There’s something oddly satisfying about using apps that don’t need to be installed. You can download one and open it to run it instantly. What I like the most about them is that they’re lightweight, fast, and don’t leave a mess behind. You can even put your favorite portable apps on a USB drive and use them across different machines.
Over time, I’ve collected a handful of portable apps that I rely on the most. And the best part is, they’re all free to use.
Everything
The search tool Windows should’ve built
Searching for my files is something I need to do every now and then, but Windows search is, frankly, pretty terrible. It’s painfully slow and often unreliable. Everything is a free tool that does one thing, and it does it ridiculously well. It finds files as soon as you’re done typing. There’s almost no delay or no second-guessing.
The difference in speed comes down to how Everything operates. Unlike Windows Search, it doesn’t try to read file content or index every possible detail. It only indexes file names and folder structures, which allows it to find files instantly. And of course, it has all the useful sorting and filter options in case you need them.
For opening apps and settings, I still fall back to Windows search. But for finding actual files, Everything is in a completely different league.
Winaero Tweaker
Fix Windows’ annoyances easily
Windows 11 is usable out the box, but there are some quirks that are just too difficult to ignore, like the new right-click menu, forceful ads, or worrying privacy features. While it’s possible to fix most of these things by diving deep into Windows Settings and tweaking registry files, it takes time and isn’t straightforward.
Winaero Tweaker makes all of that painless. It’s a free, easy to use tool that lets you fix all the annoying parts of Windows using simple checkboxes. For instance, if you don’t like the new right-click menu, you simply need to find the Classic Full Context Menu checkbox and to get the old one. Similarly, if you want to turn off updates for good, head to the Behavior tab and tick the Disable Windows Update checkbox.
Winaero Tweaker can also turn off web searches in the Start menu, stop Microsoft from collecting data, and bring back classic apps like Windows Photo Viewer and Windows 7 Games. It makes what would normally be a tedious process feel simple.
ShareX
The ultimate screenshot tool
Windows’s Snipping Tools is one of the most improved apps in recent times. It now has OCR, video recording, and even visual search. But it still misses out on a few key features, like scrolling screenshots, automatic captures, and built-in cloud uploads. And for those, I rely on ShareX.
ShareX is an open-source tool that can do everything Snipping Tool can, and then some. For instance, it has a built-in image editor, which lets me annotate screenshots, apply backgrounds, and add icons. This means I don’t need another app just to edit my screenshots.
I also like the various keyboard shortcuts it supports for recording GIFs, capturing the active monitor, and starting screen recording. And of course, all of these are customizable.
Windows’ built-in apps are holding you back—these 6 apps are better
Don’t just settle for “good enough.”
SumatraPDF
A reader that gets out of the way
Windows doesn’t have a dedicated PDF viewer app. Sure, you can open and annotate documents in Edge, but it’s far from ideal.
Sumatra PDF is a no-nonsense reader that’s lightning fast. It can open large PDFs in seconds and supports a wide range of formats, including ePub, XPS, CBZ, and MOBI. The interface is as minimal as it gets, and you get all the essential viewing modes like single-page, side-by-side, and wide view.
Despite its lightweight design, Sumatra PDF doesn’t skip any useful features. It includes annotation tools for highlighting, underlining, and adding text. You can also bookmark documents, translate text, and search text online directly from the right-click menu.
AnyDesk
Remote desktop made effortless
AnyDesk is one of those apps that I need every few months. So instead of keeping it installed permanently, I like to use its portable version. TeamViewer also has a portable version, but I like AnyDesk more because of its simplicity. You open it, share your unique ID, and you’re connected. It’s great for helping someone fix an issue or connecting with my own system when I’m away.
AnyDesk has everything you might want from a remote desktop tool. It can help you transfer files, sync the clipboard, and even enable unattended mode if you need to access your own PC anytime.
The above list is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a long list of portable apps like VLC, Firefox, LibreOffice, KeePassXC, Ditto, and CPU-Z that you can use without installing. And if you want an easy way to browse, download, and update them, PortableApps platform is the way to go.