20 Best Windows Apps And Software You Should Know in 2025

The Windows operating system is the most popular desktop platform in the world, and this also means that there are tons and tons of great apps and software solutions for everyone.

From art to engineering, management, and security issues, there are Windows applications to help you tackle all challenges and maximize your productivity.

This post looks at the top 20 of these Windows apps, including information that students, tech enthusiasts, and different professionals can relate to for the right decisions.

20 Best Windows Apps & Software

S/N	Name	Highlights	Price	Website
1.	Google Chrome	Popular web browser	Free	google.com
2.	1Password	Password management	$2.99 / mo	1password.com
3.	CCleaner	PC cleaning & optimization	Freemium	apps.microsoft.com
4.	VLC Player	Video & music player	Free	apps.microsoft.com
5.	Evernote	Take notes, to-do lists, share	Freemium	apps.microsoft.com
6.	WinZip	Encrypt, compress, & share files	$29.95	apps.microsoft.com
7.	Google Drive	Cloud storage	Freemium	google.com
8.	LibreOffice	Office suite	$4.59	apps.microsoft.com
9.	ProtonVPN	Swiss-based VPN	Freemium	protonvpn.com
10.	GIMP	Image editing & manipulation	Free	apps.microsoft.com
11.	Trello	Project management & to-do lists	Freemium	apps.microsoft.com
12.	Zoom	Video meetings	Freemium	apps.microsoft.com
13.	WUmgr	Windows update management	Free	apps.microsoft.com
14.	Spotify	Music streaming	Free	apps.microsoft.com
15.	Slack	Team collaboration	Freemium	apps.microsoft.com
16.	Steinberg Cubase	Music	$99.99	steinberg.net
17.	Malwarebytes	Anti Malware	Freemium	malwarebytes.com
18.	ShareX	Screenshots	Free	apps.microsoft.com
19.	AutoHotkey	Automation	Free	apps.microsoft.com
20.	BackBlaze	Backups	$7 / month	backblaze.com

1. Google Chrome

Used For: Web browsing

Google Chrome is the most popular browser in the world and for many good reasons. It is based on Google’s Chromium open-source project, which is also the basis for Microsoft’s Edge browser. Sadly, it is not available on the Microsoft app store, so you can only use it when you are not in S mode.

Features:

• Fast & secure web browser
• Design by Google & supports open standards
• Highly customizable with multi-tab support
• Multi-functional address bar with multiple functions
• Available for all devices and platforms

Windows Version: All

App Store Rating: N/A

Price: Free

2. 1Password

Used For: Password management and data security

1Password is the ultimate password manager to help manage your online security. It simplifies everything from private to business activities, by making your sign-ins seamless and easily managed from one spot. It also allows you to protect important records, such as licenses, medical records, and other sensitive documents in a digital vault. Plans start from $2.99 per month.

Features:

• Secure your passwords and other important data
• Available for personal and business users
• Works on all your devices, including mobile
• Includes 1 GB of free storage for your data
• 24/7 support

Windows Version: 10 and later

App Store Rating: N/A

Price: $2.99 per month

Free Trial: 14 days

3. CCleaner

Used For: PC cleaning & optimization

Windows PC comes with lots of issues that slow things down and reduce performance and the user’s experience. CCleaner works against this by analyzing and fixing many known problems, improving privacy, and boosting the PC’s overall performance. Its free version offers basic protections, while the Professional and the Plus versions cost $24.95 and $39.95 respectively.

Features:

• Analyze and fix your computer’s performance automatically
• Boosts performance by up to 34%
• Protect your privacy, clear your history, and guard against junk files
• Recover lost files with the Recuva module

Windows Version: 10 & higher

App Store Rating: 3.4

Price: Freemium

4. VLC Player

Used For: Playing audio & videos

VLC for Windows plays everything for you, from audio files to network streams and video data of all formats. VLC has an intuitive and user-friendly design that you are equally able to tweak to your heart’s content. It is a free and open-source project with no spyware or malware of any kind.

Features:

• Plays everything from files to discs, streams, and devices
• Plays nearly every codec, including MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MP3, OGG, and more
• Completely free with no spyware, user tracking, or ads
• Highly customizable with skins and plugins

Windows Version: 10 or higher

App Store Rating: 4.4

Price: Free

5. Evernote

Used For: Taking notes & to-do lists

Evernote makes your life easier by helping you to quickly capture notes and meeting minutes, or to clip any idea you found on the web. It supports text, docs, PDFs, audio, photos, and scanned documents. It will also sync your data across all your devices and let you share notes with your team. The free version syncs up to 2 devices.

Features:

• Easily capture your ideas
• Create to-do lists and schedule your tasks
• Add articles, web pages, images, and audio
• Syncs to all your devices through the cloud
• Share notes with your team
• A fast and impressive search function

Windows Version: 10

App Store Rating: 3.6

Price: Freemium

6. WinZip

Used For: Encrypting, compressing, and sharing files

WinZip is a popular app to zip and share files. Zipping includes compressing the data to make it smaller and easier to share, as well as encrypting it and requiring a password to open sensitive data. WinZip handles 26+ formats, works with cloud drives, and can manage images as well. The Standard suit costs $37.95 per year.

Features:

• Compress files into smaller sizes
• Encrypt sensitive documents to require a password for opening
• Automatically send a backup copy of your file to the cloud
• Extract content from 26+ formats
• Convert multiple files into a single PDF document
• Available in 18 languages

Windows Version: 10 & higher

App Store Rating: 4

Price: $34.95 per year

Free Trial: 30 days

7. Google Drive

Used For: Cloud storage & file management

You can use Google Drive for free with 15 GB of storage, which lets you manage all types of files. You can also share those files with individuals or teams, as well as use other Google services like email and video conferencing with the same account. A premium account costs $12 per month and comes with 2 TB of storage.

Features:

• Free 15 GB of cloud storage for all your needs
• Easily manage, share, and collaborate on files
• Works with Google Sheets, Docs, & more
• Highly secure infrastructure against attacks
• Integrates with other top services

Windows Version: All

App Store Rating: N/A

Price: Free

8. LibreOffice

Used For: Office suite

The LibreOffice apps suite comes with everything that you need to execute your office duties. It is fully featured and professional. It includes a writer, spreadsheet app, presentations, database, math, and graphics editing apps. They are also compatible with Microsoft formats, as well as many other open standards.

Features:

• Open-source office suite
• Includes a writer, spreadsheet, presentations, database, math, and graphics apps
• Compatible with Microsoft Office and many formats
• Respects your privacy & freedom

Windows Version: 10 and higher

App Store Rating: 4.6

Price: $4.59

Free Trial: You can get it for free here.

9. ProtonVPN

Used For: Virtual private networking

ProtonVPN is a Swiss-based virtual private networking service provider that offers a free world-class service with split tunneling, kill switch, P2P support, and Tor-enabled browsing. The system is open-source, has a strict no-logs policy, and uses high-speed servers. It also offers premium plans.

Features:

• Keep your browsing activities secure
• Bypass government restrictions
• Stay secure when using public WiFis
• No logs & unlimited bandwidth
• Open-source system
• Backed by Swiss privacy laws

Windows Version: N/A

App Store Rating: N/A

Price: Freemium

10. GIMP

Used For: Image editing & manipulations

The GIMP is a powerful image editor with pro-grade features, enough to rival Photoshop. It is however free, and though it has a little learning curve, taking your time to understand its many features is worth it. The GIMP supports all image formats, layers, channels, magic selectors, and so on.

Features:

• Manipulate pictures and all types of graphics
• Free and open-source software
• Features advanced image editing controls and functions
• Fully customizable interface
• Multiple file format support
• Available for all computing platforms

Windows Version: 10 and later

App Store Rating: 4.6

Price: Free

11. Trello

Used For: Project management, teams, and to-do lists

Trello is an intuitive and fun system for getting things done in an organized manner. It uses the Kanban process of moving cards to create an easy overview of any project, which makes it easy for everyone to get involved. Trello works well for teams of all sizes and is equally available in multiple plans.

Features:

• Manage projects & to-do lists with ease
• A Kanban-based system with notifications
• Boosts productivity and elevates teamwork
• Also available on the web and on mobile
• Premium plans pack even more features

Windows Version: 10 or higher

App Store Rating: 4.3

Price: Freemium

12. Zoom

Used For: Video meetings

Zoom is a video meeting platform that includes features such as rooms, whiteboards, events, webinars, and anything similar that you can think of. Basic use is free with up to 100 members and 40 minutes per meeting, while premium plans start at $149 per year and offer up to 30 hours per session.

Features:

• Easily start or join a video meeting
• Connect with up to 100 members from different platforms
• Unlimited messaging, files, and calls
• Includes screen sharing with top-quality videos
• Includes mail, calendar, and cloud storage

Windows Version: 10 & higher

App Store Rating: 4.2

Price: Freemium

13. WuMgr

Used For: Windows Update Management

Designed for system admins or the more technically inclined, WuMgr makes it easier to manage Windows updates by selecting exactly what you want to download and install or simply hiding or canceling options.

Features:

• Manually select what you want to install
• Block Windows updates that you do not want
• Search for updates in custom intervals
• An offline search of updates

Windows Version: 10 & higher

App Store Rating: 3.9

Price: Free

14. Spotify

Used For: Music streaming

For music and podcast lovers, Spotify is the ultimate experience that lets you listen to millions of titles for free. Simply discover songs, play songs, discover playlists, and enjoy audiobooks and video podcasts. And if you want to get rid of the ads, play songs in any order, and even download them, then you can go premium for $9.99 per month.

Features:

• Stream unlimited songs and podcasts for free
• Discover millions of titles and podcasts
• Browse hundreds of playlists to find what you like
• Go premium any time to avoid limitations

Windows Version: 10 & higher

App Store Rating: 4.2

Price: Freemium

Free Trial: 30 days

15. Slack

Used For: Team collaboration

Slack is for teams that need to work together. It brings communication and collaboration in a single place, making it easy to chat, send messages, documents, and so on to the right people to get any project moving. Slack also connects with other productivity tools and is a freemium offer for all types of users and businesses.

Features:

• Message your team by chat and audio
• Share and edit documents together
• Use channels to stay organized
• Integrate with other tools like Google Drive and Salesforce
• Search a central knowledge base for answers

Windows Version: 10 & higher

App Store Rating: 3.4

Price: Freemium

16. Steinberg Cubase

Used For: Professional music production

Steinberg Cubase is the ultimate music workstation for the Windows platform. It works for all user levels from beginners to artists and sound engineers. Cubase turns your Windows machine into a digital music studio with multi-track recording, mixers, virtual effects, instruments, and lots of other amazing features.

Features:

• Compose, record, and edit tracks
• Multi-track recording and advanced audio features
• Combine audio, MIDI, score, and drums
• Sequencer with mixing console, channel strips, & more
• Virtual instruments, sounds, and effects

Windows Version: N/A

App Store Rating: N/A

Price: From $99.99

Free Trial: 60 days

17. Malwarebytes Anti Malware

Used For: Anti-malware protection

Malwarebytes is an anti-virus and anti-malware tool that helps you to keep your Windows system safe. It detects and destroys a vast majority of threats, protects the user from malicious websites, and guards the system against ransomware attacks. There is a free version, while premium plans start from $3.75 per month. Plus, you can additionally include A VPN and 5-device support for $8.33 per month.

Features:

• Cleans up infected computers
• Stops malware attacks
• Protects your identity & documents from hackers
• Protects you from malicious websites
• Available for private and business use
• Available with a VPN bundle

Windows Version: N/A

App Store Rating: N/A

Price: $3.75 per month

Free Trial: 14 

18. ShareX

Used For: Screenshots

ShareX is free and open-source software that lets you take screenshots in very flexible ways. You can either capture images or videos of either the entire screen or parts of it. You can also capture windows, menu items, web pages, text, and many more. ShareX further offers many helpful workflow features, file sharing, and extra productivity tools that make it worth checking out.

Features:

• Capture or record any area of your screen
• Works in full-screen, active window, custom region, and so on
• Lets you copy, save the image, or upload it
• Further includes a color picker, ruler, and image combiner
• Free and open source

Windows Version: 10 & higher

App Store Rating: 4.4

Price: Free

19. AutoHotkey

Used For: Automation

Another free and open-source app for Windows, AutoHotkey enables users of all skill levels to automate their machines. You can define key binds for your mouse and keyboard, script small tasks from form filling to auto-clicking and macros, as well as even create small standalone projects.

Features:

• Define hotkeys for events and actions
• Includes a scripting language for automating Windows
• Powerful and easy to learn
• Large and helpful developer community

Windows Version: 10 & higher

App Store Rating: 4.0

Price: Free

20. Backblaze

Used For: Computer backups

Losing data can be catastrophic, so it’s recommended to regularly back up your stuff on any computing device. Backblaze makes this process easy on Windows for just $7 per month. It backs up to the cloud, can back up unlimited file sizes, and equally offers easy restoration methods.

Features:

• Unlimited backups for your PC
• Automatic backups to the cloud
• Online cloud storage
• Unlimited file retention
• Easy access and recovery

Windows Version: 7 or higher

App Store Rating: N/A

Price: $7 per month

Free Trial: 15 days

Conclusion

As you can see, this list of the 20 best Windows apps and software that you should know of includes everything from workflow to creativity, entertainment, security, and professional applications. But while these apps are unique and useful in their different ways, it’s up to you to choose what you need.