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The best portable apps make it easy to run programmes on any device right from a USB stick or the cloud. Most portable apps work and have the same benefits as the regular versions of your favourite software, but you don’t have to install them. Portable apps are very useful because their executables and any other files needed to run are all in one folder.
This means you can run them directly from a USB drive or a cloud folder that is synced across PCs. Portable apps don’t change the Windows registry or leave configuration files on the computer they’re running on. This is especially helpful if you are using a public computer at a library, university, or work and don’t have permission to install software. So, here are the best portable apps you can get right now.
Best Portable Apps
Google Chrome
All of the popular browsers have portable versions, but we chose Google Chrome best Portable apps for its ease of use. Because it’s connected to your Google account, it automatically syncs all your bookmarks and settings, making it the best choice for working on the go. This is one of the best Portable Apps that you can download from here right now.
Chrome also has hundreds of add-ons, but you might want to be careful about which ones you install because they can take up a lot of space on your hard drive. A couple of things to keep in mind are that Chrome doesn’t save passwords between PCs by default and that Windows manages certificates, not Chrome, so you can’t take these with you.
Features
Pros
- Easy to use
- Largest library of extensions
- Wide range of features
- Pretty fast
- Cross-device synchronization
Cons
- Highest battery drain in our testing.
- Weak on privacy.
Snipaste
Screen capture can be a grind that doesn’t get enough attention. If you need to take screenshots often, the tools that come with Windows might not be enough for you. Snipaste is a version of the screenshot tool that is small but still powerful.
If you don’t use Snipaste or something similar, you should at least know how to use the screenshot tool that comes with Windows. This is one of the best Portable Apps that you can download right now and use this app.
Features
Pros
- Fast
- Simple
- Precise
Cons
- Only records still images
LibreOffice
LibreOffice Portable is the biggest of these portable apps, but for a full office suite, it’s surprisingly small. If you want to take it with you, you’ll need an external drive. However, it’s easy to store it in the cloud. LibreOffice Portable has almost all of the programmes that come with the version that you install on your computer.
These programmes are Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math, and Base. The only thing that is missing is Charts, but you can use Calc to make graphs and other types of visuals. LibreOffice Portable is made with open source code, just like many other portable apps. This takes some time, so the version that can be installed is a few steps behind.
Features
Pros
- Full suite of office software
- Compatible with all Microsoft Office file formats
- No advertising or features hidden behind paywalls
Cons
- Less stable on Macs than rival suites
- No online collaboration features
Textify
It’s hard to say no to Textify. It is a text grabber that can basically turn any text on the screen into plain text that you can copy and paste. This can help you get a lot more done when you’re taking notes or gathering information from a website. Even better is when you’re researching a video, scanned document, or other non-standard form of text.
Features
Pros
- Text field targeting
- Text visible in checkout
- Text linked to orders
Cons
- Lacks integrated Flash support.
GIMP
The portable version of GIMP, a free open source graphic and image editor, should work well on any modern USB stick or other storage device. GIMP Portable is a big folder because it has all the brushes, plugins, and fonts that you need.
GIMP Portable takes a little while to start up because it needs to access all of these, but once it does, you have the perfect tool for advanced photo editing wherever you are. GIMP Portable is great for editing photos remotely because it is easy to open files from a local drive, network storage, or a URL.
Features
Pros
- Resizing and cropping images
- Working with layers (text, images etc.)
- Exporting images in various formats
Cons
- Outdated, cluttered interface
- Slow performance
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox Portable works the same as its non-portable counterpart. The portable app blocks pop-ups and gets updates automatically, so it is safe. Plus, Firefox Portable makes sure that your bookmarks and add-ons are saved, so you can take them with you wherever you take your portable app. You can download this app from here and use it.
Features
Pros
- Reliable privacy practices
- Add-ons library
- Easy to use
Cons
- Some compatibility issues
- High RAM usage
VLC Media Player
VLC is one of the best and most popular media players out there. Its main benefit is that you don’t have to download extra codecs to play almost any audio or video file or stream. Because of this, VLC Media Player Portable is very useful.
Keep it on hand, and if you find a file that won’t work with your regular music or video software, you’ll have the right tool for the job. VLC Media Player Portable can play files from any location, including local drives, network storage, and streams.
Features
Pros
- Highly customizable
- Excellent file format support
- Expandable via plugins
Cons
- Editing metadata isn’t as straightforward as in some other players
Apache OpenOffice
The Apache OpenOffice app, which is also available for Windows, is one of the best alternatives to the Office suite. It has a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, and more. It works with Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, among other languages. Best of all, it’s free, so if you use it instead of Office, you save money.
Features
Pros
- Excellent compatibility with Office formats
- Familiar Office-like interface
Cons
- No native cloud storage
FAQs
Is PortableApps good?
Portable apps have several benefits: they make it easy to switch between computers because you can take your software with you, they don’t interfere with other programmes on your PC, and they can be used on PCs with limited user permissions (at work or school, for example).
Is Portable Apps .com safe?
Portable apps are just as safe as any other kind of software. They can be safe and reliable, or they could have malware, depending on where they came from. Both the developer’s website and Portableapps.com are good places to find information.
Is portable better than installer?
The installer can also register extra components on the system to give the app more features. This is something that portable apps can’t do, and it’s the main reason why installers are better.
How secure is APK?
As long as you get the APK from a reliable source, it’s safe to download it. But it might not be as helpful as going through a trusted app store like App Bazaar for Indus OS. A trustworthy app store will make the whole user experience safer and better.