Popular browser extensions by category, with dated counts

Popular browser extensions by users

As of 3 Oct 2026, from our crawl of the Chrome Web Store.

Look at the rating counts. AdBlock has 290,298 ratings on a smaller user base than Acrobat's 63,621. Its users went and found it. Many of the giants arrive through work accounts or bundles.

Field meanings are in Chrome Web Store stats.

Leaders by category

On 3 Oct 2026, ranked by rating count, among listings with at least 500 ratings. Our category pages go further.

Rating count shows what people chose. User count shows what they got.

Speed Dial is a good example. With 500,000+ users and 117,826 ratings, it has roughly one rating for every four users at the bucket floor, which is far above what most listings in our crawl show.

That usually means a loyal, long-running base.

Popular by niche

Categories are broad. Niches are closer to what people search for. Here's how some of the niches we track looked on 3 Oct 2026.

Ad blockers stand out. Only 355 listings, but 140 of them above 10,000 users. That's a niche where people go looking and stick with what they find. AI assistants are the opposite: thousands of listings, a smaller share with large audiences. Our niche pages list every one.

Check permissions on popular tools

Big tools often ask for broad access because they work on every site. That's normal for an ad blocker or a writing helper. It's still worth a look.

1. Open chrome://extensions and click Details on each extension.
2. Read the site access setting.
3. Switch tools you rarely use to "On click", so they only run when you ask.

In our 3 Oct 2026 crawl, 11,272 of 65,655 extensions asked for access to all sites. Our guide to permission changes explains what each permission allows.

Popular isn't the same as good

User count tells you reach. Rating count and rating tell you how people feel. Some of the largest listings above have middling ratings, often because people got them through work or a bundle rather than choosing them.

When picking a tool for yourself, sort by rating count within the job you need done, then read recent reviews. When studying a market, look at both lists. The gap between "most installed" and "most loved" is often where a better tool fits.

Most rated, across the whole store

Rating count is the closest public sign of what people chose and cared about. Here are the most rated extensions in our crawl on 3 Oct 2026.

Ad blockers take four of the eight spots. People went looking for them, installed them on purpose and stuck with them long enough to rate. That's a very different kind of popular from a PDF tool that came with a laptop.

Some of these rating counts are very high next to their user buckets. Hola VPN shows about one rating for every eleven users at the bucket floor. Long-running tools collect ratings over many years, and users who left still count in the total. Treat a ratio like that as a reason to read recent reviews, not as a verdict either way.

Big but unloved

The flip side is also worth knowing. In our 3 Oct 2026 crawl, 156 of the 346 extensions with 1,000,000+ users rated under 4.0. Many are tools people got through work, a bundle or a device maker.

If you're picking a tool for yourself, a lower rating on a huge, mandated tool tells you little. If you're building, a big, unloved tool in a job people care about can be an opening. Our Openings list tracks leaders with weak ratings and long gaps since their last update.

How to use these lists

Each list answers a different question, so pick the one that fits.

1. Choosing a toolsort by rating count within your job, then read recent reviews.
2. Sizing a marketuse user totals by niche, since they show reach.
3. Finding an openinglook for big user counts with weak ratings or old update dates.
4. Checking a claimcompare any "most popular" list with the store listing and its date.

We'll keep refreshing these tables as the crawl grows. Our New launches page shows which young listings already have an audience.

What popular doesn't tell you

• Whether it's gaining users. That needs repeat readings over weeks. Our history began 2 Oct 2026.
• Whether it's safe. Popularity and privacy aren't linked. Check permissions.
• Whether it charges. Pricing usually lives on the developer's own website, and we haven't confirmed it for these listings yet.

We'll refresh these tables as the crawl grows, with the new date on top. For ratings-first picks, see best Chrome extensions 2026.

For the wider counts, see Chrome extension market size.

Pick the list that fits. Users and ratings answer different ones.