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?
• Top Android Mobile SDKs by Category in 2021
  • Top Ad Network SDK — Google Ads AdMob
  • Top Analytics SDK — Google Firebase
  • Top Attribution SDK — AppsFlyer
  • Top Commerce SDK — Google Play In-app billing
  • Top Communication SDK — OneSignal
  • Top Marketing Automation SDK — Intercom
  • Top Data Intelligence SDK — AltBeacon by Radius Networks
  • Top Backed SDK — Google Firebase
  • Top CRM SDK — Intercom
  • Top Social SDK — Facebook
• How to Access the 42matters SDK Explorer
  
  

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.



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.

Top Analytics SDK — Google Firebase

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



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.

Top Attribution SDK — AppsFlyer

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



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.

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.



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.

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.



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.

Top Marketing Automation SDK — Intercom

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



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.

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.



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.

Top Backed SDK — Google Firebase

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



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.

Top CRM SDK — Intercom

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



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.

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.



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.



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!