"What started in 2019 as a couple of utilities for things like window and shortcut management has gradually expanded to nearly 30 useful tools, including a keyboard shortcut creator, an image-to-text extractor, and a better search bar than the one that's built into Windows proper. PowerToys has become wildly popular among Windows power users, with more than 70 million downloads to date, but it's also completely free, with no ads, Office upsells, or ham-fisted Copilot integrations."
"Instead of directly monetizing PowerToys, Microsoft sees it as a way to build goodwill among software developers and Windows enthusiasts while also incubating ideas for the future of Windows. It's like a hippie commune within the Microsoft empire, building cool software mostly for its own sake."
"Our goal is to empower power users to do more."
Microsoft PowerToys began in 2019 as simple window and shortcut management utilities and has grown into a suite of nearly 30 tools offering features like keyboard shortcut creation, image-to-text extraction, and an improved search interface. The project has achieved over 70 million downloads among Windows power users. Despite its popularity and utility, PowerToys remains completely free with no advertisements, Office promotions, or Copilot integrations. Microsoft deliberately avoids monetizing PowerToys, instead using it to cultivate goodwill within the developer and enthusiast communities while testing potential features for future Windows versions. The project operates as an innovation space within Microsoft, prioritizing user empowerment over commercial returns.
Read at Fast Company
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