, there are plenty of applications available to customize the OS to your liking. We’ve compiled a list of lightweight software that won’t interfere with your operating system, so you can tailor Windows 11 to your needs. When using the software listed below, please use your best judgment and be sure to download them from the links provided.

You can also download and install some of the tools using Ninite, a trusted tool for downloading apps without any junk or bloatware. Using the link below you can install many of the apps at once.

https://ninite.com/chrome-notepadplusplus-paint.net-teamviewer15-winrar

Part 1. Essential Windows programs.

1. Google Chrome Canary

Ehh! I bet you’re using Google Chrome to read this article. The Chrome comes in 4 flavors, Canary is the bleeding-edge flavor to test the newest features and experiments.

Windows 11 comes preloaded with their own browse. (it’s a good thing Internet Explorer was killed (you can get rid of it) the Edge browser which is somewhat a battery saver compared to other web browsers. While its a big world and Edge lacks Google Functionalities, so we love Google Chrome for a reason, while it can be a RAM and battery hunger but its stability and security are what comes first in mind.

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How to Enable Full Material Design in Google Chrome Browser

How to block websites on Google Chrome

17 Killer Google Chrome Features You Should Know

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2. Disk Defrag | Consolidate Hard Drive

For a long time a built-in tool “disk defragmenter” has its place in the Windows operating system. Disk Defrag is a promising and advanced tool to defragment and consolidate your hard drives. The program does the job; there is also an option to optimize SSD, if you got one on your computer. Frankly saying if you’re ruining your machine on SSD (or M.2), you can skip it.

➡️Visit the site

3. F.Lux | Save your eyes

There are many night mode/ reading Mode /blue light filters but F.lux is the most popular among them. It supports eye strain reduction and other light modes to help you work on your computer without hurting your eyes. Now it’s also available for Android operating system-based devices. It has full support for the Windows 11 operating system.

Alternatives: Windows has a built-in night light mode which works similarly to the software mentioned, although you need to manually set the intensity.

🌍F.lux official site

4. Internet Download Manager

You must have been using it. I just wanted to add the IDM to this list, it seems I just did. You can pause and resume any file, and in case the link expires – you can just renew the link and IDM will resume from there.

And if IDM is bugging you with Windows activation notifications you can try the alternative called Free Download Manager or FDM.

🌍IDM and FDM

5. NetBalancer – See and Control Speed

Show and control what is using your internet speed and how much, restrict them, prioritize or limit the download/upload speed. Since svchost is there in Windows 10 which deals with background services which are internet hunger, you could control or limit the speed of any process that is using your Internet bandwidth more than you want them to.

🌍NetBalancer – See and Control Speed

6. Notebook Fan Control

When you want to control your computer’s fan speed, NBFC is a great tool for that. You increase the fan speed to cool down your computer’s CPU faster, or can decrease the fan speed to save some battery (though, why would you do that).

🌍Read the full article →

7. Notepad++

The Windows notepad application is limited in its capabilities for viewing or editing text-based files. However, this alternative offers a wide range of customization options, allowing you to tailor it to your preferences.

🌍Notepad++ 

8. Core Temp

While working on your machine countless hours a day, we mostly forgot the pressure it summons to components. Temperature is often overlooked, in fact, to prolong a computer’s life one should manage and control the temperature of Processor, SSD, and Motherboard.

Install Core Temp to see how much power it is drawing and what are the temperatures of the components. Playing games on your PC? Use the MSI Afterburner’s static tuner to display statistics like FPS, and temperature as overlay.

9. Paint.Net

Lightweight and advanced than the built-in paint application in Windows. It has so many options, obviously not more than photoshop or gimp, but all the basic and useful features. Also, has support for editing transparent image (.png files).

You can download original software using the ninite website, Because if you try to download from the official site, you might end up having a bloatware or toolbar on your computer.

10. Reddit wallpaper changer

This tiny wallpaper changer tool fetches wallpapers from Reddit subreddit and set them as your desktop wallpaper automatically.

Automatically Change Wallpapers on PC with Reddit Wallpapers Changer

11. Image Compressor (RIOT and Caesium)

A standalone program to compress images files on your computer. It can batch compress, resize images files and got pretty much customization so you can get awesome result while the images stay the same with a lot less file size.

Caesium

12. Screen Off v2

This tiny software can turn off your computer’s screen instantly without going into sleep mode. You can Pin this app’s shortcut to the taskbar to easily turn off screen. There is also a setting in Windows 10 which can be set to minimum to 1 minute before your computer’s screen goes off. But 60 are can be much in some instances, and there this tool can be handy.

Tip: How to make a laptop Stay Awake while Lid is Closed

13. Teamviewer

The all-new team viewer can solve all your screen mirroring and control other computers very easy. With it, you can access other computers and interact with them like your computer. File transfer is also available. It’s basically a remote control software just the Chrome remote control tool which is the best to control all your devices remotely.

Read more about remote access softwares →

6 Remote Access Software Better than TeamViewer and LogMeIn

Best Remote Desktop Access Software better than TeamViewer

14. The Renamer

The tool went offline for some reason.

Another tool for TV shows fan, and this software can rename all the weird looking episodes file into readable. For example, this tool can turn “SHOW.S01E01.x265.Mkv” into “SHOW – S01E01 Episode Name” and you can change the rename settings as per your wish, like “SHOW E01 – Episode Name”.

15. PotPlayer

PotPlayer is an advanced Video player created by one of the founder of KMPlayer. PotPlayer can play all the Video files, audio files and HEVC files. In Windows 11, you need HEVC Codec to play Local Video files and Netflix to use HDR. The player comes preloaded with all the required Codec to play all your files effortlessly.

It is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit,

16. Winrar and 7zip

Windows 10 can deal nicely with the “.Zip file format”, but in case you have to deal with other archive or compression formats, Winrar should be in your house. But since alternatives are available 7zip is another fine archive file handler tool.

17. Xion: Audio Player / Rise Media player

If you don’t depend on the internet to listen to songs and you got tons of songs on your hard drive. Windows 10 comes with 2 inbuilt music players “Groove Music and Windows media player” and they are actually good and can deal with all of your songs. Xion is light and tiny music player app that doesn’t need much attention, and it does what a music app should do, add songs to it and shuffle them. Xion can also use custom Skins if you’d like to you can find and download them here.

The only downside is that the last release happened in 2016, also their Skins forums is pretty much outdated.

Is Xion not what you wanted as a Music player?

Read more about music players for windows 

18. Ninite

Ninite Allows you to download popular freeware without any bloatware.

18, 19 and 20th. You choose, and we’ll list here.

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Check out the best and essential software to use in Windows 10, and our app directory often.

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2. Categorized App Outline (With Winget Commands)

Category	App Name	Key Purpose / Why It’s Essential	License	Winget Install Command
System Power Tools	Microsoft PowerToys	Window tiling (FancyZones), Text OCR, quick resize & rename	Free / Open Source	winget install Microsoft.PowerToys
System Power Tools	UniGetUI	1-click GUI package manager to batch-install & update apps	Free / Open Source	winget install SomePythonThings.WingetUIStore
System Power Tools	Everything	Instant, 1-millisecond PC-wide search engine	Free	winget install voidtools.Everything
System Power Tools	QuickLook	macOS-style Spacebar preview for images, PDFs, code & ZIPs	Free / Open Source	winget install PaddyXu.QuickLook
File Management	NanaZip	Modern 7-Zip fork built natively for Windows 11 context menus	Free / Open Source	winget install M2Team.NanaZip
File Management	Files App	Modern Fluent File Explorer with tabs, dual panes & tags	Free / Open Source	winget install Files-Community.Files
File Management	LocalSend	Cross-platform AirDrop alternative over local Wi-Fi	Free / Open Source	winget install Localsend.Localsend
Productivity	ShareX	Screen capture, GIF recording, OCR, and automated uploading	Free / Open Source	winget install ShareX.ShareX
Productivity	Notepad++	Fast, tabbed text editor with syntax highlighting	Free / Open Source	winget install Notepad++.Notepad++
Productivity	Obsidian	Markdown-based private note-taking and knowledge base	Free (Personal)	winget install Obsidian.Obsidian
Productivity	RustDesk	Fast, open-source remote desktop client (TeamViewer replacement)	Free / Open Source	winget install RustDesk.RustDesk
Hardware & Audio	EarTrumpet	Granular per-app volume mixer flyout in the system tray	Free / Open Source	winget install File-New-Project.EarTrumpet
Hardware & Audio	Fan Control	Complete custom GPU and CPU fan curve management	Free	winget install Rem0o.FanControl.App
Hardware & Audio	HWiNFO64	In-depth hardware telemetry, thermal, and sensor diagnostics	Free	winget install REALiX.HWiNFO
Media Playback	VLC Media Player	Plays virtually every audio and video codec out of the box	Free / Open Source	winget install VideoLAN.VLC
Media Playback	mpv	High-performance, minimalist video player for power users	Free / Open Source	winget install shinchiro.mpv
🛡️ Maintenance & Security	BCUninstaller	Thorough batch software uninstaller that sweeps leftover registry keys	Free / Open Source	winget install Klocman.BulkCrapUninstaller
Maintenance & Security	Bitwarden	Secure, encrypted open-source password manager	Free / Open Source	winget install Bitwarden.Bitwarden
Maintenance & Security	BleachBit	Cleans system caches, temp logs, and browser leftovers	Free / Open Source	winget install BleachBit.BleachBit