Updated: Updated for 202119 min read19 min130 shares13059 Comments59Written by: Rahul Srinivas

With millions of apps available on the Play Store, it's hard to find the best ones. Whether you need a great weather app or a new tool to speed up your productivity, there are always dozens of options available. NextPit has therefore selected for you the best Android applications for all uses and has collected them in this article.

Before we get started, if you're an iPhone user and stumbled across this article, let us shamelessly introduce you to our recently updated Best iOS Apps of 2021 article.

Note that we have categorized these Android apps into several categories and picked one app that we think is the best in its class. You'll also find links to app picks by genre, where you can also find alternatives to the best Android apps already listed here. Note that this list is US-centric and some of the apps on it may not be relevant or available elsewhere.

Must-have Android apps

Must-have apps are those that most Android users will definitely need to install to keep their smartphone running smoothly. These are mainly key applications like keyboards, browsers, security and personalization applications. Although most of these apps come pre-installed on Android smartphones, sometimes it's more convenient to upgrade to an alternative that (usually) offers significantly more functionality than the default apps.

The best keyboard

Microsoft Swiftkey

If Gboard is certainly the most popular keyboard app on Android, it's largely because it comes pre-installed on most Android smartphones. Before Gboard arrived in 2016, SwiftKey was arguably among the most popular keyboards on Android. With over 500 million downloads on the Google Play Store, SwiftKey remains hugely popular. It is also packed with features and is definitely a great alternative to Gboard.

The best file manager

Solid Explorer

File managers or explorers have been common on phones for several decades now. Initially reserved for power users, file managers have grown in popularity thanks to the open nature of Android. While Google offers its own file manager named "Files", there are several feature-rich third-party file manager apps that are free. Of these, NextPit recommends Solid Explorer.

The best browser

Opera

Before we talk about Opera, let's talk about its biggest competitor. Yes, Google Chrome for Android is by far the most popular browser among Android users. But it has become so ubiquitous that there is almost no need to add it to a selection. So consider Opera as our best alternative to Google Chrome. This browser has been in the industry for a very long time and the Android app is really efficient and feature-rich.

The best launcher

Nova Launcher

One of the easiest ways to customize your Android smartphone is to install a third-party launcher. And among the launchers, our favorite happens to be Nova Launcher. This app has been a favorite of Android users for years, and it continues to be the launcher of choice for millions of users. While Nova Launcher's main strengths are its versatility and simplicity, most people we know love it for the number of features it offers.

The best security/antivirus app

Sophos Intercept X

Sophos Intercept X is an award-winning antivirus and anti-malware tool that consistently managed to score 100% protection score in AV-TEST's comparison of the best Android security and antivirus apps. It is a free app that offers a full set of features like malware protection, web filtering, link checker, app protection, Wi-Fi Security, and privacy notices. And the app claims to do all of this without compromising your smartphone's battery life.

The best apps for everyday life

The apps listed in this section are those that are not essential, but that make our lives easier. As you'll see, this category typically includes tools related to shopping, weather, messaging, and navigation. Let's see which of these apps made it into our selection of the best apps:

The best messaging app

WhatsApp

WhatsApp has its share of problems and continues to not be very popular in the United States. However, with a user base of over 2 billion, it is by far the most popular messaging app in the world. Given the international nature of this site, we had no choice but to award WhatsApp the title of best messaging app. But hey, if you don't really like WhatsApp, take a look at our article with its best alternatives.

The best weather app

Accuweather

Accuweather is by far the most popular weather app on Android smartphones. And in our recently updated Best Weather Apps article, it made it to the top of the list. So it's no surprise that we chose Accuweather as our weather app recommendation for Android smartphones.

The Best Restore App

GrubHub

Grubhub is our pick in the best restaurant app category, mainly because it's great at what it does. Besides having a number of restaurant reviews and detailed descriptions, ordering food is quick and easy. No wonder it's the most popular food ordering app in the US, ahead of DoorDash and Uber Eats.

The best shopping list app

Out of Milk

With over 5 million downloads, Out of Milk is about as popular as a shopping list app can get. Touted as the indispensable companion to an easy shopping experience, Out of Milk is an extremely neat app that categorizes products into individual sections instead of listing them at random. We also found the app to be quite intuitive.

The best GPS app (offline)

Google Maps

Whether you like it or not, there's no denying that Google Maps is by far the most popular and widely used mapping app in the world. Although not advertised as an offline maps app, Google Maps has a very useful offline feature that allows data for a specific region to be downloaded well in advance using your Wi-Fi connection. Of course, there are other offline map apps that offer multiple features.

The best photo apps

Smartphones have more or less invaded the photography space and are responsible for the drop in sales of most camera brands. The flagships sold today offer excellent image and video quality and can satisfy the needs of the most demanding photographers. The added advantage of smartphones is that users can not only compose with different camera apps but also use powerful image editing tools to make their photos look even better!

The best camera app

Google Camera

As you may have already guessed, Google Camera is Google's official app for Android smartphones. While not as feature-rich as its competitors, this app is more than capable of meeting the needs of the average smartphone user. Additional features you'll get with Google Camera include portrait mode, photospheres, and on some versions, the excellent Night Sight mode. Note that the list of supported functions really depends on the device you are using.

The best photo editing app

Snapseed

Snapseed is a powerful, professional-grade photo editing tool developed by Google. It regularly lands at the top of lists of best photography apps, and for good reason. It's packed with features, including 29 tools and filters, and countless other functions that amateur and professional photographers love. The best part about Snapseed is that it offers all these features for free! Hopefully Google will keep Snapseed as is!

The best photo gallery app

Simple Gallery Pro

As its name suggests, Simple Gallery Pro is a very simple gallery application that has only one function: to display the images stored on your smartphone. What makes it special is the support for a large number of additional, auxiliary functions, which range from a photo editing tool and a file manager, to the possibility of recovering photos deleted and protect and hide sensitive files stored on your device from prying eyes.

The best cloud photo storage app (alternative to Google Photos)

Degoo

Since Google Photos went paid, there seems to be a void in the market for a good photo backup app at a decent price. According to the opinions and personal experiences of other users, Degoo turns out to be an excellent alternative to Google Photos. It offers 100GB of free storage to its basic users and offers subscriptions of up to 10TB on unlimited devices for $9.99 per month.

The best fitness and lifestyle apps

As the impressive growth of the fitness trackers and smartwatches segment shows, health and fitness have become essential aspects of most people's lives. smartphone owners. This has led to the proliferation of several fitness-themed apps that promise a lot. Which of them is the most suitable for your needs? Check it out in the list below!

The best fitness app

Strava

Strava has been around for a long time now and is certainly one of the most popular fitness apps currently in use on Android smartphones. The app supports most activities you can think of including running, cycling, and swimming, as well as essential functions such as measuring distance, pace, speed, elevation and calorie tracking. Another key feature of Strava is its support for a wide variety of Android and WearOS devices. Strava is also famous for having a very lively and vibrant community within its ecosystem.

The best pedometer app

Pacer Pedometer

For those of you looking for a no-frills step counting app, the Pacer Pedometer seems like a great choice. In addition to being free, it supports many features and does not require synchronization with a fitness device. In addition to counting steps, you can use the app to track other things like distance traveled and calories burned. The app also has a separate tab where you can track your complete activity history. Pacer Pedometer also has a small community where you can start and accept challenges.

The best calorie counting app

Yazio

Yazio, perhaps the most popular calorie counter and food tracker app, is a great app, even though it's free. It is feature-rich and supports a huge food database, as well as recipes and meal plans. The app also supports automatic activity tracking and even has a water meter with notification support. Finally, the application does not contain any advertising despite being free!

The best dating app

Tinder

Tinder claims to have fostered more than 30 billion matches to date. An insane figure considering that there are only about 8 billion of us on planet Earth. But hey, with over 100 million downloads, it's by far the most popular dating app. And with dating apps, it's important to have a sizable user base for them to work effectively. And if we stick to the numbers, we think Tinder is your best bet.

The best multimedia applications

The modern smartphone is a multimedia powerhouse. It's more than capable of being a wholesome entertainment device thanks to a plethora of apps that can watch movies, listen to music, and even read books. While there are dedicated devices for all of these activities, the fact that your smartphone can perform them effortlessly is a testament to how far we've come since the days of the first cell phone, which was just an extension of your landline.

The best music streaming app

Spotify

Spotify is the most popular music streaming app on the planet for a very good reason. Apart from having a large music library, it is a very good all-around app that combines a large library, features, and a very reasonable price. Spotify is also available on a wide variety of platforms and there's honestly not much to complain about.

The best SVOD app

Netflix

My colleague Antoine recently chose Netflix as the best app in our comprehensive comparison of SVOD services and really, I have nothing to add. If you have the option of installing only one SVOD application on your smartphone, it must be Netflix.

The Best Reading App

Amazon Kindle

Kindle is an obvious choice thanks to its reputation in the world of e-readers. The Amazon Kindle app for Android provides access to millions of books and magazines without having to purchase the Kinde eReader. The app is feature rich and offers free samples of thousands of books. It allows you to choose your favorite typeface for reading and has additional features such as the possibility of viewing magazines in color images.

The best free music download app

Jamendo

Jamendo is a platform for independent artists and its main advantage is that it is completely free. It has more than 40,000 independent artists worldwide. Access to all content is free, the only condition being to register for an account. We also found Jamendo quite easy to use and highly recommend it as it offers free royalty-free music downloads for commercial use!

The best productivity apps

Even though smartphones are accused of making people addicted, there's no denying that they can also be used as tools to boost productivity. The Google Play Store is filled with several apps that help you be more organized and productive. But how to distinguish the best from the others? Well, we did it for you! Below are the best productivity-focused apps in different categories.

The best calendar app

Google Calendar

It wasn't a difficult choice. Indeed, Google Calendar is a great app and even people who don't really like Google agree on this. The main benefit of Google Calendar, especially if you're deep into the Google ecosystem, is that you'll need to do very little manual input to set your calendar. Google Calendar syncs information and data between multiple Google apps and does it all seamlessly. So we can only recommend Google Calendar over other options available in the market.

The best email app

Blue Mail

Blue Mail is a universal mail application that has been widely acclaimed for its user-friendliness and clean user interface. It supports multiple email services, including Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, iCloud, and Office 365, and lets you view all your emails in a single, integrated inbox. It also has its own built-in calendar that syncs with data from all your email accounts, allowing you to access your calendar events directly in Blue Mail.

The best note-taking app

Evernote

Evernote has been a fan-favorite note-taking app for a very long time now. Its popularity stems from the fact that it has a very simple, clean and easy to use interface despite the fact that it offers a large number of functions.

The best to-do app

Todoist

Todoist is arguably one of the most popular task management apps in the Google Play Store and boasts a user base of over 20 million. The app has a lot of features that will surely be of interest to those of you who take their todo list very seriously. It has several additional features, such as the possibility of reminding deadlines and recurring tasks. You will also be able to set priority levels for each task and even sync it with your email accounts.

That sums up our article on the best Android apps in each category. You will notice that all of these apps can be downloaded from the Play Store. But did you know that there are alternatives to the Google Play Store, from which you can also download apps? Among the most important are:

What are your favorite Android apps? Do you have any other suggestions? Let us know in the comments!