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Top 20 Backend and Cloud SDKs Used in iOS Apps on the Apple App Store
Last update: 21 Jun 2025 CET
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Top 20 Backend and Cloud SDKs Used in iOS Apps on the Apple App Store

We at 42matters have identified the 20 most popular Backend and Cloud SDKs leveraged by iOS apps available on the iOS app market.

Backend and Cloud SDKs provide developers with an easy way to add backend and cloud functionalities to mobile apps that require server-side processing or cloud-based services. These SDKs may include features such as serverless computing, storage, database integration, messaging, and similar capabilities.

This list is based on our analysis of the millions of mobile applications – and the 2,300+ SDKs they use – that constitute the vast inventory of the Apple App Store. The accompanying data provides readers with a glimpse into the rich mobile application insights generated by the 42matters technology. This data is also available via our APIs, file dumps, Explorer, and SDK Explorer.

The intended purpose of this article is to assist app builders in their search for the perfect Backend and Cloud SDK to leverage in their app, as well as to give SDK developers insight into their biggest competitors and potential customers. This data collected by our technology may also serve as a useful tool for folks researching the wider mobile app market.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 33.87% have integrated Amazon AWS. This accounts for 23.54% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

The Amazon Web Services SDK offers reliable, scalable, and inexpensive cloud computing services.

Total Apps
28.37k
App Store
App Share
33.87%
App Store
Apps
27.82k
Games
552
Total Downloads
16.82b
App Store
Download Share
23.54%
App Store
App Downloads
13.91b
Game Downloads
2.91b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Amazon AWS.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 18.38% have integrated GCDWebServer. This accounts for 11.11% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

GCDWebServer is a modern and lightweight, GCD-based HTTP 1.1 server SDK designed to be embedded in iOS, macOS, and tvOS apps.

Total Apps
15.39k
App Store
App Share
18.38%
App Store
Apps
14.30k
Games
1.09k
Total Downloads
7.94b
App Store
Download Share
11.11%
App Store
App Downloads
7.55b
Game Downloads
387.69m

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use GCDWebServer.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 15.97% have integrated Amazon AWS Cognito Federated Identities. This accounts for 12.39% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
13.38k
App Store
App Share
15.97%
App Store
Apps
12.97k
Games
402
Total Downloads
8.86b
App Store
Download Share
12.39%
App Store
App Downloads
6.68b
Game Downloads
2.17b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Amazon AWS Cognito Federated Identities.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 15.49% have integrated Huawei Mobile Services HMS. This accounts for 13.34% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
12.98k
App Store
App Share
15.49%
App Store
Apps
12.88k
Games
94
Total Downloads
9.53b
App Store
Download Share
13.34%
App Store
App Downloads
9.24b
Game Downloads
292.37m

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Huawei Mobile Services HMS.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 10.96% have integrated Alibaba Cloud Aliyun OSS. This accounts for 14.31% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Alibaba Cloud Object Storage Service (OSS) is an encrypted, secure, cost-effective, and easy-to-use object storage SDK that enables you to store, back up, and archive large amounts of data in the cloud, with a guaranteed durability of 99.9999999999%(12 9’s).

Total Apps
9.18k
App Store
App Share
10.96%
App Store
Apps
9.04k
Games
141
Total Downloads
10.22b
App Store
Download Share
14.31%
App Store
App Downloads
9.45b
Game Downloads
771.32m

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Alibaba Cloud Aliyun OSS.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 9.31% have integrated Parse. This accounts for 1.67% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Parse is the most used open-source framework for developing application backends.

Total Apps
7.80k
App Store
App Share
9.31%
App Store
Apps
7.19k
Games
607
Total Downloads
1.20b
App Store
Download Share
1.67%
App Store
App Downloads
1.14b
Game Downloads
53.40m

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Parse.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 7.62% have integrated Yandex DivKit. This accounts for 26.30% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
6.38k
App Store
App Share
7.62%
App Store
Apps
1.46k
Games
4.92k
Total Downloads
18.79b
App Store
Download Share
26.30%
App Store
App Downloads
3.44b
Game Downloads
15.35b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Yandex DivKit.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 4.86% have integrated Amazon AWS Kinesis. This accounts for 5.93% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
4.07k
App Store
App Share
4.86%
App Store
Apps
3.70k
Games
368
Total Downloads
4.23b
App Store
Download Share
5.93%
App Store
App Downloads
2.12b
Game Downloads
2.11b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Amazon AWS Kinesis.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 3.93% have integrated Tencent Cloud. This accounts for 11.63% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
3.29k
App Store
App Share
3.93%
App Store
Apps
3.13k
Games
159
Total Downloads
8.31b
App Store
Download Share
11.63%
App Store
App Downloads
5.30b
Game Downloads
3.01b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Tencent Cloud.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 3.83% have integrated Amazon AWS Amplify Framework. This accounts for 3.72% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
3.20k
App Store
App Share
3.83%
App Store
Apps
3.18k
Games
21
Total Downloads
2.66b
App Store
Download Share
3.72%
App Store
App Downloads
2.66b
Game Downloads
643.14k

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Amazon AWS Amplify Framework.

11th

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 3.82% have integrated Amazon Simple Notification Service SNS. This accounts for 1.32% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
3.20k
App Store
App Share
3.82%
App Store
Apps
3.18k
Games
19
Total Downloads
940.02m
App Store
Download Share
1.32%
App Store
App Downloads
901.39m
Game Downloads
38.63m

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Amazon Simple Notification Service SNS.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 1.76% have integrated WindVane by Alibaba. This accounts for 6.67% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
1.47k
App Store
App Share
1.76%
App Store
Apps
1.47k
Games
1
Total Downloads
4.76b
App Store
Download Share
6.67%
App Store
App Downloads
4.76b
Game Downloads
6.77m

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use WindVane by Alibaba.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, <1% have integrated NIFTYCloud Backend. This accounts for <1% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

The NIFTYCloud Backend SDK provides the functions required for cloud application development, eliminating the need for troublesome server development.

Total Apps
563
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
513
Games
50
Total Downloads
10.83m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
6.11m
Game Downloads
4.72m

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use NIFTYCloud Backend.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, <1% have integrated Contentful. This accounts for <1% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
389
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
387
Games
2
Total Downloads
249.31m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
249.26m
Game Downloads
43.22k

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Contentful.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, <1% have integrated Nakama by Heroic Labs. This accounts for 2.95% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
367
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
19
Games
348
Total Downloads
2.11b
App Store
Download Share
2.95%
App Store
App Downloads
237.78k
Game Downloads
2.11b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Nakama by Heroic Labs.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, <1% have integrated MKiCloudSync. This accounts for <1% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

MKiCloudSync is a clean and simple SDK class to sync NSUserDefaults to iCloud.

Total Apps
304
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
256
Games
48
Total Downloads
153.45m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
111.48m
Game Downloads
41.96m

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use MKiCloudSync.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, <1% have integrated Netcetera 3DS. This accounts for <1% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
203
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
203
Games
0
Total Downloads
633.00m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
633.00m
Game Downloads
0

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Netcetera 3DS.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, <1% have integrated Microsoft Azure. This accounts for <1% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Azure is a cloud computing service SDK created by Microsoft for building, testing, deploying, and managing applications and services through Microsoft-managed data centers.

Total Apps
201
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
197
Games
4
Total Downloads
92.52m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
92.18m
Game Downloads
343.36k

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Microsoft Azure.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, <1% have integrated SAP Cloud. This accounts for <1% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
90
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
89
Games
1
Total Downloads
25.21m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
25.21m
Game Downloads
0

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use SAP Cloud.

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, <1% have integrated Cloudrail. This accounts for <1% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

CloudRail is an API integration SDK that speeds up the process of integrating third-party APIs into applications and maintaining them. It does so by providing libraries for multiple platforms featuring abstraction layers that combine similar services behind a common interface.

Total Apps
89
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
73
Games
16
Total Downloads
16.55m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
854.62k
Game Downloads
15.69m

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Cloudrail.

Browse iOS and Android SDKs With the SDK Explorer

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  • SDK IntelligenceSDK Intelligence

    See how many apps integrate specific SDKs, how many times these SDKs have been downloaded, developer details, similar SDKs, and more.

  • New Installations and Removals HistoryNew Installations and Removals History

    Analyze installation and removal trends for SDKs. Discover which apps have removed or integrated specific SDKs in a given timeframe.

  • Market Share per Google Play and Apple App Store CategoryMarket Share per Google Play and Apple App Store Category

    See which app categories or genres are most likely to use specific SDKs. Detect SDK market share per category.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How does 42matters collect this data?'

We’ve developed a number of machine learning algorithms that scan millions of mobile and connected TV (CTV) applications on a regular basis. In addition, we collect ground truth app performance intelligence and use this data to build statistical models that estimate the performance of apps for which we do not have ground truth data.

What SDK data does 42matters collect?'

We track over 2,300 of the most popular SDKs integrated in iOS and Android apps. We collect a variety of SDK insights (title, platform, ID, category, and developer website); performance metrics (the number of apps that have installed each SDK, installation and removal trends, and app downloads); market share statistics (including market share per app category); and more!

How can I access 42matters’ SDK data?'

The most direct way is to use our SDK Explorer, which is a visual, web-based research platform that enables you to peruse all 2,300+ SDKs that we track. It’s great for market research, lead generation, competitor analysis, etc. However, more technically-inclined folks might prefer our APIs and File Dumps, which enable you to query info for specific apps or SDKs. You can also use our other research platform (the Explorer) to view integrated SDKs by app.

Can I use 42matters’ solutions to generate app publisher leads?'

Absolutely! We actually wrote about this on our blog. We focused on ad network SDKs, but the examples are applicable to most SDK types. To summarize, you can use the Explorer’s advanced filtering capabilities to home in on best-fit app publishers, leverage the SDK Explorer to see which apps use your competitors’ SDKs, and use our APIs and file dumps to build custom lead generation processes.

What data does 42matters provide on mobile apps?'

A ton! We track 17+ million apps across Google Play, the Apple App Store, Amazon Appstore, Tencent Appstore, and Huawei AppGallery. Our solutions provide access to app details (developer insights, metadata, ASO keywords, contact information, etc.); performance metrics (downloads, MAUs, ratings, reviews, top chart rankings, etc.); technical insights (integrated SDKs, permissions, required capabilities, etc.); content details (categories, genres, IAB categories, content ratings, etc.); compliance information (app-ads.txt, privacy policies, store status, etc.) and much, much more!

Can I use 42matters’ solutions to find SDKs for my app?'

Definitely. The SDK Explorer enables you to sort SDKs by category, identify similar SDKs, analyze SDK reliability, and more. In addition, you can use the Explorer to monitor your competitors, including which SDKs they add and remove, their current tech stacks, and SDK changelogs. This means you use our solutions not only to find the right SDK for a particular purpose, but also which SDKs you might need to keep up with your rivals.