Best Android Apps in Every Category

Obsidian saves every note as a plain Markdown text file in a folder on your phone. No account is needed, and the app is free with no limits, even for work use. You can link notes to each other, add tags and install community plugins.

The catch is sync. To get the same notes on your computer, you either pay for Obsidian Sync or point the folder at a sync tool you already use. Setup takes ten minutes, but after that your notes never depend on one company.

Todoist is the fastest way to get a task out of your head. You type "pay rent every month on the 1st" and it sets the date and repeat for you. It has good home screen widgets and works on every platform.

The free plan allows 5 personal projects and 3 filters, which is enough for most people. Pro raises the limit to 300 projects and adds more filters and a longer activity history.

Keep is the app for shopping lists, a parking spot or a Wi-Fi password. Notes open in a second, you can pin them, colour them and share a list with family. It is often already on your phone.

Keep uses the free 15 GB of storage in your Google account. It has no folders, only labels, so it gets messy once you have hundreds of notes. That is the point to move long notes into Obsidian.

Bitwarden is the password manager we recommend first. The free plan has no limit on passwords or devices, which most rivals charge for. It fills logins inside apps on Android, makes strong passwords, and works in every browser on your computer too.

Premium costs $19.80 a year and adds file attachments, a built-in 2FA code generator and security reports. The free plan is enough for most people.

Proton VPN has the only free plan we trust: no data cap, no ads and a no-logs policy from a Swiss company. It is the one to use on hotel, airport and café Wi-Fi.

The free plan covers one device and picks the server for you from a small set of countries. Plus unlocks every country, more devices, faster servers and streaming support.

Signal encrypts every message and call by default, and it keeps almost no data about you. It is run by a non-profit, so there are no ads and no plan to sell your data.

A free backup now saves your recent messages and media to Signal's servers, and a paid plan stores much more. The only real problem is getting friends to join, so start with the people you talk to most.

Two-factor codes stop someone who has your password from getting into your account. Aegis stores those codes in an encrypted vault on your phone, works offline and has no ads, no tracking and no account.

Turn on its automatic backups and copy the backup file somewhere safe. If you lose your phone with no backup, you lose your codes too.

Firefox is the main Android browser that runs full desktop add-ons, including uBlock Origin, the ad blocker most privacy fans use. That one add-on makes the web faster and cleaner on a phone.

Chrome on Android does not support extensions at all. If you want a different privacy browser, see our list below.

Spotify has the best playlists and recommendations, and it works on almost every speaker, car and TV. The free plan now lets you search and play the songs you choose, with ads and some daily limits on mobile.

Premium removes ads and adds offline downloads and unlimited skips. Duo and Family plans are cheaper per person if you share.

Pocket Casts is a full podcast player with smart speed (it trims silence), volume boost, sleep timer and good filters. The free version has all of that. You do not need an account to start.

Plus adds folders, bookmarks, watch apps, extra themes and cloud storage for your own audio files. Most listeners never need it.

VLC plays almost every video and audio format, with subtitles, playback speed control and network streams. It has no ads and no in-app purchases. If a downloaded video will not open, VLC is the fix.

Libby lets you borrow ebooks, audiobooks and magazines from your public library for free. Add your library card, search, borrow and read or listen in the app. Popular titles have a waitlist, just like the shelf at the library.

Snapseed is Google's free photo editor, with no ads, no watermark and no subscription. It does curves, selective edits, healing, perspective fixes and RAW files. A 2026 redesign added a cleaner layout and batch editing.

If you want AI tools such as object removal or sky swap, see our list of AI photo editors below.

VN has a real multi-track timeline, keyframes, text, music and speed curves, and exports have no watermark. It is the best free choice for Reels, Shorts and travel clips. The free version shows ads, and some effects and templates cost extra.

Files by Google finds junk files, duplicate photos, big videos and old downloads, and lets you delete them in a few taps. It has no ads. It also has a Safe Folder with a PIN for private files.

Never install a "phone cleaner" or "RAM booster" app. Most only show ads, and Android manages memory by itself.

LocalSend sends files between any phone and any computer on the same Wi-Fi. It needs no account and no internet, and files never go through a server. It is the easiest way to move photos from an Android phone to a Mac or an iPhone.

Solid Explorer shows two folders side by side, opens ZIP and RAR files, and connects to cloud drives, FTP and network shares on your home server. It is the pick if you move a lot of files.

Its Play listing now says it contains ads, so check the current version before you pay for the unlock.

SD Maid 2/SE finds leftover folders from apps you uninstalled, duplicate files and stale app data. It is open source and has no ads. Some tools, like the app cleaner, need the paid upgrade.

Niagara replaces the icon grid with one simple list of your favourite apps that you can reach with your thumb. Notifications show inline next to each app. It is fast, has no ads and helps you open fewer apps out of habit.

Lawnchair looks like the Pixel launcher but lets you change the icon size, grid, fonts and app drawer. It is free and open source. Lawnchair 15, the latest version, is still in beta, so expect a few rough edges.

KWGT lets you design any widget you can imagine: clocks, weather, music controls and battery bars. Most people buy a widget pack from Play and apply it. Pro is needed to load most of those packs.

Cronometer tracks calories, macros and more than 80 vitamins and minerals from a checked food database. The barcode scanner is free. The free plan limits charts and reports to the last 7 days. Gold removes ads and adds longer reports and fasting tools.

Duolingo turns language practice into a short daily game, with streaks that keep you coming back. The free plan uses an energy system that limits how many lessons you can do in a row. It is best as a habit next to a real course.

AnkiDroid is the free Android version of Anki, the flashcard app medical students and language learners use. It shows each card just before you would forget it. It has no ads and syncs free with AnkiWeb.

Google Maps does driving, walking, cycling and public transport in one app, with live traffic, lane guidance and multi-stop routes. Download offline areas before a trip to keep navigating with no signal.

Organic Maps downloads whole countries for full offline use, with hiking trails, cycling routes and turn-by-turn directions. It has no ads and no tracking. Some former contributors started a fork called CoMaps in 2025, which works the same way if you prefer it.

Gemini is replacing Google Assistant on most Android phones. Hold the power button to ask about what is on your screen, or talk to it live with Gemini Live. It can read your Gmail, Calendar and Drive if you allow it. Paid Google AI plans add newer models and extra cloud storage.

Claude, from Anthropic, is strong at writing, summarising long documents and explaining things in plain words. You can share a PDF or a photo of a page and ask about it. The free plan has daily message limits; Pro raises them.

ChatGPT has the widest set of tools: voice chat, image making, web search and file analysis. The free plan now shows ads. Plus and higher plans remove the ads and raise the limits; the cheaper Go plan may still show ads.

Telegram is great for large groups, channels, bots and sending big files, and it syncs across all your devices. Normal chats are stored on Telegram's servers and are not end-to-end encrypted. Use Secret Chats, or Signal, for private talks.