20 Best Safari Browser Extensions (Free and Paid)

Dec. 14, 2020

One of the areas whereGoogle Chromehas always been head and shoulders above Safari is its collection of extensions. It’s indeed hard to look beyond Google’s offering if you prefer to have the luxury ofa variety of Chrome extensionsfor full-on customization. Without undermining the plethora of Chrome extensions, I would like to put it straight that Safari has slowly but steadily built a decent library of extensions that can go a long way in enhancing your web browsing experience. If you are more than willing to try out some super handy Safari extensions, I have got you covered with the 20 best Safari extensions for Mac.

Best Safari Extensions for Mac You Shouldn’t Miss Out

If you are already familiar with how the extension works with Safari on Mac, jump straight to the following roundup. However, if you are new to macOS or haven’t tried out extensions as yet, get the basics out of the way – first up.

In terms of functionality, an extension is quite similar toa pluginfor your browser designed to add certain functions and features to it. For instance, they can let you customize the user interface of the browser, enhance the functionality of the already added features, or add a completely new dimension to it for a fully personalized experience.

If you have tried out the Chrome extension, using the Safari extension would be a straightforward affair. There are several popular apps that come bundled with extensions, while others are designed to work as a standalone tool.

You can browse through all the available Safari extensions right from the stock web browser. Simply click on theSafari menuand chooseSafari extensionsto dive into the available extensions and install them with ease.

Once you have installed a Safari extension, you will need to head over to theSafari menu -> Preferences -> Extensionsand then enable it by checking the box to the left of it. If you no longer want a specific extension, you can uninstall it right from the extension’s settings.

As mentioned above, Safari has got a fairly solid collection of extensions. From letting you watch flicks while browsing the web to keeping a tab on hot deals to managing all of your bookmarks, extensions can do a lot more than what meets the eyes. As to which extension should you try, it all comes down to your preference.

That all being said, let’s explore the best free/paid Safari extensions for macOS!

Playing a funny video while browsing the web is something that I mostly do to keep boredom at bay. Even though my eyes seem toglance at the PiP videomore than the web pages, I love this mode of multitasking as it sort of charges me up – especially after the post-lunch session. Refreshment aside, it also comes to my rescue when I’m working in tandem with tutorials.

PiPer adds a dedicated PiP button to the video player on the supported sites so that you can enable/disable PiP mode easily. Besides, it alsosupports closed captionsto bolster yourvideo streamingexperience. Long story short, keep PiPer at your disposal to get the most out of picture-in-picture mode in Safari.

Install PiPer:(free, offers in-app purchases)

Password management doesn’t have to be a hassle when you have a smart password manager always ready to get the job done for you. Widely considered as one of thebest password managersacross platforms,1Passwordis what you should pick to take control of your secret codes. You can use it tocreate strong passwordsthat are a hard nut to crack, access your information securely, and share them with the needed safeguard.

1Password offers you the flexibility tostore your passwords in different vaultslike notes, credit cards, logins, passports, and more. To make it more convenient for you to access specific passwords, it also allows you to organize them using tags, and favorites. Not just that, the password manager also lets you upload private documents and securely access them from across devices.

Install 1Password:(30-day free trial, $3.99/month)

The built-in Safari Translation is one of the highlights of macOS Big Sur along with theiOS-style control center,iMessage effects, and thesmart battery settingsthat allow you to keep track of the battery consumption. While I have found the built-in translation quite efficient, it is nowhere near as versatile as that of Google Translation. That aside, it is currently available only in a few countries and supports just a handful of languages.

But bother not, this is where isa proficient language translatorlike TranslateMe comes into play. Thanks to the support for more than 180 languages, the extension helps you keep the language barrier away from reading an article that is in a foreign language. Moreover, it also offers afully customizable settingso that you can translate languages using the preferred setting.

Install TranslateMe for Safari:($9.99)

Imagine a situation where you are running behind the clock due to a rather hectic schedule. Suddenly your eyes fall on an interesting article which you don’t want to miss out on. Wouldn’t you appreciate having an option tosave the article for laterso that you can catch up with it at your own pace? Most probably, yes! That’s what makes “Save to Pocket” so helpful for the folks who prefer to have a neat tool to capture everything from articles to videos and read/watch them later.

Pocket offers you the freedom to keep your saved stories perfectly organized using tags. And with a clutter-free interface, it lets you read your favorite stories with complete peace of mind. That’s not all, it also supports offline functionality so that you can catch up with your stuff without any interruption.

Install Save to Pocket:(free)

If you no longer want ads to distract you while browsing the web or wish toprevent trackersfrom keeping a track of your browsing activity, Ghostery Lite is the one I would recommend you to try out. With the help ofSafari’s Content Blocker API, the extension blocks ads and cookies efficiently.

What I love the most about this ad-blocker is the ability to keep the smoothness of Safari intact. That means your browsing won’t feel sluggish even after Ghostery Lite is in action. Notably, it featurescustom settingsthat allow you to choose specific tracker categories to block or unblock as per your needs. Everything considering, it’s among the top Safari extensions for blocking trackers.

InstallGhostery Lite:(free)

Did you ever wish to quickly figure out how much a Netflix movie/showscored on the rating chartwhile exploring the massive library so that you could get started with streaming right away? If the answer is in the affirmative, chances are pretty high that Popcorn for Safari could easily fit into your needs.

With Popcorn for Safari at your disposal, you cankeep a tab on IMDband Metascore ratings on Netflix with ease. The extension is lightweight and works as expected. What’s more, it’s also completely free, which puts it in line with the best free Safari extensions for Mac.

Install Popcorn for Safari:(free)

StopTheMadness does exactly what it implies. There are quite a few websites thatdisable certain user-interface featuresthat need to be enabled by default in Safari. With this Safari extension installed, you will be able to force such websites to enable the user-interface feature. Simply,command-click and middle-clickto open the link in a new tab where you will get access to all the features that have been disabled.

Another feature of StopTheMadness is that it ensures that your web-browsing doesn’t get affected. With convenient access to the contextual menus, drag-and-drop gesture, it allows you to browse the web at your own pace.

Install StopTheMadness:($8.99)

Furthermore, HoverSee for Safari alsosupports a handful ofuseful keyboard shortcutsto let you speed up your task. For instance, you can use the Alt-Space shortcut to open the page preview showing all the images/links. And with the Control-Alt shortcut, you can force HoverSee to zoom.

Install HoverSee for Safari:($7.99)

Not for nothing “Dark Mode” has long been one of the most wanted features across platforms. Aside fromsafeguarding your eyes from straining, it also plays a good part in improving the battery life of the device.

Though Apple introduced Dark Mode more than two years with macOS Mojave, there are still quite a few sites that don’t support it. And that’s what creates the need to have a tool that canforce websites to embrace the dark theme.With Dark Mode extension, you will get a unified dark theme that makes content appear soothing to the eyes, thereby helping you read web pages comfortably at night or in low-lit environments.

Notably, the developer offers Dark Mode extension with yet another useful extension called Focus thatenables you to concentrate on the things that matterand avoid the ones that tend to distract you.

Install Dark Mode:($2.99)

For the folks who love to play videos in Safari while surfing the web and prefer to control it right from the browser, “Speed Player for Safari” could be the right answer. If you are one of them, it won’t take much time to win you over.

It offers a pretty straightforward way tochange the playback speedfor any video on the web. Based on your needs, you can set a default playback speed for all the videos. And with the handy keyboard shortcuts, you will also be able to increase/decrease the playback rate with ease.

InstallSpeed Player for Safari:(free)

This one looks primed for thefull-time shoppersor the folks who like to keep a tab on exclusive deals offering massive discounts. If that’s you, Honey for Safari should be a permanent extension in your roster. What makes it stand out is the ability to automatically search for andapply coupons on more than 30, 000 sitesto help you track down the hottest deals in the town.

Whether it’s providingbetter Amazon pricesor comparing the deals or keeping you in the loop about shipping and Prime status, Honey for Safari can do it all for you. Considering all these notable goodies, it’s undoubtedly one of the best free Safari extensions for macOS.

Install Honey for Safari:(free)

Times when I’m deep into anexciting binge-watching spree, I want tokeep all the distractions at bayto relish the video streaming to the fullest. And I guess if you are also in the same terrain, your story may not be too different from mine. As you may have already sensed, “Turn Off the Lights” lets you fade the entire web page to the dark withcinema-style lighting effectsso that you can watch your favorite flick without any distraction.

The Safari extension featuresa simple buttonthat you can use to make the page fade to dark and return to the normal lightning with ease. Better still, it supports all the popular video sites includingYouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, twitch.tv, Hulu,Metacafe, Youku, and more. On top of all, the extension also lets you choose from several resolutions such as 8K, 5K, 4K, 1080p for more personalized video streaming.

InstallTurn Off the Lights:(free)

Time management is probably the most pivotal aspect of enhanced productivity. So, if you have found out that there aretoo many time eatersthat are proving to be bottlenecks in your efforts to double down on productivity, Don’t Waste My Time! could make a great difference for you.

What has called for my attention in this Safari extension is the ability to keep aclose watch on the websitethat you are on and offer a detailed insight about where you spend the most time. As a result, it doesn’t take long for you to spot the culprits.

Install Don’t Waste My Time!:(free)

Whenever I come across something really interesting, I like to share it with friends and loved ones. That’s the time when I need toshorten the URLto make the sharing look neat. While there are so many sites like Bitly and URL Shortener that allow you to shorten URLs easily, having a handy tool always ready to get the job done faster is something I prefer to have. That’s where Short Menu comes into play.

Short Menuworks like a native toolfor Safari. The extension automatically takes the URL from the clipboard and shortens it with just a simple click. Better still, it alsoautomatically copiesthe short URL so that you can share it right away. That’s not all, Short Menu provides seamless syncing to let you access your URL across devices. Overall, it’s a useful tool that canboost your productivityon Mac.

Install Short Menu:($5.99)

Whether you are a content marketeer or a blogger or an emerging vlogger who has to share a number of stories onInstagramandPinterestregularly, Tailwind Publisher can prove to be a much-needed shot in the arm for you. Using this Safari extension, you will be able toschedule contentto be published on Instagram and Pinterest at your own pace.

By showing all theshareable images on a webpageinstantly, Tailwind Publisher enables you to schedule posts at a lightning speed. The ability torepin or regramplays a key role in boosting your productivity. Even better, it also providesin-depth analyticsto let you track down the ups and downs so that you can hit the bull’s eyes by getting the most out of your skill.

Install Tailwind Publisher:(free)

If you had been looking for a way to discover and subscribe to RSS (Really Simple Syndication), RSS Button for Safari is for you. Do note that it requires either a newsreader having thesupport for RSS, Atom or JSON feedsor an account with an online news reader like Feed Wrangler, Inoreader, Feedbin, Feedly, The Old Reader, FeedHQ,  NewsBlur, etc.

RSS Button integrates seamlessly with Safari, allowing you to access your preferred news reader without any hassle. On the privacy front, the extension states that itdoesn’t collect your datanor does it retain any information. So, you can trust it to keep your privacy intact.

Install RSS Button for Safari:($0.99)

While browsing the web, I make sure to save something that is essential to me. Whether it’s important information or an insightful story or a detailed chart, I prefer to save it so that I can access it instantly when I need it. WithEvernoteWeb Clipper being just a click away, I find itpretty straightforward to clip web pages.

Moreover, the web clipper also works quite well in terms ofannotating screenshots. For instance, you can add text to your screen capture or highlight important points so that they never go out of your mind. Oh yes, it also offers you the option toadd tagsand remarks to keep everything in the Apple pie order.

Install Evernote Web Clipper:(free)

If it’s time to put privacy at the forefront of browsing, look no further than DuckDuckGo toprevent the prying eyesfrom tracking your activity. For those unfamiliar, DuckDuckGo is well-known for its stance on privacy. So, you can count on it toguard your personal informationagainst tracking.

Notably, DuckDuckGo offersa privacy grade (A-F)to each site you visit, thereby making it easier for you to find how protected you are on a specific site. Furthermore, you can also dive into the privacy details to check the data trackers that were trying to track your activity. Privacy and security aside, DuckDuckGo is lightweight and works neatly in tandem with Safari as if it were a built-in feature of the Apple browser.

Install DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials:(free)

If you have a passion for journaling your life, chances are you would find “Day One” highly appreciable. The Safari extension featuresa clutter-free and intuitive interfacewhere you can note down everything that comes to your heart with complete peace of mind.

What’s more, Day Oneoffers a customizable layoutso that you can fine-tune it in line with your story. Interestingly, it also lets you insert photos, videos, audio recordings, and even drawings to your journal to give it a striking look.

With theend-to-end encryption and automatic backup, Day One ensures your story remains secure. To further safeguard your journal against unauthorized access, it also allows you to protect it with biometric security. In a nutshell, it’s probably the best Safari extension for keeping a journal.

Install Day One:(free)

Last but not least, Grammarly for Safari is a worthy addition to this roundup of the top Safari extensions for multiple reasons. Whether you are a student who wants toprevent writing errorsfrom destroying your assignments or professional writers who want to have a smart tool totrack down blunders/common errorswith ease, this one can have a definite role to play in helping you write accurately.

The writing assistant providesspecific suggestionsbased on your personal settings to enhance your writing. With the built-in spelling checker, it quickly spots typos. And thanks to the grammar checker, it ensures grammatical mistakes don’t ruin your article. Not just that, Grammarly also providesan overall scorebased on readability so that you will get a better idea about how good your article is.

Install Grammarly for Safari:(free)

So, that ends our roundup of the best Safari extensions for Mac. With a variety of cool extensions at your beck and call, I guess you have got what you had been looking for. But before you start unraveling your favorite extensions, make sure to spill some beans about them.

Have I missed out on some Safari extensions? Be sure to let me know their names in the comments section below. If they are able to live up to the mark, I will consider adding them to this lineup.

An old school bibliophile who turned a tech nerd out of obsession. When he is not digging into hacks and tracking down stories that are breaking the internet, you may find him reciting poems.