Top Android Mobile SDKs by Category in 2021

The mobile app and game economy is well on its way to becoming a trillion dollar industry. According to some estimates, it’s currently on pace to generate over 935 billion U.S. dollars in global revenue in 2023. This success would not be possible, however, without the industry’s robust landscape of mobile software development kits (SDKs). With this in mind, we’ve leveraged our app intelligence tools to identify the top Android mobile SDKs by category.

Here’s what we cover (click the links below to jump to the relevant sections):

What Is a Mobile SDK?

Before we dive in, let’s define our terms. Mobile software development kits (SDK) are packages of installable software development tools. Typically, they’re used to facilitate the creation of mobile applications and games or to improve existing apps by integrating new features or capabilities. Broadly speaking, we at 42matters sort mobile SDKs into ten categories: Ad Network, Analytics, Attribution, Commerce, Communication, Marketing Automation, Data Intelligence, Backend, CRM, and Social.

To learn more about these SDK categories, check out our SDK stats pages.

Top Android Mobile SDKs by Category in 2021

Top Ad Network SDK — Google Ads AdMob

Google Ads AdMob is a mobile advertising platform SDK that enables app developers to monetize their mobile apps and games via in-app advertising.

Top Ad Network SDK — Mobile SDKs

Currently, Google Ads AdMob is most popular among apps in the following Android categories:

  1. Word (78.23% of apps)
  2. Music & Audio (77.08% of apps)
  3. Trivia (74.05% of apps)
  4. Photography (72.7% of apps)
  5. Music (69.72% of apps)

Over the last six months, Google Ads AdMob has been integrated in 280,114 new apps. Meanwhile, over the same time period, it has been removed from just 17,822 apps.

Google Ads AdMob.

Top Analytics SDK — Google Firebase

Firebase is Google's mobile platform SDK that helps you quickly develop high-quality apps and grow your business.

Google Firebase Mobile SDK.

Currently, Google Firebase is most popular among apps in the following Android categories:

  1. Dating (77.64% of apps)
  2. Word (73.24% of apps)
  3. Trivia (72.19% of apps)
  4. News & Magazines (72.08% of apps)
  5. Lifestyle (70.59% of apps)

Over the last six months, Google Firebase has been integrated in 390,113 new apps. Meanwhile, over the same time period, it has been removed from just 13,061 apps.

Google Firebase SDK integrations.

Top Attribution SDK — AppsFlyer

AppsFlyer is an attribution SDK that provides advertisers with conversion data for their user acquisition and retention campaigns.

AppsFlyer SDK.

Currently, AppsFlyer is most popular among apps in the following Android categories:

  1. Casino (14.20 of apps)
  2. Role Playing (10.93% of apps)
  3. Strategy (8.62% of apps)
  4. Card (7.53% of apps)
  5. Simulation (6.50% of apps)

Over the last six months, AppsFlyer has been integrated in 17,622 new apps. Meanwhile, over the same time period, it has been removed from just 1,606 apps.

AppsFlyer integrations.

Top Commerce SDK — Google Play In-app billing

Google Play In-app billing is an SDK that lets developers sell digital content on Android applications. It can be used to sell one-time products, rewarded products, subscriptions, and more.

Google Play In-App Billing SDK

Currently, Google Play In-app billing is most popular among apps in the following Android categories:

  1. Word (36.98% of apps)
  2. Casino (30.18% of apps)
  3. Role Playing (29.74% of apps)
  4. Trivia (27.67% of apps)
  5. Racing (26.37% of apps)

Over the last six months, Google Play In-app billing has been integrated in 26,250 new apps. Meanwhile, over the same time period, it has been removed from 20,667 apps.

In-App Billing integrations.

Top Communication SDK — OneSignal

OneSignal is the most widely used push notification provider on the market and the leader in customer engagement. The OneSignal SDK enables mobile push, web push, email, and in-app messages.

OneSignal SDK.

Currently, OneSignal is most popular among apps in the following Android categories:

  1. Music & Audio (19.32% of apps)
  2. News & Magazines (15.80% of apps)
  3. Entertainment (14.55% of apps)
  4. Beauty (13.81% of apps)
  5. Shopping (13.13% of apps)

Over the last six months, OneSignal has been integrated in 102,011 new apps. Meanwhile, over the same time period, it has been removed from just 4,275 apps.

OneSignal Integrations.

Top Marketing Automation SDK — Intercom

Intercom is a customer communication platform that allows businesses to chat with customers in-app and on their website.

Intercom SDK.

Currently, Intercom is most popular among apps in the following Android categories:

  1. Education (5.81% of apps)
  2. Shopping (3.61% of apps)
  3. Lifestyle (1.05% of apps)
  4. Communication (0.92% of apps)
  5. Finance (0.65% of apps)

Over the last six months, Intercom has been integrated in 8,163 new apps. Meanwhile, over the same time period, it has been removed from just 249 apps.

Intercom Integrations.

Top Data Intelligence SDK — AltBeacon by Radius Networks

Radius Networks is a location-based transaction platform SDK. The Radius Networks leverages access points to identify customer location to enable efficient order delivery, proximity messaging, and tracking.

AltBeacon by Radius Networks SDK.

Currently, AltBeacon is most popular among apps in the following Android categories:

  1. Lifestyle (7.02% of apps)
  2. Events (3.98% of apps)
  3. Sports (3.31% of apps)
  4. Travel & Local (2.59% of apps)
  5. Business (1.88% of apps)

Over the last six months, AltBeacon has been integrated in 6,166 new apps. Meanwhile, over the same time period, it has been removed from just 1,794 apps.

AltBeacon by Radius Networks Integrations.

Top Backed SDK — Google Firebase

Firebase is Google's mobile platform SDK that helps you quickly develop high-quality apps and grow your business.

Firebase SDK.

Currently, Google Firebase is most popular among apps in the following Android categories:

  1. Dating (77.64% of apps)
  2. Word (73.24% of apps)
  3. Trivia (72.19% of apps)
  4. News & Magazines (72.08% of apps)
  5. Lifestyle (70.59% of apps)

Over the last six months, Google Firebase has been integrated in 390,113 new apps. Meanwhile, over the same time period, it has been removed from just 13,061 apps.

Firebase Integrations.

Top CRM SDK — Intercom

Intercom is a customer communication platform that allows businesses to chat with customers in-app and on their website.

Intercom SDK.

Currently, Intercom is most popular among apps in the following Android categories:

  1. Education (5.81% of apps)
  2. Shopping (3.61% of apps)
  3. Lifestyle (1.05% of apps)
  4. Communication (0.92% of apps)
  5. Finance (0.65% of apps)

Over the last six months, Intercom has been integrated in 8,163 new apps. Meanwhile, over the same time period, it has been removed from just 249 apps.

Intercom integrations.

Top Social SDK — Facebook

Facebook offers an SDK that helps app developers build engaging social apps and get more installs. The Facebook SDK enables everything from analytics, to Facebook’s secure login feature, Facebook ads, and more.

Facebook SDK.

Currently, Facebook is most popular among apps in the following Android categories:

  1. Dating (40.11% of apps)
  2. Word (35.70% of apps)
  3. Trivia (31.76% of apps)
  4. Casino (30.46% of apps)
  5. Food & Drink (27.06% of apps)

Over the last six months, Facebook has been integrated in 106,629 new apps. Meanwhile, over the same time period, it has been removed from just 12,226 apps.

Facebook SDK integrations.

To learn more about these SDKs, be sure to check out our SDK Explorer!

How to Access the 42matters SDK Explorer

To do more research on the top mobile SDKs, you should check out our SDK Explorer platform. It tracks thousands of SDKs integrated into millions of iOS and Android apps available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

The SDK Explorer offers SDK details (such as SDK ID, website, category, and platform availability), a list of all apps integrating each SDK, SDK category information (including app category market share), similar SDKs, and more. This makes it a perfect tool for market research, competitor analysis, and lead generation.

If you’d like to learn more, be sure to check out the introductory blog post we wrote a while back. Otherwise, feel free to set up a free demo with one of our SDK intelligence experts!

Get Started With 42matters Today!

At 42matters, we provide app insights, data, and analytics via a host of useful APIs, File Dumps, and web-based app intelligence platforms, like the 42matters Explorer, and the 42matters SDK Explorer.

These tools, which you can try free for 14-days, offer a comprehensive look at app market trends and statistics. This includes in-depth, visual insights into downloads, categories, top charts, rating and review analyses, and more. This data can be downloaded as a CSV file and leveraged however you like — in your own algorithms, analyses, products, studies, etc.

If you would like to learn more about our recent updates, or any other mobile app analytics from 42matters, schedule a free demo with one of our experts!

Schedule My Free Demo
Get Started With 42matters Today!

Flexible Access to 42matters'
App Intelligence Data

Flexible Access to 42matters' App Intelligence Data
Explorer

Explorer

Visually explore app intelligence for any iOS, Android, or Roku app.

API

API

Programmatic access to mobile and CTV app intelligence.

File Dumps

File Dumps

Download the latest app data and statistics and ingest them into your own system for further analysis.

Get Started Today!

The best businesses need the highest-quality app intelligence!

    Meta
    LinkedIn
    Pixalate logo
    TikTok
    Digital Turbine
    Comcast
    Baesystems
    InMobi
    OpenX
    Criteo
    Avast
    Active Fence