Best ChatGPT Plugins in 2026: 20 Worth Installing, by Use Case

The best ChatGPT plugins in 2026 are the ones that connect ChatGPT to tools you already use: Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook Email, Google Drive, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Canva, Figma, HubSpot and a few more, all installed from OpenAI's Plugin directory. ChatGPT Plugins are a 2026 product that bundles skills (reusable instructions) with connected apps. They are not the 2023 plugins beta, which OpenAI shut down in 2024. OpenAI's pricing page lists Plugins on the Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans, although what you can install depends on your plan, workspace, role and region.

If you searched for the best ChatGPT plugins, you probably found lists of Zapier, Wolfram, Kayak and WebPilot plugins. Those lists describe OpenAI's 2023 plugins beta. OpenAI stopped new plugin conversations on March 19, 2024, and in July 2026 it launched something different under the same name: a Plugin directory where each plugin packages skills, connected apps, or both.

This guide covers the current product only. You'll learn what ChatGPT plugins are now, which plans can use them, how to install one, and 20 plugins worth trying, each confirmed in OpenAI's directory on September 16, 2026. We also explain how plugins relate to apps and custom GPTs, and where a browser extension like AI Toolbox fits (it is a Chrome extension, not a ChatGPT plugin).

What Are ChatGPT Plugins in 2026?

A ChatGPT plugin is a package that helps ChatGPT and Codex complete a workflow, and it can include skills, connected apps and app templates.

OpenAI's help center describes three building blocks a plugin can contain:

• Skills: reusable instructions and workflow guidance. A skill can include instructions, examples and code, and ChatGPT can use an installed skill automatically when its description matches your request.
• Connected apps: links to an external service such as Google Drive or Slack, so ChatGPT can search information, pull in content or take supported actions there.
• App templates: setup flows that workspace administrators use to configure an app for their organization.

Some plugins include several apps. Others include only skills and never connect to an outside service. Installing a plugin does not bypass anything: you still sign in to the provider, and the plugin can only reach what your account (or your admin's connection) can already reach.

Plugins vs apps vs custom GPTs

• App: the integration itself. OpenAI's definition is that an app connects ChatGPT to an external service so it can access information or perform supported actions.
• Plugin: the installable package around one or more apps and skills. Since July 9, 2026, the Plugin directory has replaced the old App directory, and existing app connections were not affected.
• Custom GPT: a configured version of ChatGPT. On September 11, 2026 OpenAI announced plans to retire custom GPTs across ChatGPT plans and offer a migration path to plugins.

AI Toolbox All Access puts folders, full-text search, bulk export, and prompt tooling into one extension across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, for $199 once (about $197 less than buying the modules separately).

Which ChatGPT Plans Can Use Plugins?

OpenAI's pricing page marks Plugins as included on Free, Go, Plus and Pro, and its help center says the directory is available across ChatGPT plans.

What you can actually install is narrower than what you can browse. According to OpenAI, installing or using a given plugin depends on your plan, workspace, role, region and the capabilities the plugin includes. A few plan details that matter in practice:

• Apps that connect to internal tools are listed for Plus and Pro, not Free or Go, on OpenAI's pricing page. Interactive apps are listed on all four personal plans.
• Skills are generally available to eligible Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu users, per OpenAI's skills article. The pricing page also lists a Skills beta on Free, Go, Plus and Pro.
• Business workspaces have apps enabled by default. Enterprise and Edu admins control which apps are enabled and can make a plugin Available or Installed for specific roles.
• Desktop only: some imported plugins that declare MCP servers are labeled Desktop only and cannot run in ChatGPT on the web.

How to Install a ChatGPT Plugin

Go to Plugins in ChatGPT, open a plugin, select Install plugin, then connect the app account it asks for.

1. Open the directory: select Plugins in the ChatGPT sidebar, or visit chatgpt.com/plugins on the web.
2. Review the plugin: check its description, included skills, included apps and setup requirements.
3. Install: select Install plugin. This may start the app's setup or sign-in flow.
4. Connect: sign in to the provider account you want ChatGPT to use. For Canva, the setup screen offered Continue with ChatGPT, which creates or links your Canva account with Sign in with ChatGPT, or Sign in with Canva to use an existing Canva login.
5. Use it: in a chat, type @ followed by the plugin name (for example "@Google Calendar, brief me on my next meeting"), or open + and select More.

If you can't find a plugin, OpenAI says availability depends on your plan, region, workspace, role, supported surface and the plugin's capabilities. In a managed workspace, ask your administrator to review the installation policy and the required apps.

Permissions to check before you connect

By default, ChatGPT uses an Important actions setting for apps: it reads from connected apps automatically but asks before actions that could have a meaningful effect outside ChatGPT, such as sending an email, deleting content or making a purchase. On a personal account you can change this under Settings > Apps > Ask permission, or per app from the plugin directory.

ChatGPT also shows what an app can see before you add it. When we added Canva on September 16, 2026, the setup screen said the app can access basic information shared when you visit a website, such as your IP address and approximate location, and a summary of your recent context and intent within ChatGPT. Choosing Continue with ChatGPT added one more step, which shares your name, email address and profile picture with Canva to link the account.

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The 20 Best ChatGPT Plugins by Use Case

For most people, the best ChatGPT plugins are Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive for everyday work, Slack and Notion for teams, and Canva for design.

How we chose: every plugin below was listed in OpenAI's Plugin directory on September 16, 2026, most of them on its Popular or category shelves. The descriptions come from each plugin's directory listing or from OpenAI's help center. This is an editorial shortlist grouped by job, not an OpenAI ranking, and your plan or workspace may not offer every entry.

Email and calendar

1. Gmail

Built by: OpenAI. What it does: summarizes inbox activity, drafts replies and organizes email threads through the connected Gmail app. Try: "@Gmail Summarize the last 5 messages in this thread and list what I should follow up on." Since August 28, 2026 you can connect more than one Google account for Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Contacts on supported Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise plans.

2. Google Calendar

Built by: OpenAI. What it does: summarizes a day, checks availability, lists calendars, and creates, updates or deletes events. Best for: daily planning and meeting prep, such as a brief on your next meeting with attendees and agenda.

3. Outlook Email

Built by: OpenAI. What it does: searches Outlook messages, summarizes threads, drafts replies and manages follow-ups. Best for: Microsoft 365 users who want a daily "what needs a reply" list. An Outlook Calendar plugin is also in the directory.

Files and knowledge

4. Google Drive

Built by: OpenAI. What it does: works with Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, with separate skills for Docs, Drive, Drive comments, Sheets and Slides. Since August 13, 2026, a connected Google Drive also shows up in ChatGPT's Library, so you can browse My Drive and add a file to a chat without uploading it again.

5. Dropbox

Built by: Dropbox. What it does: finds and accesses stored files, with skills for finding, inspecting, organizing, sharing and cleaning up Dropbox content. On September 10, 2026 OpenAI started rolling out Box, Dropbox and SharePoint in Library for Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Edu, Healthcare and Enterprise users on the web.

6. Notion

Built by: Notion. What it does: searches and references your Notion pages and can create docs, tasks and databases. Its skills include Knowledge Capture, Meeting Intelligence, Research & Documentation and Spec to Implementation.

Team communication

7. Slack

Built by: Slack. What it does: looks up chats and messages and helps you share work. Try: "@Slack Summarize what mattered most in this channel over the last 7 days, with decisions, owners and next steps."

8. Teams

Built by: OpenAI. What it does: searches Microsoft Teams messages, summarizes threads, sends replies and manages Planner tasks. Note: it requires a Microsoft work or school account; personal Microsoft accounts are not supported.

Design and creative work

9. Canva

Built by: Canva. What it does: creates, reviews and edits designs in conversation. Its skills cover resizing a design for social media, bulk creating designs from spreadsheet data, editing text and layout, design feedback, applying comment feedback and a Brand Kit check. Note: you need to connect a Canva account, and Bulk create requires an eligible Canva Enterprise plan.

10. Figma

Built by: Figma. What it does: sends product screens to Figma as editable layers using your design system components, creates and edits decks in Figma Slides, and generates diagrams in FigJam. Designs can go back to Codex to be implemented in code.

Data and development

11. Data

Built by: OpenAI. What it does: answers business questions from connected company data, explains what changed and builds interactive dashboards and reports. Note: it works in ChatGPT Work and Codex, and it works best with a data warehouse plugin such as Databricks or Snowflake. Start a conversation with @Data.

12. GitHub

Built by: OpenAI. What it does: accesses repositories, issues and pull requests to triage PRs, issues and CI. Try: "@GitHub Summarize this pull request like a senior reviewer: what changed, what could break and which tests are missing."

Business and finance

13. HubSpot

Built by: HubSpot. What it does: reads and writes deals, contacts, companies, tickets and other CRM objects you have permission to access, with skills for CRM data hygiene, customer prep and pipeline health.

14. Intuit QuickBooks

Built by: Intuit QuickBooks. What it does: analyzes profitability, cash flow and receivables, generates profit and loss statements, balance sheets and AR/AP aging reports, and manages invoices, estimates, payments and customers from chat.

Research and learning

15. Consensus

Built by: Consensus. What it does: searches and synthesizes more than 220 million peer-reviewed papers (per its listing) to run literature reviews, build bibliographies and draft cited content, drawing on sources such as PubMed, Semantic Scholar and arXiv.

16. Quizlet

Built by: Quizlet. What it does: creates flashcard sets from a prompt, a topic or your uploaded notes, so you can build and study a set without leaving ChatGPT.

Travel, entertainment and health

17. Expedia

Built by: Expedia Group. What it does: searches flights and hotels with real-time prices, availability and photos, and shows hotels on a map. You can link your Expedia account for member deals, then continue on Expedia to book.

18. Booking.com

Built by: Booking.com. What it does: finds stays, rental cars and attractions, then hands you off with "View on Booking.com" to complete the booking.

19. Spotify

Built by: Spotify. What it does: recommends songs, artists, playlists, podcasts and audiobooks and plays them in Spotify. Spotify Premium listeners can describe a vibe and get a matching playlist.

20. Health

Built by: OpenAI. What it does: connects supported medical records and Apple Health data so ChatGPT can explain results in context and track labs, sleep and activity over time. Note: OpenAI says Health is for eligible, logged-in Free, Go, Plus and Pro users in the U.S. aged 18 or older, on web and iOS, and is rolling out gradually. Connecting Apple Health requires an iPhone.

Best ChatGPT Plugins at a Glance

This table summarizes the 20 plugins, who built them and the main thing to check before installing.

Custom GPTs Are Moving to Plugins

OpenAI plans to retire custom GPTs, with a scheduled retirement date of December 11, 2026 for affected Enterprise workspaces, and to migrate them into plugins.

OpenAI's retirement FAQ lists these planned milestones for Enterprise workspaces, and notes the dates may change:

• September 11, 2026: admin notice to help organizations prepare.
• September 17, 2026: target date for the migration experience and user banner (a target, not a guarantee for every workspace).
• September 25, 2026 (planned): creation of new custom GPTs ends.
• December 11, 2026: scheduled retirement, when custom GPTs stop running and leave the GPT directory.

OpenAI says the transition affects all ChatGPT plans and that other plans may follow the same timeline, so watch the in-product notice for your own account. In the planned migration, a GPT's instructions become a skill inside the new plugin and its connected apps become apps in that plugin. Custom actions do not transfer; they need to be rebuilt with a supported connector or a custom MCP server. Conversation starters and past chats may not copy, and the GPT's selected model does not carry over.

A Short History: The 2023 Plugins Beta

The original ChatGPT plugins were a 2023 beta that OpenAI wound down in 2024; today's Plugins product shares the name but works differently.

• March 23, 2023: OpenAI announced experimental plugin support, starting with a waitlist.
• May 12, 2023: web browsing and plugins rolled out in beta. Users enabled them in beta settings, chose "Plugins" from the model switcher and installed plugins from a Plugin Store.
• March 19, 2024: users could no longer install plugins or start new plugin conversations. Existing plugin conversations could continue until April 9, 2024, per OpenAI's "Winding down the ChatGPT plugins beta" notice.
• December 18, 2025: OpenAI launched an app directory in ChatGPT, and connectors started appearing as apps.
• July 9, 2026: the Plugin directory replaced the App directory, and plugins became the main way to add skills and apps.

If an article tells you plugins are Plus-only, limited to three per chat, or installed from a model dropdown, it is describing the retired beta.

AI Toolbox: A Browser Extension, Not a Plugin

AI Toolbox is a Chrome extension that organizes your ChatGPT history, something plugins are not built to do.

Plugins help ChatGPT reach other services. They don't give you folders for your own conversations or a full-text search across old chats. AI Toolbox fills that gap from the browser side. It is not listed in OpenAI's Plugin directory and does not install inside ChatGPT; you add it from the Chrome Web Store, and it runs on Chromium browsers such as Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera and Arc.

• Search history: search message content, not just titles, with an exact-match toggle and date filters.
• Folders: nested folders for chats, GPTs and projects.
• Bulk actions: select many chats at once to delete, archive or export them.
• Export: save conversations as TXT, with Markdown, JSON and PDF on Premium.
• Prompt library: save and reuse your best prompts.

AI Toolbox has 40,000+ users and a 4.7/5 rating from 800+ Chrome Web Store ratings. Download AI Toolbox to organize and search your ChatGPT conversations alongside the plugins you use.

Tips for Getting More Out of Plugins

Install only what you need, name the plugin in your prompt, and review permissions before allowing write actions.

• Start small: install the two or three plugins that match tools you open every day, such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive.
• Name the plugin: an @ mention makes it clear which plugin to use. OpenAI notes ChatGPT may also pick a relevant installed skill automatically, but not on every request.
• Be specific: include the source, time period and output you want, for example "@Data Compare revenue this quarter with last quarter and explain the largest changes."
• Keep approvals on: the default Important actions setting asks before sends, deletes and purchases. OpenAI warns that Allow all actions carries elevated risk.
• Check results: verify prices on the travel provider's site and confirm citations before you rely on them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best ChatGPT plugins in 2026?

For most people, the best ChatGPT plugins are Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive for everyday work, Slack, Teams and Notion for teams, Canva and Figma for design, and GitHub for developers. All of them are listed in OpenAI's Plugin directory. Pick the plugins that match the tools you already use, because each one works through your own connected account.

Are ChatGPT plugins still available?

Yes, but not the original ones. OpenAI ended the 2023 plugins beta in 2024: new plugin conversations stopped on March 19, 2024 and existing ones ended on April 9, 2024. On July 9, 2026 OpenAI launched a new Plugin directory, where plugins package skills and connected apps.

How do I install plugins in ChatGPT?

Select Plugins in the ChatGPT sidebar, open the plugin you want, select Install plugin, and connect the account it asks for. Then use it by typing @ followed by the plugin name in a chat, or by opening + and selecting More.

Are ChatGPT plugins free?

OpenAI's pricing page lists Plugins as included on the Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans. Some features cost extra through the connected service, though. For example, Canva's Bulk create requires an eligible Canva Enterprise plan, and Spotify's vibe-based playlists are for Spotify Premium listeners.

Do I need ChatGPT Plus to use plugins?

Not for the directory itself. OpenAI's pricing page lists Plugins on the Free plan. Individual plugins can still depend on your plan, region, workspace and role, and OpenAI's pricing page lists apps that connect to internal tools only for Plus and Pro.

What is the difference between ChatGPT plugins, apps and custom GPTs?

An app connects ChatGPT to an external service such as Google Drive or Slack. A plugin packages one or more apps, skills, or both into a workflow you install from the Plugin directory. A custom GPT is a configured version of ChatGPT that OpenAI plans to retire, and its instructions become a skill when it is migrated to a plugin.

What happens to custom GPTs when they move to plugins?

In OpenAI's planned migration, a GPT's instructions become a skill in a new plugin, and its connected apps are added as apps. Custom actions do not transfer and must be rebuilt with a supported connector or a custom MCP server. For Enterprise workspaces, retirement is scheduled for December 11, 2026, when custom GPTs stop running.

Is there a limit on how many plugins I can use at once?

The old 3-plugin limit belonged to the 2023 beta. OpenAI's current plugin help article describes no such cap. You can install several plugins and call the one you need with an @ mention, and access is set by your plan, workspace and each app's permissions.

Is AI Toolbox a ChatGPT plugin?

No. AI Toolbox is a Chrome extension for Chromium browsers, not a plugin in OpenAI's directory. It adds folders, full-text history search, bulk export and a prompt library to the ChatGPT website. The free plan includes 2 root folders with unlimited subfolders, 2 pins, 2 prompts and 5 search results shown.

Conclusion: Build a Small Plugin Stack

The best ChatGPT plugins in 2026 are the ones that remove tab switching from your day. Start with Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive (or the Outlook and Teams equivalents), then add a specialist: Canva or Figma for design, GitHub for code, HubSpot or QuickBooks for business, Consensus for research. Ignore guides that still describe the 2023 plugin store, and if you rely on custom GPTs, plan their move to plugins before OpenAI's retirement date.

Plugins connect ChatGPT to your tools, but they don't organize the conversations you create. For that, download AI Toolbox and add folders, search and export to ChatGPT. Learn more at ai-toolbox.co.

Last updated: September 16, 2026

Key Terms

ChatGPT plugin (2026)

An installable package from OpenAI's Plugin directory that can include skills, connected apps and app templates.

Skill

A reusable workflow with instructions, examples or code that ChatGPT can use when it fits a request.

App

An integration that connects ChatGPT to an external service, such as Google Drive or Slack, to read information or take supported actions.

AI Toolbox

Chrome extension with 40,000+ users that adds folders, search, export, and prompt management to ChatGPT. Available on Chromium browsers.

Free Plan

2 root folders (unlimited subfolders), 2 pinned chats, 2 saved prompts and the first 5 search results shown, free forever.

Premium

$9.99/month or $99 one-time lifetime: unlimited folders, pins and prompts, all search matches, bulk export and prompt chaining.

References

Sources and authoritative documentation referenced in this article:

• OpenAI Help Center, Plugins in ChatGPT and Codex
• OpenAI Help Center, Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ
• OpenAI Help Center, Apps in ChatGPT
• OpenAI Help Center, Skills in ChatGPT
• OpenAI Help Center, Data plugin
• OpenAI Help Center, Health in ChatGPT
• OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT release notes
• ChatGPT Plugin directory
• ChatGPT pricing and plan comparison
• OpenAI, Plugins in ChatGPT feature page
• OpenAI Developer Community, Plugin store and new chats with plugins closed March 19, 2024
• AI Toolbox (formerly ChatGPT Toolbox), Chrome Web Store listing
• AI Toolbox, Official site

Retrieved September 16, 2026.