Alternative android app stores

10 Alternative Android App Stores

You’ve just written a great Android app and you’re ready to make some money from
it. The most common route is probably to pay $25 to get it listed on Google Play. However, there are many alternatives to Google Play, each with their own audience that can drive more downloads.

Some of these app stores are catered to a smaller audience while others are more localized. Most of them don’t charge you for listing your app on their store. It can therefore pay off to publish your app in several app stores.

1. Amazon Appstore

Meet one of Google’s greatest competitors, Amazon. Amazon offers the Kindle Fire and, more recently, the Fire Phone, Android powered devices that run a custom flavor of Android, Fire OS. Despite the custom operating system, a large chunk of Android apps will run fine on Fire OS. If yours doesn’t, then it will probably only take a few tweaks to get it up and running.

You can also publish HTML5 and web apps on the Amazon Appstore. It currently contains more than 240,000 apps and they have a free app of the day feature. Take a look at Amazon’s developer portal to get started.

2. SlideME

One of the oldest Android app marketplaces, older than Google Play, SlideME is installed on more than half of Android devices without Google Play. SlideMe takes a fee of 20% and offers a wide range of payment options, including PayPal, which Google Play doesn’t offer. In some cases, putting your Android app for sale on SlideME can result in more downloads than you’d get on Google Play, so it’s definitely worth a try.

3. 1Mobile Market

1Mobile Market only accepts free apps, but that doesn’t mean you should discard it as an alternative to Google Play. Uploading apps is free, but there is an approval process your app has to pass through. This shouldn’t be an issue as long as your app doesn’t contain malware.

1Mobile Market claims to have more than 100 million installs with more than 800,000 apps listed. Users are offered recommendations based on their preferences, which is great to discover new apps.

4. Samsung Galaxy Apps

Samsung is the biggest manufacturer of Android phones and it also has it’s own app store, Samsung Galaxy Apps. It is installed on all Samsung Galaxy series devices and therefore has a large user base. The only downside is the fairly small number of apps available on the store, about 13,000 in 2011.

5. Mobile9

Mobile9 has more than 40 million active users, so it’s another option worth considering. Users can share and comment on the apps they have installer, similar to a social network for apps. Another upside is that publishing apps is free. With more than 200 million downloads per month and only 30,000 developers, it’s definitely worth a try.

6. Opera Mobile Store

Publishing apps is free on the Opera Mobile Store, but developers only get 70% of the revenue from paid apps. Opera has an agreement with Yandex, Russia’s biggest search engine, which allows Opera’s apps to be shown in the Yandex App Store and vice versa. There are around 200,000 apps and the store receives more than 100 million visitors per month with 2 million apps downloaded per day.

7. Mobango

Publishing apps on Mobango is also free. With millions of users and top apps generating thousands of downloads every day, Mobango is a good choice for publishing your app. There are currently 100,000 apps in the Mobango app store.

8. Soc.io Mall

Soc.io Mall’s tagline is «The Android Mall that Loves Developers». It offers high revenue share, 80/20, and listing your app is free. It currently has less than 10,000 apps, but the marketplace isn’t limited to apps, users can also buy games, ebooks, and the offering will soon also include music, videos, and audiobooks. The number of active users isn’t as high as other app stores, but competition is also much lower.

9. F-droid

F-droid contains only free and open source apps. You can download apps from the official website or through the official F-droid app. The F-droid app automatically updates every app you’ve installed through F-droid. The platform is maintained by volunteers and relies on donations to pay the bills. Every app on F-droid must have an Apache or GNU open source license. Apps that include paid add-ons or advertisements are allowed, but are not displayed by default.

10. GetJar

GetJar has more than 30 million users and includes a recommendation service, similar to that of 1Mobile. It claims to have 3 million downloads a day, with 70,000 apps in its app store. It encourages developers to use a freemium model, displaying ads and using in-app currency instead of charging for the app. They also offer the largest virtual currency on Google Play, GetJar Gold, which is available to more than 100 million users.

Conclusion

There are many alternative app stores on which you can sell you Android application, with each store having its pros and cons. Although neither of these can replace the Google Play, they can certainly drive more downloads and expose your apps to more potential customers. And since you can list your apps for free in these stores, it doesn’t hurt to spend a bit of time to investigate these alternatives.

And by the way, Envato Market has its own Android section, where you can find more than 1,000 Android apps and app templates. So be sure to check that out as well.

Android apps on Envato Market

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9 Alternative Android App Stores

Every developer has one of the most difficult questions posed after completing an excellent Android app: which App Store will generate the most money? Most will opt for the $25 route of Google Play as it has one of the most guaranteed audiences. However, there are also other options that may come up.

Best App Store Alternative for Android

The biggest issue with choosing this standard option is that the competition is fierce. Below is listed some of the best alternative Android App Stores around so that you will get access to more localized and specialized customer audiences.

Besides rarely charging for listing an app there are several more advantages for choosing an alternative to Google Play:

• More options for promotion
• In our list of app stores for Android, you can find many platforms that can give a boost for the app by featuring it as an app of the day or provide app owner with some money-saving offers for advertising.
• Relevant recommendations
  Other Android app stores offer a list of recommended apps that are not displayed on Google Play top ten charts.
• Curated list
  Some of the Play store alternatives have a very narrow focus and a small selection of apps that have been filtered by topic, purpose, quality, age, etc.
• Local portals
  Some of the different app stores cater to countries and offer localized apps that are not presented somewhere else.

SlideME

As a long-term player in the app store business, it has been running even longer than Google Play, SlideME is the most regularly found app store on Android devices after the main competitor.

Biggest Advantage: Payment can be made via PayPal, and the app store only charges 20% for each purchase of your app.

Amazon Appstore

While not as old as Google Play or SlideME, the Amazon Appstore is one of their most successful competitors. With the introduction of Kindle Fire, the Fire Phone and a range of Android devices running Fire OS, there is a growing market for apps sold through Amazon.

There are some issues with running apps through the Fire OS but the majority of developers only need a short time to get their app ready for Amazon. In fact, many Android apps already run perfectly fine on Fire OS.

Biggest Advantages: It is possible to publish HTML5 and web apps on the Amazon Appstore. It is a growing marketplace with hundreds of thousands of apps and a large customer base. The Amazon Appstore is also remarkably easy to navigate for all developers.

1Mobile Market

A different approach to generating a successful app is focusing only on the popularity of the app. 1Mobile Market is only for free apps so it is a great place to upload an app to test it out on the market.

The marketplace itself costs nothing to upload your app but this doesn’t mean it is full of terrible apps. Each app has to pass through a selection process to check for malware and to keep a high quality of 1Mobile Market apps.

Biggest Advantage: A useful recommendation system based on preferences means that apps can become successful very quickly. With over 100 million installs and hundreds and thousands of apps listed, it is a great place to upload your app.

Samsung Galaxy Apps

From the company that manufacturers the most Android phones it is no surprise that Samsung has developed their own app store. Compared to other app stores, Samsung Galaxy Apps has a relatively small number of apps but this can be positive for apps to stand out.

Biggest Advantage: Every Samsung Galaxy device has the app store installed so there is an immediate and large customer base.

Mobile9

This app store can be compared to a social network. Mobile9 has millions of active users and each one has the ability to comment on and share their installed apps. Publishing an app is free and with such a wide user base it can mean great results for a well-developed app.

Biggest Advantage: There is a huge download rate with one of the smallest number of developers; getting noticed with Mobile9 can be relatively easy.

Opera Mobile Store

With a direct link with Yandex, Opera Mobile Store has access to almost the entire Russian app customer market by all their apps being present in the Yandex App Store. The store has over 100 million visits every single month, and there are over a million downloads each day.

Biggest Advantage: To get access to this huge audience is completely free. Opera Mobile Store, however, does take 30% of any sales, but it is worth it for the sales this app store generates.

Mobango

A base of millions of customers and thousands of downloads per day; Mobango is a forerunner for a Google Play alternative. It has a relatively small app total in its store so it isn’t too difficult to become one of its top downloaded apps.

Biggest Advantage: Uploading your app is completely free and no percentage is taken.

F-droid

For a more open approach to apps, one of the best alternatives is F-droid. The entire site and app store is run by volunteers and relies on donations. It only allows free apps and has a policy of not pushing apps that include paid add-ons or adverts.

Biggest Advantage: With a strong customer base and absolutely no costs there is nothing to lose by uploading your app to this store and testing out its popularity.

GetJar

This app store actively encourages its developers to use their freemium model which included adverts and in-app currency. GetJar Gold is one of the largest virtual currencies in use and is available to millions of users.

Biggest Advantages: 30 million users and a great recommendation service that allows for quick discovery of new apps.

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Takeaway

Choosing the best alternative Android market may seem to be a tough task. Every store has its pros and cons. You can find free app store for Android or the one that charges a fee, some of them a very specific, others vice versa very popular and highly competitive.

Neither of these best free app markets can 100 percent replace Google Play, they can become an additional channel to drive more downloads.

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A Descriptive List Of Alternative App Stores For 2021

After immense research, we have compiled a collection of the best alternate iPhone app stores for Android and iOS for app publishers to consider — don’t miss out on the complete list!

Updated on September 07, 2021

The Apple store on the app store and Google Play Store may have global recognition, but they aren’t the only app stores with the best free apps. For any app owner looking to launch their app, the Apple-Google hegemony forces them to pit their app against 2.1 million Android apps and 1.8 million iOS apps.

‘But, what’s the solution?’, you may ask. That’s why we’ve curated a list of the best app store for iOS devices and Android apps where app owners can launch their apps.

Why go for an Alternative App Store?

We’d be lying if we said, every app store for iOS devices alternative can offer as profitable of a revenue share model as Google Play Store or the App Store. But third-party app stores do pay for downloads and often have more lucrative app deals than the two popular app stores.

Advantages of choosing an alternative to the Google Play Store and Apple App Store:

• Besides rarely charging an app listing fee, the alternative app store for iOS devices and Android devices can promote your app better by featuring it as an app of the day or offering advertising discounts to app owners.
• Android app store alternatives can offer apps the coveted spot in the recommended apps list, which doesn’t make it to Google Play top ten charts.
• Apple Store on the app store alternatives is more profitable than Google and Apple app stores if app owners are offering localized apps that target specific countries.

Having explained the potential opportunities and benefits of third-party app stores in this list of Apple stores on the app store, we’ll take you through the best alternatives for iOS app stores, Android app stores, Chinese app stores, and many more different app stores.

Best Apple App Store Alternatives

Apple may have you fooled that its Apple app store download is a one-stop destination for iOS apps, but iOS app owners have more options than they might think. These alternative iOS app stores not only charge lesser app store submission fees but also invest more in advertising your app than the Apple app store. Download third-party app stores iPhone no jailbreak mentioned below.

1. GetJar: App Stores for iphones

Founded in 2004 by Ilja Laurs, GetJar is an alternative App Store for iPhone and an independent app store created by app developers for app developers as an app beta testing platform. The Apple app store download alternative has over 0.85M apps available on the platform and bags investor backing from Accel Partners and Tiger Global Management.

To know more about this one of the best Apple App Store alternatives HERE

2. Appland: App Store for iOS Devices

Appland is the perfect iOS app store alternative if you’re trying to target end-users in international markets including Indonesia, Mexico, Oman, USA, Iran, El Salvador, Malaysia, Iraq, Bangladesh, Panama, Myanmar, Cambodia, Egypt, etc.

Appland lags a little with conceptual clarity in terms of distribution and revenue model but the app store support is extremely responsive, making it worthy of your consideration.

To know more about this App Store iOS alternative click HERE

3. Builds.io: App Store for iOS

Traditional app stores don’t let you play Pokemon & Mario on your iPhone? Not anymore. You can now relive your childhood experiences on your smartphone! Launched in 2013, BuildStore is the first and best alternate iPhone app store that brings tweaked versions of your favorite games and apps to any iOS device (iPhone or iPad).

Top Features of Builds.io — An Apple app store download Alternative:

• A safe and trustworthy iOS app store with more than 15k active daily users.
• No extra tools or specific skills are required.
• More than 300 apps with

10 new ones added every month.

Seamless account restoring and 24/7 online customer support.

To know more about this one of the best Apple App Store alternatives click HERE

4. TutuApp: App Store iOS Alternative

Who says App Stores can’t be an app? The alternative App Store for iPhone TutuApp boasts of over 300+ million users and multiple language support. The iOS app store alternative includes the cooperated SDK, easy app submission process, and support for different payment methods.

Looks interesting, right? Well, you can always check out our short guide on how you can install TutuApp on your device.

To know more about this one of the best Apple App Store alternatives click HERE

5. AppValley: Best Alternative to Playstore

Just like TutuApp, we have AppValley next on our list of best App store iOS alternatives. AppValley provides its users with one of the largest selection of free content along with modified and unofficial content for iOS devices like iPhone and iPad. You can also go ahead and explore what else AppValley has to offer to its users.

To know more about this one of the best Apple App Store alternatives click HERE

Best Android App Store Alternatives

Google Play store alone hosts millions of apps, which means app owners submitting an app on the Play Store have to compete with hundreds and thousands of competitor mobile apps released on an annual basis. Even then, not all Android apps are approved upon their first app submission.

But since Google follows the approach of an open app marketplace, Android app owners can use the policy to their benefit by submitting their app to the next best alternatives of Android app stores, as mentioned in the list below.

1. Amazon App Store: Android App Store Alternative

Everyone reeling from the industry buzz knows of Amazon’s e-commerce disruptions, including the latest expansion of its famous Cashierless AmazonGo stores. But what most (including app owners) forget is that this e-commerce giant also has an App Store that’s just as good as Google Play Store.

Released on March 22, 2011, the Amazon app store offers plenty of free and paid apps and exclusive gaming apps with a clean and easy to navigate interface. In fact, the Amazon app store even offers its own currency system to buy games and in-app purchases, making it a perfect alternative to the Google Play Store.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

2. SlideMe: An App Store for Android

SlideMe, a US-based Android mobile app store alternative, first made its debut in the year 2008 as a marketplace catering to different types of audience preferences. As SlideMe rightly puts it, ‘one app store alone can’t reach everyone and everywhere with the apps they want’.

It quickly rose to fame as the 2nd best app store alternative to the Google Play Store. The Android app store alternative also makes app security a priority as all applications on SlideME are scanned for viruses and exploits, including the Master-Key exploit before they are reviewed and approved by their editors.

To top it all, SlideMe has a robust community of app developers and advisors that help developers with code snippets, bug fixes, etc. and app owners with how to target, price and sell your application.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

3. 1Mobile: Alternative Android App Stores

Besides hosting a free marketplace of multiple mobile games, web apps, and even videos, 1Mobile makes app search for end users extremely simple. Meanwhile, developers can test out betas and free versions of paid apps on this Play Store alternative.

Once they meet the security criteria, they can publish their apps. And app owners need not worry about app promotions, 1Mobile has a built-in recommendation system that helps apps attract an audience as soon as they hit the marketplace.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

4. Aptoide: Google Play Alternate

Aptoide is one of those earliest Android app store alternatives that hosts 4-star and 5-star rated apps. Being an independent and open-source platform, Aptoide, an alternative to Play Store allows its users to discover a variety of Android apps with categories such as Local Top Downloads, Aptoide recommends, utility-based apps with separate categories such as Candy Day, Emoji Day, etc.

This makes it easier for end-users to search for category-based apps and offers app owners a more customized recommendation platform.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

5. AppBrain: Free App Stores for Android

Founded in the year 2009 by Mathijs Vogelzang in collaboration with a Zürich-based company called AppTornado, AppBrain is one of the most reliable Android app store alternatives for app owners. It has over 100 million monthly active users and 2 million daily installs. Its end-user demographic sprawls across 236 countries with over 70,000+ apps in their SDK.

The Google Play Store alternative adopts a very transparent app promotion model, offering Cost per install (CPI) pricing, non-incentivized user traffic, fraud detection algorithms, limits per app promotion campaign and per day, and user targeting by increasing or decreasing your CPI bid for maximum conversion.

Apart from this, app users are also offered the option to use various filters to find the specific apps they are looking for in AppBrain.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

Best Chinese App Store Alternatives

Ever since Google Play Store was banned in China, Chinese tech giants Tencent and Xiaomi, came up with their own Chinese app stores. This led to the rise of a third big app marketplace that caters to the world’s biggest population and fastest-growing economy.

For app owners, this presents a whole new audience that’s yet untapped. The list below includes some of the top Chinese app stores that app owners can utilize.

1. MyApp: Chinese Android Apps Store

Holding about a quarter of the entire Chinese Android apps market, MyApp by Tencent is currently one of the biggest online app stores. The Chinese app store hosts a variety of certified apps and offers a unique customized experience to app developers, making it a booming platform for app owners.

Unlike other Western mobile app stores where the developers may not receive certifications, apps on MyApp are reviewed by the Copyright Protection Center of China after the app owners and app developers submit a Software Copyright Certificate.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

2. Baidu: Popular Chinese App Store

Baidu is China’s primary and the world’s second-largest search engine right after Google. And just like Google, Baidu also has an app store along with various app development tools. One such great tool includes advertising the available apps in search engine results. The company has also launched an English version to draw English speaking app users.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

3. 360 Market: Top Chinese App Stores

360 Market has over 270 million mobile users, 455 million desktop users, 600 APK app files and more than 30 billion app downloads. And if that wasn’t enough, the Chinese app store has its own development program that offers anti-piracy protection to its developers. This way 360 Market isn’t just offering a huge app user audience to app owners/developers but also a robust firewall against app piracy.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

4. Oppo Software Store: Chinese App Stores Alternative

The Oppo Software Store, designed and developed by BBK Electronics, offers both mobile hardware as well as software to its users. The Chinese app store even has a dedicated OPPO Game Center that offers secure game downloads and massive game benefits.

The basic mobile app submission procedure in the Oppo app store signifies the submission process done via Software Copyright Certification.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

5. 91 Market: Alternative App Store

You may know Oppo as the selfie camera smartphone giant, but did you know they have a thriving app store marketplace too? As per the recent stats, 91 Market has over 50M+ app downloads, indicating its robust community of end-users. The Chinese app store hosts both iOS as well as Android applications, making it a stronger contender against Apple and Google app stores.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

Best Cross-Platform App Stores

A cross-platform alternative app store is a wholesome app ecosystem where app users can find applications for various operating systems such as Android, iOS, Windows, Symbian, etc.

Considering that app stores for Windows and Amazon cover a significant portion of the market (400,000 and 340,000 mobile apps), this list of alternative app stores can help app owners tap on that unexplored user base.

1. Opera Mobile Store: Cross-platform App Store Alternative

It’s been over two decades since Opera Mobile was launched and following its huge success, the company launched the Opera Mobile Store in 2011. Ever since the cross-platform app store alternative has hosted, more than 170,000 mobile apps supported by both Android and iOS devices. With over 105,000,000 visitors per month and 7500 devices supported, the Opera Mobile Store is a great choice for app developers to branch out to a broader user base.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

2. NexVa: Mobile App Store

NexVa is yet another applause-worthy multi-platform application store that provides various white label products and services for mobile operators, OEMs, and organizations from different business verticals. this is the perfect mobile app store.

Many users favor this third-party app store working with affiliates to drive traffic through CPI and advertising practices. Every mobile application mentioned in this online store provides information like ratings, screenshots, app descriptions, reviews, and supported platforms.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

3. Appszoom: Top Cross-platform App store

Appszoom, another app store that is almost decade-old and is known to test thousands of apps on a yearly basis and deliver an improved UX (User Experience) while making sure the apps are protected from different types of malware. As for the statistics, the cross-platform app store alternative has over 4M+ monthly users active on its platform, a community of over 25K iOS and Android app developers, and thousands of app reviews.

To know more about this alternative app store click HERE

Which App Store is Best Among All?

If you’re developing regional apps, country-specific app stores such as Airtel Sri Lanka, TIM Store (Italy), Turkcell T-Market (Turkey), MTN Play (South Africa), T-Store (South Korea), etc. go a long way harnessing organic user base.

It’s no surprise that Apple App Store and Google Play Store are the most popular in the world but developers and app owners can often benefit more (especially in the case of regional solution) by also considering alternate app stores. Exploring other app stores also gives you lucrative options for app promotion and building a wider audience.

Speaking of options, a great way to promote your app is to get a leading mobile app review platform to review your iOS or Android application. With app reviews and lucrative deals sprawled across the above mentioned alternate app store, your app is a sure hit.

General FAQ

• What is the difference between the Apple App Store and Google Play Store?

App stores are built to fulfill the same purpose. However, the key difference between a Google Play Store and the Apple App Store is that for downloading Android smartphones users can install apps from Play Store. And on the other hand, for iPhones and other iOS-based devices, users can opt for the Apple App Store.

Aparna is a growth specialist with handsful knowledge in business development. She values marketing as key a driver for sales, keeping up with the latest in the Mobile App industry. Her getting things done attitude makes her a magnet for the trickiest of tasks. In free times, which are few and far between, you can catch up with her at a game of Fussball.

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