Platform
Category
Top 20 Developer Tools SDKs Used in iOS Apps on the Apple App Store
Last update: 7 May 2025 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, 99.95% have integrated Apple Core Foundation. This accounts for 99.98% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
1.61m
App Store
App Share
99.95%
App Store
Apps
1.43m
Games
181.30k
Total Downloads
480.66b
App Store
Download Share
99.98%
App Store
App Downloads
361.19b
Game Downloads
119.47b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 77.61% have integrated Apple AVFoundation. This accounts for 95.57% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
1.25m
App Store
App Share
77.61%
App Store
Apps
1.08m
Games
172.26k
Total Downloads
459.47b
App Store
Download Share
95.57%
App Store
App Downloads
340.52b
Game Downloads
118.96b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 70.87% have integrated Apple WebKit. This accounts for 94.58% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
1.14m
App Store
App Share
70.87%
App Store
Apps
1.02m
Games
122.21k
Total Downloads
454.70b
App Store
Download Share
94.58%
App Store
App Downloads
339.61b
Game Downloads
115.09b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 50.19% have integrated Google Firebase. This accounts for 65.35% 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
808.14k
App Store
App Share
50.19%
App Store
Apps
723.95k
Games
84.19k
Total Downloads
314.16b
App Store
Download Share
65.35%
App Store
App Downloads
221.90b
Game Downloads
92.26b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 38.30% have integrated Firebase Installations. This accounts for 56.31% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
616.72k
App Store
App Share
38.30%
App Store
Apps
570.10k
Games
46.62k
Total Downloads
270.73b
App Store
Download Share
56.31%
App Store
App Downloads
185.45b
Game Downloads
85.28b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 34.62% have integrated Apple Swift Framework. This accounts for 21.52% 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
557.56k
App Store
App Share
34.62%
App Store
Apps
498.36k
Games
59.21k
Total Downloads
103.48b
App Store
Download Share
21.52%
App Store
App Downloads
59.28b
Game Downloads
44.19b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 33.28% have integrated Apple Core Data. This accounts for 53.59% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
535.92k
App Store
App Share
33.28%
App Store
Apps
506.12k
Games
29.80k
Total Downloads
257.66b
App Store
Download Share
53.59%
App Store
App Downloads
217.08b
Game Downloads
40.58b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 28.06% have integrated Promises by Google. This accounts for 24.84% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
451.93k
App Store
App Share
28.06%
App Store
Apps
422.81k
Games
29.12k
Total Downloads
119.41b
App Store
Download Share
24.84%
App Store
App Downloads
83.37b
Game Downloads
36.05b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 10.43% have integrated Firebase Remote Config. This accounts for 35.05% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
167.96k
App Store
App Share
10.43%
App Store
Apps
146.07k
Games
21.89k
Total Downloads
168.49b
App Store
Download Share
35.05%
App Store
App Downloads
121.67b
Game Downloads
46.82b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 10.40% have integrated Protobuf. This accounts for 9.59% 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
167.47k
App Store
App Share
10.40%
App Store
Apps
160.04k
Games
7.43k
Total Downloads
46.12b
App Store
Download Share
9.59%
App Store
App Downloads
39.32b
Game Downloads
6.80b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 9.83% have integrated Apple Core Bluetooth. This accounts for 16.79% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
158.28k
App Store
App Share
9.83%
App Store
Apps
149.52k
Games
8.76k
Total Downloads
80.71b
App Store
Download Share
16.79%
App Store
App Downloads
76.13b
Game Downloads
4.58b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 7.75% have integrated Firebase App Check. This accounts for 10.47% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
124.88k
App Store
App Share
7.75%
App Store
Apps
116.90k
Games
7.98k
Total Downloads
50.34b
App Store
Download Share
10.47%
App Store
App Downloads
39.76b
Game Downloads
10.59b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 5.73% have integrated react-native-device-info. This accounts for 1.21% 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
92.34k
App Store
App Share
5.73%
App Store
Apps
91.91k
Games
427
Total Downloads
5.80b
App Store
Download Share
1.21%
App Store
App Downloads
5.73b
Game Downloads
64.67m

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 5.63% have integrated Expo. This accounts for 1.08% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
90.73k
App Store
App Share
5.63%
App Store
Apps
89.23k
Games
1.49k
Total Downloads
5.17b
App Store
Download Share
1.08%
App Store
App Downloads
5.04b
Game Downloads
133.80m

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 2.68% have integrated RxSwift. This accounts for 5.90% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

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

Total Apps
43.11k
App Store
App Share
2.68%
App Store
Apps
42.78k
Games
333
Total Downloads
28.37b
App Store
Download Share
5.90%
App Store
App Downloads
28.02b
Game Downloads
348.98m

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 2.40% have integrated Apple Core ML. This accounts for 30.26% of app downloads within the developer tools SDK category.

Total Apps
38.57k
App Store
App Share
2.40%
App Store
Apps
21.51k
Games
17.06k
Total Downloads
145.47b
App Store
Download Share
30.26%
App Store
App Downloads
86.62b
Game Downloads
58.85b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 2.24% have integrated Mantle. This accounts for 3.19% 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
36.06k
App Store
App Share
2.24%
App Store
Apps
35.38k
Games
678
Total Downloads
15.33b
App Store
Download Share
3.19%
App Store
App Downloads
14.78b
Game Downloads
550.49m

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 1.86% have integrated CocoaLumberjack. This accounts for 4.80% 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
30.03k
App Store
App Share
1.86%
App Store
Apps
29.70k
Games
326
Total Downloads
23.10b
App Store
Download Share
4.80%
App Store
App Downloads
22.09b
Game Downloads
1.01b

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

Among all apps utilizing developer tools SDKs, 1.82% have integrated FSCalendar. This accounts for 2.07% 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
29.27k
App Store
App Share
1.82%
App Store
Apps
29.23k
Games
37
Total Downloads
9.97b
App Store
Download Share
2.07%
App Store
App Downloads
9.93b
Game Downloads
41.92m

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

Browse iOS and Android SDKs With the SDK Explorer

Browse background top image
  • 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.

Browse background bottom imageBrowse right section image

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.