The Google Play Store for Android users is, without any argument, the largest mobile app store in the world. With nearly 3 million apps and games, the store offers something to suit every taste, and many of them are free to download. The problem is, many of the best ones have to be paid for, or there are in-app purchases that allow you to progress in the game or App, but only at a cost to yourself. That’s just the Android device users. For developers, while it is an excellent platform to distribute their apps, advertising doesn’t always work, and, more often than not, most people don’t even know these apps exist, especially when an app is restricted to a certain geographical location.
Now, though there are other options, the Play Store isn’t the only one to offer Android users and developers a platform for their apps. Plenty of alternatives have seen the light of day in recent years, and, shortly, we’re going to be looking at some of the best alternative Android app stores.
Why Would You Want to Use an Alternative App Store?
Surely the Play Store offers everything? Well, no, it doesn’t. While it is profitable for developers, it also costs in terms of app submissions. Advertising isn’t fantastic, and, more often than not, a developer will struggle to get their App into the App of the Day or Trending lists. For Android device users, alternatives offer a greater selection of apps and games. While they don’t have the same numbers of apps, geo-restriction is no longer an issue, and, in many cases, the app stores offer modified apps, premium apps, and unlocked games for free.
Advantages of an Alternative Android App Store
The advantages suit both developers and users:
Now we’ve seen the advantages, let’s look at some of the very best Android app store alternatives:
Top 10 Android App Store Alternatives:
Google Play Store is packed with apps, and that means the developers are in competition with hundreds of thousands of other developers to get their apps recognized. And sometimes, it takes a few attempts to get an app into the store, wasting valuable time and money. With the alternatives, that is no longer an issue, so let’s dive in and look at some of the best.
Amazon App Store
Amazon is one of the biggest names in the world, an international marketplace that also offers its very own app store, an app store that is every bit as good as the Play Store. The store first saw the light of day in 2011 and now offers thousands of apps and games, some free, some paid, along with a clean, user-friendly interface. And, unlike other stores, the Amazon store has its own currency system, allowing users to easily purchase apps and in-app purchases.
SlideMe
SlideMe is based in the USA and has been in existence since 2008. It was released as an all-encompassing marketplace, catering to all preferences and soon rose to sit behind the Google Play Store as the second top-rated Android app store. The developers place app security as their number one priority, scanning every submission for exploits and viruses before allowing them into the store. It is backed by a robust community of advisors and developers, offering assistance with bug fixes and code snippets, as well as advice and help on targeting, pricing, and marketing apps.
Panda Helper
Panda Helper is more than just a marketplace for app users. Yes, there are plenty of games, apps, and videos, including web apps, for users to try, and the search system is user-friendly, making it dead easy to find what you want. It also offers a place for developers to test beta versions of their apps and free versions of premium apps. Once an app passes the security, it can be published, and Panda Helper also offers an app recommendation system, helping push apps to the top and attract an audience as soon as they are published.
Aptoide
Aptoide was one of the first Android alternatives and is known for hosting a great choice of both four and 5-star apps and games. It is an open-source, independent platform, and users will find a decent choice of apps in categories such as Recommended, Top Local Downloads, Utility apps, Games, and more. Not only does that make it easier for users, but it also aids developers in getting their apps to the right audience.
AppBrain
Mathis Vogelzang released AppBrain in 2009, in collaboration with AppTornado, a company base din Zurich. It is a reliable store with more than 100 million users every month and more than 2 million installations per day. The app store is available in 236 countries, allowing the 70,000+ apps a wider audience. For developers, there is an easy app promotion model that offers non-incentivized user traffic, CIP (Cost per Install) pricing, fraud detection, user targeting, and more. And there are built-in filters to help users find apps or games to download.
Opera Mobile Store
Opera Mobile Store was launched in 2011, several years after Opera Mobile, and has since become one of the most popular alternative app stores. It is a cross-platform store but offers a great selection of Android apps. It enjoys over 100,000 visitors every month and supports a vast number of devices, making it a top choice for users and developers alike.
AppsZoom
Almost ten years old, AppsZoom is a popular store that tests thousands of apps every year. A robust system is in place to ensure all apps submitted are free of viruses, exploits, and malware and to protect them from being infected once in the store. That ensures users only download apps that are safe to use. With more than 4 million users every month, AppsZoom also has a fantastic community of more than 25,000 developers and thousands of reviews on the apps.
ACMarket
ACMarket is undoubtedly the most popular alternative app store, and, as an added bonus, every App and game is completely free. It is packed with unofficial apps, including tweaked and modified versions of stock apps, lots of unlocked games, with all in-app bonuses and features completely free, and a good selection of emulators screen recorders and more. It is free to download and is 100% safe to use as all apps are tested for safety first.
HappyMod
HappyMod is a different kind of Android store; rather than developers submitting apps as they do in other stores, these are all modified apps. There may be several different versions of one App or game, each with different modifications. Each App is rated by users, and the top-rated go straight to the top of the list. Anyone can add an app to the store for testing by others, and all apps are scanned for viruses before being allowed in. HappyMod is completely free to download and use.
LuckyPatcher
Our final offering is also very different. Rather than offering thousands of apps and games, LuckyPatcher gives you a way to remove ads from existing games, modify the apps and games you already have, and it offers a way of cleaning up your mobile system and backing everything up for safety. You can remove also remove the license verification from both paid and free apps.
As you can see, there are now plenty of alternatives to the Google Play Store for Android users. Some of them act in the same way as the official store, offering both free and premium or paid apps, while others offer everything for free.
If modified and tweaked apps are your thing, then you have a great choice of alternative stores to choose from, and there is no requirement to root your Android device first – a huge bonus. Modified apps have become more and more popular in recent years, and these are some of the best and easiest places to get them from.
Developers also have a great choice of alternative marketplaces for their apps, so it’s a win-win situation all around. Try these stores today and see which ones offer the apps and games you want. Do let us know which one you settle on and share this so other can also take advantage of what’s on offer.
