The one app.
For everything a PC does.
Life is short and software is endless. Each category here has a single name worth installing — and one or two worth a second look.
General
Media Player
Plays anything — or looks better doing it.
VLC media playerThe pick
mpvAlso good
PotPlayerAlso good
Opens almost any video or disc with zero fuss. Looks second; always works first.
See why →Web Browser
What the web expects — or stronger privacy, or a real ad blocker.
Google ChromeThe pick
FirefoxAlso good
BraveAlso good
Works with everything, huge extension catalog, and sites still assume Chrome. The safe everyday default.
See why →Productivity
Notes & Knowledge
Local notes you own — a team wiki — or the notebook Windows already has.
ObsidianThe pick
NotionAlso good
Microsoft OneNoteAlso good
Your notes stay as plain files you own, with fast search and a huge plugin scene. Free to use; Sync is optional.
See why →Office Suite
What everyone else opens — or free suites that get close.
Microsoft 365$The pick
LibreOfficeAlso good
ONLYOFFICE Desktop EditorsAlso good
Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook — the formats everyone expects. Worth it when co-workers and clients live here.
See why →PDF Software
Legal-grade editing — a one-time Windows powerhouse — or a tiny reader.
Adobe Acrobat Pro$The pick
PDF-XChange Editor$Also good
Sumatra PDFAlso good
Redaction, forms, e-sign, and rendering people treat as the safe answer. Worth it when PDFs carry real weight.
See why →Screen Capture & Tutorials
Free hotkey power — friendly markup — or record-and-edit courses.
ShareXThe pick
Snagit$Also good
Camtasia$Also good
Free screenshots, scrolling capture, GIFs, OCR, and uploads — all on hotkeys. The power-user default.
See why →Creative
Audio Production
Best value DAW — beat-making speed — or live performance Session View.
REAPER$The pick
FL Studio$Also good
Ableton Live$Also good
A $60 license that outperforms DAWs costing far more. Light, flexible, and still the podcast default.
See why →Digital Art & Illustration
Comics and brushes artists buy — a free painter — or the PSD shops hand you.
Clip Studio Paint$The pick
KritaAlso good
Adobe Photoshop$Also good
Brush feel, comics tools, and poseable 3D with a one-time license. The artist's #1 on Windows.
See why →Photo Editing
Pro tools for free — Photoshop when the industry requires it — or a real catalog.
AffinityThe pick- Adobe Photoshop$Also good
Adobe Lightroom Classic$Also good
Pro photo, vector, and layout in one free Windows app. Start here unless you are paid to speak PSD.
See why →Pro Video Editing
Hollywood-grade NLE without a subscription — or the Adobe-shop standard.
DaVinci Resolve$The pick
Adobe Premiere Pro$Also good
Free tier is genuinely pro; Studio is $295 once. Best value and the color tools Hollywood trusts.
See why →Short-Form & Social Video
Free desktop editing built for Reels, TikToks, and vertical clips.
CapCutThe pick
Free desktop editor for short-form captions and templates. The practical pick for Reels and TikToks on Windows.
See why →Development
Code Editor
Free default, AI coding assistant, or the full Windows IDE.
Visual Studio CodeThe pick
Cursor$Also good
Visual StudioAlso good
Free, endless extensions, and every tutorial assumes it. The safest excellent editor at $0.
See why →Package Manager
Built into Windows — or portable installs — or fleet scripting.
WingetThe pick
ScoopAlso good
ChocolateyAlso good
Built into Windows with a huge catalog of normal apps. The default answer for "install this from the terminal."
See why →Terminal Emulator
Ships with Windows — scriptable everywhere — or AI-assisted blocks.
Windows TerminalThe pick
WezTermAlso good
WarpAlso good
GPU-fast, WSL-friendly, ships with Windows 11. Rivals need a real reason to replace the OS terminal.
See why →Windows Automation
Write hotkeys — or flip switches and skip the script.
AutoHotkeyThe pick
Microsoft PowerToysAlso good
Hotkeys, text expansion, and window control limited only by what you write. Free, powerful, still the enthusiast standard.
See why →Gaming
Game Recording & Streaming
Full scenes and live streams — or effortless GeForce clips.
OBS StudioThe pick
NVIDIA AppAlso good
Scenes, overlays, recording, and streaming on any GPU — free. The industry default worth learning once.
See why →Voice Chat & Comms
Where PC gaming already talks.
DiscordThe pick
Free voice, text, bots, and screen share — your friends are already here. The default social layer for PC gaming.
See why →Communication
Email & Calendar
A one-time Outlook-class desktop — or the free classic client.
eM Client$The pick
ThunderbirdAlso good
Outlook-class desktop mail with Exchange, Gmail, and iCloud — one-time license, no recurring seat.
See why →Messaging
Nicest Windows desktop chat — or the strictest privacy pick.
TelegramThe pick
SignalAlso good
Best Windows messaging client — channels, big files, saved messages. Cloud chats use client-server encryption by default.
See why →Video Meetings
The guest-join default — or the meetings you already have with Microsoft 365.
Zoom WorkplaceThe pick
Microsoft TeamsAlso good
Best guest join and rock-solid calls on bad networks. The safe choice when the org still picks its own meeting tool.
See why →Security
Antivirus
Windows already ships the one you should keep.
Microsoft Defender AntivirusThe pick
Already installed, free, and good enough for normal Windows use. Keep it — buying another suite rarely improves your day.
See why →Full-Disk Encryption
Turn on what Windows already includes — or go fully independent.
BitLockerThe pick
VeraCryptAlso good
Built into Windows Pro and many newer PCs — protects the whole drive with almost no setup. The clear #1 for most people.
See why →Password Managers
A free vault that covers everything — or pay for polish, or keep a local file.
BitwardenThe pick
1Password$Also good
KeePassXCAlso good
Best everyday vault: free forever for personal use, works on every device, and you can self-host if you want. The smart default.
See why →VPN
Fast streaming and travel — Swiss privacy — or total anonymity.
NordVPN$The pick
Proton VPN$Also good
Mullvad VPN$Also good
Fast, huge network, reliable streaming, and the best price on a two-year plan. What most households should actually buy.
See why →System
Cloud Storage
Rock-solid sync for work files — or cheap space if you live in Google.
Dropbox$The pick
Google DriveAlso good
Still the most reliable sync for big, changing work folders. Pay for Plus when that reliability is the product.
See why →File Compression
Free and best at shrinking files — or pay only if you need RAR.
7-ZipThe pick
WinRAR$Also good
Best compression, tiny install, opens nearly every archive type. Free forever — the only archiver most people need.
See why →File Search
Find any file as you type — or jump from every Open dialog.
EverythingThe pick
Listary$Also good
Instant results across your whole PC as you type. Light, free, and life-changing after Windows Search.
See why →Hardware Monitoring
See every sensor — or a simpler open-source dashboard.
HWiNFOThe pick
Libre Hardware MonitorAlso good
Sees sensors other tools miss and stays updated for new CPUs and GPUs. Free for personal use — the enthusiast default.
See why →Remote Desktop
Snappy personal access, helpdesk muscle, or self-hosted free.
AnyDeskThe pick
TeamViewer$Also good
RustDeskAlso good
Fast remote sessions and a usable free personal tier. The daily driver for "I need that PC right now."
See why →