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Top 20 Backend and Cloud SDKs Used in iOS Apps on the Apple App Store
Last update: 6 May 2024 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, 34.19% have integrated Amazon AWS. This accounts for 25.12% 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
32.97k
App Store
App Share
34.19%
App Store
Apps
32.37k
Games
597
Total Downloads
13.56b
App Store
Download Share
25.12%
App Store
App Downloads
11.21b
Game Downloads
2.36b

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

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 21.74% have integrated GCDWebServer. This accounts for 16.73% 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
20.96k
App Store
App Share
21.74%
App Store
Apps
19.64k
Games
1.32k
Total Downloads
9.03b
App Store
Download Share
16.73%
App Store
App Downloads
8.63b
Game Downloads
402.74m

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

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 16.84% have integrated Amazon AWS Cognito Federated Identities. This accounts for 11.57% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
16.24k
App Store
App Share
16.84%
App Store
Apps
15.82k
Games
424
Total Downloads
6.25b
App Store
Download Share
11.57%
App Store
App Downloads
4.43b
Game Downloads
1.82b

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

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 16.66% have integrated Huawei Mobile Services HMS. This accounts for 15.06% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
16.07k
App Store
App Share
16.66%
App Store
Apps
15.96k
Games
107
Total Downloads
8.13b
App Store
Download Share
15.06%
App Store
App Downloads
7.84b
Game Downloads
289.49m

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

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 11.04% have integrated Alibaba Cloud Aliyun OSS. This accounts for 17.94% 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
10.64k
App Store
App Share
11.04%
App Store
Apps
10.50k
Games
141
Total Downloads
9.69b
App Store
Download Share
17.94%
App Store
App Downloads
8.57b
Game Downloads
1.12b

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

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 9.98% have integrated Parse. This accounts for 2.77% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

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

Total Apps
9.62k
App Store
App Share
9.98%
App Store
Apps
8.91k
Games
712
Total Downloads
1.50b
App Store
Download Share
2.77%
App Store
App Downloads
1.44b
Game Downloads
58.24m

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

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 4.02% have integrated Amazon AWS Kinesis. This accounts for 7.14% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
3.87k
App Store
App Share
4.02%
App Store
Apps
3.51k
Games
366
Total Downloads
3.86b
App Store
Download Share
7.14%
App Store
App Downloads
2.09b
Game Downloads
1.77b

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

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 3.92% have integrated Yandex DivKit. This accounts for 19.37% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
3.78k
App Store
App Share
3.92%
App Store
Apps
1.01k
Games
2.77k
Total Downloads
10.46b
App Store
Download Share
19.37%
App Store
App Downloads
2.68b
Game Downloads
7.77b

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

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 3.74% have integrated Amazon Simple Notification Service SNS. This accounts for <1% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
3.61k
App Store
App Share
3.74%
App Store
Apps
3.58k
Games
29
Total Downloads
420.16m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
369.28m
Game Downloads
50.88m

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

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 3.41% have integrated Tencent Cloud. This accounts for 11.03% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
3.29k
App Store
App Share
3.41%
App Store
Apps
3.15k
Games
134
Total Downloads
5.96b
App Store
Download Share
11.03%
App Store
App Downloads
3.71b
Game Downloads
2.25b

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

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 2.63% have integrated Amazon AWS Amplify Framework. This accounts for 1.42% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
2.54k
App Store
App Share
2.63%
App Store
Apps
2.52k
Games
15
Total Downloads
767.31m
App Store
Download Share
1.42%
App Store
App Downloads
766.79m
Game Downloads
513.43k

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

Among all apps utilizing backend and cloud SDKs, 2.12% have integrated WindVane by Alibaba. This accounts for 7.65% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

Total Apps
2.04k
App Store
App Share
2.12%
App Store
Apps
2.04k
Games
1
Total Downloads
4.13b
App Store
Download Share
7.65%
App Store
App Downloads
4.13b
Game Downloads
3.89m

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
755
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
690
Games
65
Total Downloads
19.20m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
12.40m
Game Downloads
6.80m

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

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
327
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
272
Games
55
Total Downloads
156.41m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
122.75m
Game Downloads
33.66m

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

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
249
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
240
Games
9
Total Downloads
87.76m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
86.49m
Game Downloads
1.27m

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

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
141
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
141
Games
0
Total Downloads
415.35m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
415.35m
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 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
126
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
101
Games
25
Total Downloads
18.21m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
1.07m
Game Downloads
17.14m

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

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
87
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
87
Games
0
Total Downloads
20.28m
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
20.28m
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 Neumob. This accounts for <1% of app downloads within the backend and cloud SDK category.

The Neumob SDK reduces mobile app errors, speeds up app performance, and boosts conversions.

Total Apps
3
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
3
Games
0
Total Downloads
8.72k
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
8.72k
Game Downloads
0

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

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

Particle is an iOS cloud SDK that enables iOS apps to interact with Particle-powered connected products via the Particle Cloud. It’s an easy-to-use wrapper for Particle REST API.

Total Apps
3
App Store
App Share
<1%
App Store
Apps
3
Games
0
Total Downloads
10.02k
App Store
Download Share
<1%
App Store
App Downloads
10.02k
Game Downloads
0

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

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.