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Best Android App Development Tools to Use in 2026

Android is the most sought-after smartphone operating system by Google. Android 12 is the latest version in the market and it has covered a share of around 25% of all mobile Android devices worldwide. The popularity of Android OS led to the need for more Android apps and ultimately Android development tools.

Google play store has more than 3 million Android apps in 2023. Google generated revenue of $222m in April 2023. The largest markets for Android applications are India, south-east Asia, South America, USA, Brazil, Russia, and China. For quick and effective Android app development, developer tools play a crucial role.

Most developers use Android app development tools. They research and analyze the app idea to choose the right Android developer tools. It helps to develop an innovative and robust app in a short time. Today businesses want Android applications for mobile devices with advanced features. They want cross-platform applications to run on multiple devices and attract more app users.

What Is the Difference Between iOS and Android Apps?

Many times people are seeing confused between Android apps and iOS apps. The apps that run only on the Android platform are Android apps and the apps that run only on the iOS platform are iOS applications. However, today cross-platform apps have come to the market. These apps are platform-independent and require a cross-platform framework for development.

Well, to clear your doubt about iOS and Android I have curated some points in the table below.

Top 15 Android Development Tools

Android has an actively engaged community that helps developers to build more advanced features. There are many best Android app development tools in the market to choose from. However, not every development tool is suitable for all mobile apps. So, developers have to research to find suitable Android development tools and Android software development kits.

We have made this process a little easier for the developers by providing them with the list of 15 best Android development tools to build mobile apps.

1. Android Studio
2. FlowUp
3. Eclipse
4. Android Debug Bridge
5. Vysor
6. Stetho
7. Gradle
8. Android Asset Studio
9. LeakCanary
10. RAD Studio
11. AVD Manage
12. NimbleDroid
13. Instabug
14. Unity 3D
15. Game Maker Studio

1. Android Studio:

Most Android developers use Android Studio. It is an official integrated development environment for Android development. Android Studio offers various features to Android developers to build apps for the Android device.

Many applications are built for different Android devices using Android Studio because of its rich features. You can check some iOS development tools to compare.

Have a look at the features of Android Studio below.

1. Flexible Gradle-based build system
2. Feature-rich emulator for app testing
3. Extensive testing tools and frameworks
4. Intelligent code editor

2. FlowUp:

It is the most useful tool for developers to monitor app performance. You can gain critical insights into various performance metrics such as disk usage, memory leaks, memory usage, CPU usage, and others with the help of FlowUp’s handy dashboards. Get a monthly subscription plan based on the sizes of Android projects. take your app development to the next level using the FlowUp dashboard and by adding a single line of code.

Know the features of the FlowUp tool for building high-quality apps.

1. Handy dashboard
2. Different performance metrics
3. Easy app development

3. Eclipse:

Eclipse is an open-source IDE. Although Google does not support it now, it still has been downloaded around 1.8 million times. The tool was here before Android Studio to build apps for the Android platform. It is still one of the best-integrated development environments for building Android and cross-platform apps. Likewise, it works effectively with many popular programming languages.

Here are some important features of the Eclipse tool

1. Supports multiple languages and operating systems
2. A large marketplace of plug-ins
3. A large community
4. Extensive customization abilities
5. Supports Java, C, C++, C#, JavaScript, Perl, and PHP

4. Android Debug Bridge:

Developers use many important Android development tools through Android Studio and Android Debug Bridge is one of them. They build an excellent Android app with this command line tool.

The debugging tool is used in the Android application development process especially to debug. For this, you have to enter a series of commands.

Features of Android Debug Bridge

1. Versatile command line tool
2. Connects your development workstation
3. Debugging of Android-based devices
4. Daemon connects with the server using an Android device

5. Vysor:

It is an Android emulator through which developers mirror an Android device to a computer. They can control it from the keyboard. It has the feature to screen-cast from your device while using it. During meetings and demos, you can screencast with the help of Vysor. It allows mirroring the real device to your computer and simplifies the app development process. The tool brings Android to the desktop browser.

Have a look at the crucial features of Vysor below

1. Easy mirroring of an actual device to a computer
2. Compatible with most operating systems
3. Mobile remote control tool
4. Remote desktop tool
5. Puts iOS and Android on desktop

6. Stetho:

Stetho is a debugging tool used by many platform developers for native Android app development. The tool was created by Facebook to get access to Chrome developer tools native to the desktop browser.

It has a network inspection function for image preview, JSON response helpers, and others. It also exports traces to the HAR format. Quick application debugging process of complex apps is possible with Stetho.

Let’s have a look at the features of Stetho

1. Sophisticated debug bridge
2. Open-source debugging platform
3. Rich and highly interactive experience
4. Easy debugging of native apps
5. Network and database management is possible

7. Gradle:

Gradle is an effective automation tool. It is widely popular because of the flexible build system. Since it automates the creation of applications, many developers prefer it over other tools. Its development process includes compiling, linking, and packaging the code. You can use it with a top programming language. It supports domain-specific language over XML.

Here are the features of Gradle, one of the best Android development tools

1. User-friendly commands
2. Impressive feature set
3. Multi-language support
4. Dependency management
5. Wide range of plugins

8. Android Asset Studio:

You have read about Android Studio in the beginning. It is Android Asset Studio, in which assets provide a way to include arbitrary files, like text, video, XML, and fonts in applications. So, it is an amazing collection of easy-to-use tools. You can create different types of icons like app shortcut icons, notifications, and launchers with the help of Android Asset Studio.

Have a look a the essential features of the Android Asset Studio tool in the space below.

1. Launcher icon generator
2. Shapeshifter
3. App shortcut icon generator
4. Generic icon generator
5. Notification icon generator

9. LeakCanary:

It is an effective tool because it notifies you whenever a memory leak happens. It is a powerful memory detection library developed by Square. This library is available on GitHub. LeakCanary offers a unique ability to narrow down the reasons for each leak.

It helps to find the correct memory leaks. LeakCanary tool helps developers amazingly reduce applications not responding to freeze and out-of-memory crashes (OOM).

Features of LeakCanary Android development tool

1. Unique ability to narrow down leaks
2. Powerful memory detection library

10. RAD Studio:

It is an integrated development environment (IDE). Developers can build applications five times faster for Android devices. It is used to build Win32 applications. RAD Studio offers a comprehensive set of tools.

It streamlines and simplifies the full development lifecycle. The new version brings usability, high performance, and stability to the RAD Studio IDE.

Here are the important features of RAD Studio.

1. Generating and editing code
2. Compiling, debugging, and deploying apps
3. Faster coding
4. High DPI and 4K
5. Support iOS and MacOS also

Check out this video-

11. AVD Manager:

This command line tool defines the characteristics of an Android phone, Tablet, Wearable OS, Android TV, Automotive OS, and others that you want to stimulate in the Android emulator. Android Virtual Device tests your application on different devices and API levels without a mobile device.

Check out the essential features of the AVD Manager development tool

1. Supports many Android devices
2. Contains a hardware profile, system image, storage area, and skin
3. Test responsiveness on different screen sizes

12. NimbleDroid:

NimbleDroid is also a testing tool. You can improve the quality of your app using NimbleDroid. It tests bugs, leaks, and other issues on your application before deploying it on the Google play store. App developers can save a lot of time using the NimbleDroid tool.

They can improve the overall QA process and reduce time to market. Mozilla, Firefox, Yahoo, Pinterest, and many other companies use this tool to test their apps.

Scroll down to know the crucial features of the NimbleDroid testing tool

1. Test different user flows
2. Quickly identify potential crashes
3. Automated testing
4. Alerts for slowness
5. Auto discover user flows
6. Create customize user flows

13. Instabug:

Many big companies like PayPal, Lyft, Yahoo, BuzzFeed, and Mashable use Instabug for beta testing and bug reporting. Beta testers can share screenshots and detailed error logs with each other. Likewise, user groups and developers can also share them during the QA and debugging process. You can avail of its custom price based on the number of apps, team members, and overall project length.

Here are the features of Instabug

1. Improved bug reporting and beta testing
2. Fatal hangs and ANRS
3. Screen loading
4. UI hangs
5. App performance monitoring

14. Unity 3D:

Unity 3D is another Android development tool on the list. It is a cross-platform game development environment. Developers use it for complicated, graphics-intensive game apps using the latest technologies like Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Well, this is widely used for advanced gaming, you can also use it to make simple 2D games as well. Read about popular Game apps like PubG and their tech stack to make better decisions.

Here are the essential features of Unity 3D

1. Quickly assembles scenes
2. Easy workflow
3. Quality game development
4. Dedicated tools for 2D and 3D games
5. AAA visuals
6. High definition video

People also like to know: Top 10 artificial intelligence apps for Android

15. GameMaker Studio:

GameMaker Studio is another complete development tool to create 2D games. You can create games for Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, Mac, HTML5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation using this tool. Many games are already developed for mobile devices using the GameMaker Studio tool.

Have a look at the features of GameMaker Studio

1. Create and personalize objects
2. Rearrange the workspace according to the project
3. It lets you add and remove the room
4. Sets camera control
5. Manages designs

These are the crucial and most popular tools. You can find the best development tool for your app based on the Android operating system. Visual Studio is Microsoft’s original development environment.

Many tools support other platforms than those mentioned in the blog. Professional developers select the tools that suit the requirements of clients. So, you can hire dedicated Android developers for your project and share your app requirements with them.

How to Build an Android Application in 2026?

Today most businesses run online because billions of people have access to the internet and they turn to search engines, apps, and websites for every solution. If you also want a robust, feature-rich, high-quality app for your business, follow the best practices for app building. Check our detailed blog on how to build an Android app for more information.

Follow the below steps for app development.

1. Analyze the requirements of your application idea
2. Research for the top competitors
3. Pick the best features to be ahead of the curve
4. Select development platform
5. Choose the correct technology stack
6. Select the suitable design tools
7. Start development
8. Test your application using tools
9. Deploy the application
10. Reform the application

These are the steps if you know a programming language and know the basics of SDLC. If you don’t know how to build an app, hire the best developers. You can hire a freelancer, an offshore team, and an in-house team. Read about the benefits of hiring an offshore development company.

Final Thought

Android app development tools have made the lives of many Android developers easy. Now they can save time to think creatively and make innovative apps. It is because tools automate many repetitive tasks, and provide in-built plugins and features. Now developers don’t have to code for every feature of an app. They have in-built features for the common designs on the apps.

If you are also planning for app development but don’t know where to start, contact Technource. Our world-class professionals offer you free consultation services and clear all your doubts regarding Android app development. We have many experienced Android and iOS professionals. They analyze your business model and app idea thoroughly to match your requirements. You can hire them with simple steps on our site.