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Top 20 Developer Tools SDKs Used in iOS Apps on the Apple App Store
Last update: 9 Sep 2024 CET
App Store

Top 20 Developer Tools SDKs Used in iOS Apps on the Apple App Store

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

Developer Tool SDKs help developers build sophisticated mobile apps. Technology vendors and platform providers develop these SDKs — which include programming libraries, APIs, sample code, documentation, and other tools — for third-party app developers that want to build mobile apps that leverage the features and functionalities of their technologies or platforms.

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 Developer Tools 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 developer tools SDKs, 99.96% have integrated Apple Core Foundation. This accounts for 99.99% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
1.70m
App Store
App Share
99.96%
App Store
Apps
1.49m
Games
206.91k
Total Downloads
419.69b
App Store
Download Share
99.99%
App Store
App Downloads
316.46b
Game Downloads
103.23b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Apple Core Foundation.

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 77.39% have integrated Apple AVFoundation. This accounts for 95.42% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
1.32m
App Store
App Share
77.39%
App Store
Apps
1.12m
Games
196.32k
Total Downloads
400.50b
App Store
Download Share
95.42%
App Store
App Downloads
297.73b
Game Downloads
102.77b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 70.01% have integrated Apple WebKit. This accounts for 94.21% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
1.19m
App Store
App Share
70.01%
App Store
Apps
1.06m
Games
131.68k
Total Downloads
395.43b
App Store
Download Share
94.21%
App Store
App Downloads
296.23b
Game Downloads
99.21b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 48.33% have integrated Google Firebase. This accounts for 66.16% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

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

Total Apps
821.43k
App Store
App Share
48.33%
App Store
Apps
727.74k
Games
93.69k
Total Downloads
277.72b
App Store
Download Share
66.16%
App Store
App Downloads
195.49b
Game Downloads
82.22b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 39.42% have integrated Apple Swift Framework. This accounts for 29.61% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Apple Swift Framework is a powerful and intuitive programming language for macOS, iOS, watchOS, tvOS and beyond.

Total Apps
670.01k
App Store
App Share
39.42%
App Store
Apps
600.52k
Games
69.49k
Total Downloads
124.30b
App Store
Download Share
29.61%
App Store
App Downloads
73.65b
Game Downloads
50.65b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Apple Swift Framework.

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 33.67% have integrated Apple Core Data. This accounts for 53.51% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
572.23k
App Store
App Share
33.67%
App Store
Apps
537.57k
Games
34.66k
Total Downloads
224.60b
App Store
Download Share
53.51%
App Store
App Downloads
189.45b
Game Downloads
35.16b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Apple Core Data.

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 33.63% have integrated Firebase Installations. This accounts for 53.91% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
571.61k
App Store
App Share
33.63%
App Store
Apps
526.75k
Games
44.87k
Total Downloads
226.29b
App Store
Download Share
53.91%
App Store
App Downloads
154.55b
Game Downloads
71.73b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 26.71% have integrated Promises by Google. This accounts for 27.95% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
454.00k
App Store
App Share
26.71%
App Store
Apps
419.73k
Games
34.26k
Total Downloads
117.32b
App Store
Download Share
27.95%
App Store
App Downloads
81.47b
Game Downloads
35.84b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Promises by Google.

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 12.73% have integrated Protobuf. This accounts for 11.36% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Protocol Buffers (a.k.a., protobuf) are Google's language-neutral, platform-neutral, extensible mechanism for serializing structured data.

Total Apps
216.42k
App Store
App Share
12.73%
App Store
Apps
207.60k
Games
8.83k
Total Downloads
47.66b
App Store
Download Share
11.36%
App Store
App Downloads
41.18b
Game Downloads
6.48b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 10.02% have integrated Apple Core Bluetooth. This accounts for 17.07% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
170.31k
App Store
App Share
10.02%
App Store
Apps
159.55k
Games
10.77k
Total Downloads
71.65b
App Store
Download Share
17.07%
App Store
App Downloads
66.29b
Game Downloads
5.36b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Apple Core Bluetooth.

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 8.60% have integrated Firebase Remote Config. This accounts for 33.77% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
146.19k
App Store
App Share
8.60%
App Store
Apps
126.54k
Games
19.64k
Total Downloads
141.73b
App Store
Download Share
33.77%
App Store
App Downloads
104.40b
Game Downloads
37.34b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Firebase Remote Config.

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 6.16% have integrated react-native-device-info. This accounts for 1.82% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

The react-native-device-info SDK offers device information for React Native for iOS and Android.

Total Apps
104.78k
App Store
App Share
6.16%
App Store
Apps
104.18k
Games
599
Total Downloads
7.65b
App Store
Download Share
1.82%
App Store
App Downloads
7.56b
Game Downloads
92.99m

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use react-native-device-info.

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 4.77% have integrated Firebase App Check. This accounts for 9.32% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
81.08k
App Store
App Share
4.77%
App Store
Apps
75.16k
Games
5.92k
Total Downloads
39.11b
App Store
Download Share
9.32%
App Store
App Downloads
30.60b
Game Downloads
8.51b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Firebase App Check.

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 4.43% have integrated Expo. This accounts for <1% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
75.29k
App Store
App Share
4.43%
App Store
Apps
74.08k
Games
1.21k
Total Downloads
2.99b
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
2.92b
Game Downloads
66.00m

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 2.90% have integrated RxSwift. This accounts for 6.67% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

The RxSwift SDK offers a framework for interacting with the Swift programming language.

Total Apps
49.25k
App Store
App Share
2.90%
App Store
Apps
48.86k
Games
393
Total Downloads
27.98b
App Store
Download Share
6.67%
App Store
App Downloads
27.60b
Game Downloads
379.15m

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 1.94% have integrated Apple Core ML. This accounts for 24.50% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
32.98k
App Store
App Share
1.94%
App Store
Apps
19.27k
Games
13.71k
Total Downloads
102.82b
App Store
Download Share
24.50%
App Store
App Downloads
60.56b
Game Downloads
42.25b

Use the 42matters SDK Explorer to find all apps that use Apple Core ML.

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 1.94% have integrated FSCalendar. This accounts for 2.29% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

FSCalendar is a fully customizable iOS calendar library SDK, compatible with Objective-C and Swift.

Total Apps
32.98k
App Store
App Share
1.94%
App Store
Apps
32.94k
Games
42
Total Downloads
9.60b
App Store
Download Share
2.29%
App Store
App Downloads
9.57b
Game Downloads
23.99m

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 1.89% have integrated Mantle. This accounts for 3.49% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Mantle is a Software Development Kit (SDK) that makes it easy to write simple model layers for your Cocoa or Cocoa Touch mobile applications or games.

Total Apps
32.19k
App Store
App Share
1.89%
App Store
Apps
31.40k
Games
787
Total Downloads
14.65b
App Store
Download Share
3.49%
App Store
App Downloads
14.27b
Game Downloads
380.51m

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 1.82% have integrated CocoaLumberjack. This accounts for 5.18% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

CocoaLumberjack is a fast and simple, yet powerful and flexible, logging framework SDK for Mac and iOS.

Total Apps
30.90k
App Store
App Share
1.82%
App Store
Apps
30.60k
Games
292
Total Downloads
21.73b
App Store
Download Share
5.18%
App Store
App Downloads
20.84b
Game Downloads
889.77m

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

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.