The best apps for Windows 11: 15 worth installing in 2026

Windows 11 still leaves a few everyday jobs to other apps: arranging windows, finding a file by name in an instant, capturing your screen, keeping passwords, writing notes. All fifteen picks below run on Windows 11, and on recent versions of Windows 10.

We make two of them, TimeWell and Peeky Notes, so weigh our view accordingly. Both are marked. We checked every other app against its maker's own site or Microsoft Store listing in October 2026.

To make the list, an app had to pass five tests.

• It fills a real gap. Where Windows 11 already does the job well, we left the app out, and say so further down.
• It is maintained, with a recent release or Store update.
• It comes from its maker. We link to the developer's own site or Store listing, never to a download portal.
• It is fair on cost. Most are free. For the rest we name the model as of October 2026, not a price that may change.
• It respects your PC: light on memory and processor time, and clear about what, if anything, it sends online.

Microsoft PowerToys: the first app to install

PowerToys is Microsoft's own free, open-source set of more than 25 small tools for Windows 11 and 10. You turn on only the ones you want. Good ones to start with:

• FancyZones snaps windows into layouts you pick or draw, which pays off on a wide monitor.
• Command Palette opens with Windows + Alt + Space to launch apps, run commands and search files.
• Text Extractor copies text from anything on screen, even a picture.
• PowerRename renames hundreds of files at once.

Get it from the Microsoft Store, GitHub or WinGet. It needs Windows 10 version 2004 or later, on x64 or Arm64.

Everything: find any file by name, instantly

Everything from voidtools lists every file and folder whose name matches as you type, across whole drives, and catches changes made while it was closed. It searches by name; it can look inside files too, but slowly, because contents aren't indexed. It is free and light, at about 35 MB of memory for a quarter of a million files by voidtools' own figures, and comes from voidtools.com rather than the Store.

EarTrumpet: volume for each app

EarTrumpet gives every app playing sound its own volume slider in one taskbar flyout. You can also send one app to different speakers or headphones, or switch the default device in a couple of clicks. It is free, open source and in the Microsoft Store.

Microsoft PC Manager: cleanup in one place

PC Manager is a free Microsoft app that gathers cleanup tools in one window: a one-click Boost that clears temporary files, a large-file finder, pop-up management and a health check. It is nice to have rather than essential, since Windows' Storage Sense clears temporary files too, and as of October 2026 the Store doesn't offer it in the UK or the European Union.

WinGet: install and update apps by command

WinGet, the Windows Package Manager, is normally already on your PC, as part of App Installer on Windows 11 and on Windows 10 version 1809 and later. One command installs an app from its publisher; the steps are at the end of this guide.

Microsoft To Do: tasks that follow you

Microsoft To Do is Microsoft's free task list. My Day clears every night, so each day starts with an empty list for what you mean to do today; anything you didn't finish goes back to your tasks and turns up in the next day's suggestions. Lists and reminders sync through your Microsoft account to the web, Mac, iPhone and Android, and with an Outlook.com or work account, flagged emails can appear as tasks.

TimeWell: see where your screen time goes (ours)

TimeWell is the app we make: a screen time app for Windows that shows how long each app and website was in front of you, hour by hour and by category, with day and week totals and the change from last week. It also counts pickups and notifications, and adds a Pomodoro timer that floats in the corner of your screen, habits with streaks, and desktop widgets.

• Good at: privacy, since your activity stays in your own user folder, with no telemetry; only the trial and licence checks go online, never your activity. The Rust tracker sits at about 0% CPU, in Windows' Efficiency mode.
• Less good at: it doesn't block apps or websites, set limits or sync to a phone, and it runs only on Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit).
• Cost: free to download, with everything for 7 days and TimeWell Free for good after that. Pro is a one-time payment for up to two PCs, bought on this site with no account needed. It installs from the Microsoft Store, where the listing isn't live yet; the download page will link to it.

For the alternatives, free ones included, see our comparison of screen time apps for Windows. If you mostly want a timer, our Pomodoro timer for Windows guide covers the options.

ShareX: screenshots and recordings, your way

ShareX is a free, open-source capture tool. A hotkey grabs the screen, a window or a region, or records it as a video or GIF. Then mark it up, blur private details, pull out the text, and choose what happens next, from saving to uploading. It is in the Microsoft Store, on Steam and on its own site.

Files: a file manager with tabs and panes

Files is an open-source file manager for Windows, with tabs, several layouts, a dual-pane view and built-in archive support. As of October 2026, the classic installer from its website is free, and the Store version is paid, as a way to support the project.

NanaZip or 7-Zip: the archives Windows can't open

Windows 11 version 24H2 opens ZIP, RAR, 7z and TAR files itself, but not archives with a password. For those, and for more control when making one, use NanaZip, a free, open-source version of 7-Zip built for modern Windows. It sits in Windows 11's right-click menu and installs from the Microsoft Store. 7-Zip itself is just as free, also runs on much older Windows, and downloads from its own site.

VLC: plays almost anything

VLC is the free, open-source player that opens nearly every video and audio format, plus discs and streams, with no extra codecs to hunt for. The Microsoft Store has two versions from VideoLAN: the full desktop app, called simply VLC, and VLC UWP, a lighter port without DVD or Blu-ray playback. Choose the first.

Obsidian: notes that stay yours

Obsidian keeps your notes as plain Markdown text files in a folder on your PC, so any text editor can open them. Link notes to each other, see the connections on a graph, and add features from thousands of community plugins. It is free, including for work, with optional paid Sync and Publish subscriptions. It also runs on macOS, Linux, iPhone and Android; the Windows installer comes from obsidian.md, not the Store.

Notepad++: an editor for text and code

Notepad++ is a free, open-source editor for Windows, with tabs, colour-coded syntax for dozens of programming languages, find and replace across many files, and plugins. It suits anyone who edits settings files, logs or code. It isn't in the Microsoft Store; download it from its own site.

Peeky Notes: sticky notes on the edge of your screen (ours)

We make Peeky Notes too. Its notes sit along whichever screen edge you choose: hover to peek, click to write. Notes can hold checklists, a shortcut opens a new one from any app, and everything stays in a file on your PC, never uploaded. It is in the Microsoft Store with a 7-day free trial, then a one-time purchase.

Bitwarden: passwords on every device

Bitwarden creates strong passwords and keeps them in an encrypted vault you can open from its Windows app, your browser and your phone. It is open source, and the free plan covers unlimited passwords on unlimited devices. Paid plans, billed yearly, add extras such as a built-in authenticator and family sharing. You need a Bitwarden account; the Windows app is in the Microsoft Store.

You don't need to add antivirus first. Windows 11 already includes Windows Security, with Microsoft Defender Antivirus for real-time protection against malware, and Windows Firewall.

Before you install anything, check whether Windows already covers the job. For many people these are enough:

• Screenshots and short recordings: Snipping Tool. Press Windows + Shift + S for a picture or Windows + Shift + R for a video, and use its text actions to copy words out of a capture.
• Everyday archives: File Explorer in Windows 11 version 24H2 and later opens ZIP, RAR, 7z and TAR files.
• Freeing space: Storage Sense clears temporary files and, after a while, the Recycle Bin. Turn it on in Settings > System > Storage.

What Windows still can't do on its own: open a password-protected archive, or give you a reliable count of the time you spend in each app, since the battery page on a laptop shows only rough minutes. Our guide on how to check screen time on Windows 11 shows what it does record.

Where you download an app matters as much as which one you pick. In the Microsoft Store, check that the publisher matches the maker, such as VideoLAN for VLC. Elsewhere, download only from the developer's own site, never from a portal that wraps it in an installer of its own.

WinGet is the quickest way to set up a new PC. According to Microsoft's documentation, packages in its community repository are checked automatically against its policies and known malware, may be reviewed by hand, and must point to an installer from the publisher's own site.

1. 1
   Step 1: Open Terminal

   Right-click the Start button and choose Terminal. You don't need administrator rights; Windows asks if an installer needs them.

2. 2
   Step 2: Find the app

   Type winget search and the app's name, such as winget search vlc, and note the ID in the results.

3. 3
   Step 3: Install it

   Type winget install and the ID, such as winget install VideoLAN.VLC. List several IDs, separated by spaces, to install them one after another.

4. 4
   Step 4: Keep everything up to date

   Run winget upgrade to see which apps have updates, then winget upgrade --all to install them.

The IDs for the free apps here: PowerToys Microsoft.PowerToys, Everything voidtools.Everything, EarTrumpet File-New-Project.EarTrumpet, ShareX ShareX.ShareX, NanaZip M2Team.NanaZip, 7-Zip 7zip.7zip, VLC VideoLAN.VLC, Obsidian Obsidian.Obsidian, Notepad++ Notepad++.Notepad++ and Bitwarden Bitwarden.Bitwarden.