The best Android antivirus apps in 2025
10 Best Third-party App Stores For Android
Let's face the facts. We all live under the safe, warm umbrella of the Play Store. There's a good reason for that. It has the most apps, intensely good security (comparatively speaking), comes pre-installed on most Android devices, and usually works well. Most people know that there are other options out there, but there isn't a ton of information about other app stores. This is something we can help with. Below, we have some of the best third-party app stores listed. You can follow these instructions to install third-party APKs on your device. Please note that we are not responsible if something goes wrong while using one of these.
The best third party app stores for Android Amazon Appstore
Price: Free
The Amazon App Store is likely the most competent app store aside from the Play Store itself. It's the stock app store on all Amazon Fire devices. The store has a variety of apps, including some big, popular names. It also has all of Amazon's various apps, and it used to be the sole home of Amazon Prime Video. This is an actual app that you can install on any Android device without a ton of issues. It also runs concurrently with other app stores if you want to use more than one. It could definitely use some optimizations, but it's otherwise more positive than negative. We do wish it had a better selection, though.
Importantly, Amazon is shutting down its app store for Android devices from August 2025. That means you have limited time to enjoy the content on it. If you have a Fire Tablet, you won't be affected, though.
So APKMirror isn't technically an app store but rather an app repository. You can find all kinds of stuff here, including some beta apps not available in the Play Store. However, you can still get updates from the Play Store if a newer version comes out, so it's an excellent secondary source for apps and some games. This definitely isn't a full-store experience, and we really only recommend it if you want to try something specific or find an older APK of an existing app so you can roll back to a previous version due to bugs or preferences. It's surprisingly safe to use, and it's a source we often link to in our other articles.
APKPure is a third-party app store with a lot of upsides. It has a lot of popular apps like TikTok, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, PUBG Mobile, Brawl Stars, and many others. The app store features a clean, coherent UI with a decent search bar and a good overall selection. It has a lot more categories than the Google Play Store, although some categories are a little light in terms of good apps to download. You can get the basics here with no problem, including some Google apps like Gmail.
APKUpdater isn't really an app store, but it has a neat function. You can update your existing apps without using another app store. It sources downloads from multiple sources, so you get the latest updates as quickly as possible. The UI is simple Material Design without any problems. It's a good way to keep your device up-to-date without the hassle of having a full-blown app store on your phone. There is a search for other apps, but it's not quite as good as a dedicated app store.
Aptoide is one of the oldest third-party app stores on the list. It has a bunch of modern apps like Facebook, Nest, YoWindow Weather, Fleksy, and many recent games. However, the main draw of Aptoide is its looser regulations for content. You can find adult (NSFW) apps and games here, as well as questionable apps like Show Box. Of course, this gives the app store a bit of a badlands feel, so make sure you pack an antivirus app if you use this one. Aptoide suffered a data breach in 2020. However, since you can use the service without creating an account, its security issues didn't actually affect many people.
F-Droid is one of the older app stores on the list and among the most trustworthy. The store experience is mostly for productivity and power-user stuff. We're talking about apps like an Arch Linux package browser, for example. There are some basic apps on there, like Simple Gallery or Simple Calendar, along with a very small selection of games. However, by and large, this is an app store for people who need something a little extra that the Play Store doesn't have. F-Droid is open source, and every app on the platform is open source. You can even find alternatives to F-Droid itself on F-Droid. This is a neat little app store.
Uptodown has been providing users with safe and reliable apps since the early 2000s. One reason to choose this app over the Play Store is that it enables you to download various software that's not available there; this includes regional apps and games, as well as games from other developers or games in beta mode. It usually includes freemium games, as there is no payment option currently available. The apps you download are linked to the Play Store, so you won't have trouble updating them. There is an online website available, but you can also download the Android app.
QooApp is an app store for those who enjoy Asian games from Asian developers. You can find all kinds of stuff here, although only some of it has an English (or any other non-Asian language) translation. This is mostly useful for getting Japanese variants of global games like Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
Samsung Galaxy StorePrice: Free
It's a shame that the Galaxy Store is only available on Samsung devices because it's actually fairly competent. The selection is obviously smaller than the Play Store and even a little smaller than Amazon's App Store. However, it has a clean UI and simple navigation. It actually has some rather popular apps and games, including Microsoft, Netflix, Hulu, Fortnite, Brawl Stars, and others. It's not an end-all-be-all kind of thing, but those with Samsung devices have a decent secondary app store along with Google Play right on their devices already.
TapTap is an Asian-oriented app store. It's a decent way to get games with distinctly different global versions, such as Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. All of the games on this one are in Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. It links to both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, so there will be no issues. The UI is pretty smooth; you can search games by release date, popularity, access region-locked games, and download and discover beta games. You can download the lite version available on Play Store or the full version from the link below.
Honorary MentionsThere are plenty of other app stores on the Internet. Some of them are pretty good, and some of them are only kind of serviceable. Many of these are listed for the sake of completion. Here we go:
If we missed your favorite app store, tell us about them in the comments below.
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Move Over, Apple: Meet The Alternative App Stores Coming To The EU
People in the European Union are now allowed to access alternative app stores thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulation designed to foster increased competition in the app ecosystem. Like Apple's App Store, alternative app marketplaces allow for easy access to a wider world of apps, but instead of the apps going through Apple's App Review process, the apps on these third-party marketplaces have to go through a notarization process to ensure they meet some "baseline platform integrity standards," Apple says — like being malware-free. However, each store can review and approve apps according to its own policies. The stores are also responsible for any matters relating to support and refunds, not Apple.
To run an alternative app marketplace, developers must accept Apple's alternative business terms for DMA-compliant apps in the EU. This includes paying a new Core Technology Fee of €0.50 for each first annual install of their marketplace app, even before the threshold of 1 million installs is met, which is the bar for other EU apps distributed under Apple's DMA business terms.
Despite the complicated new rules, a handful of developers have taken advantage of the opportunity to distribute their apps outside of Apple's walls.
Below is a list of the alternative app stores iPhone users in the EU can try today.
AltStore PAL
Image Credits:AltStore Co-created by developer Riley Testut, maker of the Nintendo game emulator app Delta, the AltStore PAL is an officially approved alternative app marketplace in the EU. The open source app store will allow independent developers to distribute their apps alongside the apps from AltStore's makers, Delta, and a clipboard manager, called Clip.
Unlike Apple's App Store, AltStore apps are self-hosted by the developer. To work, developers download an alternative distribution packet (ADP) and upload it to their server, then create a "source" that users will add to the AltStore to access their apps. That means the only apps you'll see in the AltStore are those you've added yourselves.
Some popular apps that users are adding include the virtual machine app UTM, which lets you run Windows and other software on iOS or iPad; OldOS, a re-creation of iOS 4 that's built in SwiftUI; Kotoba, the iOS dictionary available as a stand-alone app; torrenting app iTorrent; qBittorrent remote client for iOS devices called qBitControl; and social discovery platform PeopleDrop.
Setapp Mobile
Image Credits:Setapp MacPaw's Setapp became one of the first companies to agree to Apple's new DMA business terms to set up an alternative app store for EU users. The company has long offered a subscription-based service featuring a selection of curated apps for customers on iOS and Mac. Following the implementation of the DMA, it released Setapp Mobile, an alternative app store for iOS users only in the EU. Similar to its other subscription offerings, the new app store includes dozens of apps under a single recurring subscription price, and the number of apps grows over time. The apps are free from in-app purchases or ads and are generally considered high quality; however, it doesn't include big-name apps like Facebook, Uber, Netflix and others.
Setapp Mobile is available to users on the "Power User" and "AI Expert" Setapp subscription plans for free. Otherwise, users can sign up via a new "iOS Advanced" plan that includes both the iOS app from Setapp's main subscription and Setapp Mobile at $9.99/€9.49 monthly or $107.88/€102.48 yearly.
In addition, all Setapp subscribers (except for "Family" and "Teams") can try Setapp Mobile for free during the invite-only beta period.
Epic Games StoreFortnite maker Epic Games launched its alternative iOS app store in the EU on August 16, allowing users to download games, including its own Fortnite and others like Rocket League Sideswipe and Fall Guys, with more to come. The company said it's also bringing its games to other alternative app stores, including AltStore PAL, which it's now supporting via a grant, as well as Aptoide's iOS store in the EU and ONE Store on Android.
The move to launch Fortnite in the alternative iOS marketplace comes more than four years after Apple removed the game from its App Store over policy violations, ahead of Epic's legal challenge to the alleged App Store monopoly. While U.S. Courts decided that Apple was not engaged in antitrust behavior, the lawsuit did pave the way for developers to link to their own websites for a reduced commission.
Aptoide
Image Credits:Aptoide An alternative game store for iPhone, Lisbon-based Aptoide is an open source solution for app distribution. The company, already known for its Google Play alternative, says it scans the apps to ensure they are safe to download and install.
The iOS version of the Aptoide store launched as an invite-only beta in June. It's now available to all across the EU. As a free-to-use store, Aptoide doesn't charge its users to cover its Core Technology Fee paid to Apple, but takes a 10% to 20% commission on in-app purchases on iOS, depending on whether they were generated by the marketplace or not.
Across all platforms, including Android, web, car, and TV, Aptoide offers 1 million apps to its over 430 million users.
Mobivention marketplace
Image Credits:Mobivention A B2B-focused app store, the Mobivention marketplace allows EU companies to distribute their internal apps that are used by employees, but can't — or shouldn't — be published in Apple's App Store. The company also offers the development of a customized app marketplace for companies that want to offer employees their own app store just for their corporate apps. Larger companies can even license Mobivention's technology to more deeply customize the app marketplace to their own needs.
Skich
Image Credits:Skich In March, Skich announced the launch of an alternative app store for EU users which differentiates itself by offering a Tinder-like interface for app discovery. That is, users swipe right to "match" with apps they might enjoy. They can also create playlists and see what apps their friends are playing. The new store will replace Skich's existing app and will see the company taking a 15% commission on all purchases. The store has not yet been filled with apps, however. Instead, it will market the offering to developers at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and hopes to add titles later in March.
Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. Across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.
This Free App Helps You Make Cocktails With Ingredients You Already Have
Some people have fully stocked bars—the rest of us make do with a rotating cast of liquors and ingredients.
If that's you, Drinkable is a totally free app that tells you which cocktails you can make with the ingredients you have on hand. Even better: it works offline, perfect if you're stranded in a cabin with a well-stocked bar but no wireless signal (it happens, believe me).
This application, available for iOS and Android with no ads or in-app-payments, includes a catalogue of over 150 drinks. This means you could use it to quickly look up the recipe for all of the common cocktails. To get started, install the app from Google Play or the App Store. You can start searching for recipes right away. Honestly, the application is perfectly useful just as a pocket recipe book for all the classic cocktails.
To me, though, the real fun happens when you head to the Ingredients tab and start entering which things you have on hand. While browsing recipes, you'll see checkmarks next to the ingredients you have on hand. Or, if you prefer, you can filter the recipes to only see drinks you can make with your current ingredients. Tap any of them and you'll see the recipe.
What do you think so far? Post a comment.Scroll down past the list of drinks you can make with current ingredients and you'll see a list of drinks that you're one ingredient away from making. Basically, this app is built around showing you what drinks you can make with what you have on hand while also pointing out things you could make with just a few more things. I like this because it can help inform your next shopping trip without totally overwhelming you.
Even if you don't want to bother with inventory management, this app is a handy reference—and it's completely free (with no in app purchases). Whether you're making a quick drink for yourself or a batch of bottled cocktails for a party, you'll have the knowledge you need.
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