In this article we'll highlight the best standalone apps across a variety of categories. It may be technically possible to do things like hammering out a document for your boss, touching up a photo, or editing some code thanks to the cornucopia of mobile apps on the market, but we're most efficient when we have the right tool for the job, and often times that tool is a bona fide computer.Ī laptop is the logical solution that most users will arrive at in terms of flexibility, but did you know that you can effectively carry around a comprehensive suite of productivity software, handy tools, media players and even games complete with user preferences intact and use them on virtually any PC? While phones can certainly allow us to be productive on the go when needed, it's not always as glamorous as it sounds. This is especially useful in situations where you may not have administrative rights to install software, on public computers at a library, university, or at work. Portable apps don't modify the Windows registry or leave behind configuration files on the host computer. That means portable apps come in really handy as executables and any files associated with their operation are contained within a single folder, meaning you can run them directly from a USB drive or a cloud folder synced across PCs.

Portable apps usually offer the same functionality and advantages as the regular versions of your favorite software, but without any installers involved.

Portable application