Top 14 Android Development Tools (Our Developers Tried)

You want to create high-quality Android apps, but that's not possible without having the right development toolkit. No matter how experienced the Android developers you hire are, you need the right android development tools for creating, testing, and running Android apps.

But what would happen if these tools didn't exist? Performance issues would arise, and more development time would be required.

At one point, you'd be thinking about developing your app faster, while on another, your code would be architecturally incorrect, and likely to affect app performance in the long run. But we don’t want you to be stuck in that situation.

Though there are hundreds of tools that Android developers use regularly; to save your time, our developers have selected 14 free tools for Android app development.

What are the best android development tools in 2025?

Let's discuss some of the top tools for developing android apps that our developers use day in and day out. These are as given below-

1. Android Studio

Google created Android Studio in 2013, one of the best tools for developing Android apps. Android Studio is the official integrated development environment (IDE) for developing high-quality Android apps. The IDE contains SDK tools.

In addition, Android Studio supports various programming languages such as C++, Java, and Kotlin, enabling developers to develop applications for smartphones, tablets, Android TV, wearable gadgets, etc.

This tool for Android app development is available for free download, and you can install it with a few clicks on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux, etc. Android Studio is the #1 choice for Android developers as it gets huge support from Google.

Besides that, this android tool offers an extensive range of features which are as given below - visual layout editor (a drag-and-drop editor to move around UI components), a flexible build system that facilitates faster debugging, and an intelligent code editor to help you write better and faster code within a short span.

Pros of Android Studio

• Android Studio is cost effective for developers as it's free to use. 
• It allows developers to code faster and its live rendering feature provides them with a snapshot of real-time code changes. 
• This development tool for Android comes with code editing and developer features, and Gradle is one of them which allows developers to customize Android apps. Its IDE provides developers with everything in one place ranging from developing to testing Android apps. 
• Its fastest emulator (virtual device) allows developers to start the app faster and test it across multiple devices including phones, tablets, Android Wear, Android TV, etc. 
• As Android Studio is backed with Firebase support and integrated cloud, it means developers can add features such as push notifications to the app. 
• It has plenty of project templates which become a starting point for developers to select and start working on their project. This reduces the back-and-forth hassle for them to continue working from scratch. 

Cons of Android Studio

• Android Studio requires a lot of RAM (around 8GB or even more) and hardware resources for installation. 
• The installation process takes a lot of time, so it's a bit slower for developers who expect quick installation. The downloading process will take around 30 minutes or more depending on the internet connection. 
• Usually, there are system lagging issues which affect the development process. 

2. Firebase Studio

Google developed a new Gen AI type cloud-based tool for developers (Firebase studio) to create full stack experiences such as mobile and web apps (backend, frontend, APIs). 

They can leverage AI capabilities to convert an app's idea into digital products all using natural language prompts, readymade templates and superpowers of Gemini. Just type the prompt and get a fully-fledged app on the go. 

You can access Firebase Studio at studio.firebase.com. You simply need a Google account to create an app through this development tool. 

You can even access online Android Studio or various workspaces for different frameworks through Firebase Studio. No Installation required, just easy to go environments. 

Developers will have access to all required Android SDK tools pre-installed, and they can start with creating real life projects and step into the world of development in the cloud. This also provides virtual devices where the applications can be tested and installed for continuous development. 

Once the free quota is exhausted and preview mode is off, Google will charge you based on pay as you go model. 

Pros 

• The tool is easy to set up with no challenges in configuration. 
• It's integrated with other cloud services. 
• Its free tier is available for small testing projects. 
• AI based coding suggestions make developers more productive. Code generation becomes faster and debugging time is reduced. 
• It's an all-in-one platform where you will get everything at one place – building, testing and deployment of apps. 

Cons 

• Once you scale the project, it will become costly in the long run. 
• Due to its initial phases, it is taking longer time to load the development workspaces. 
• Development through prompts does not lead to desired results. 
• The system faces loss of data sometimes due to network fluctuations or some unknown errors. 
• It is not ready for production apps yet. 

3. Kotlin Programming Language

Initially, Java was used for Android app development, but in 2019, Google officially declared that Android apps will be Kotlin first. 

JetBrains developed Kotlin programming language, and Google has declared Kotlin as the preferred language for Android app development. In fact, Java is dying out and also Kotlin has been releasing more new updates and features so developers prefer using it. 

Not only does this programming language provide best-in-class features, but it also makes the developers more productive. A study states that 67% of professional developers feel more productive when using this programming language.

Many developers are shifting their app development projects from Java to Kotlin because they don’t want to waste their time writing boilerplate code which was the case with Java. Through Kotlin, they can achieve their project goals with less code and with no quality compromises. 

Kotlin is interoperable with java. That means it can seamlessly work with java projects and can smoothly be used in existing projects without any issues. Also, Kotlin made it convenient for developers to handle asynchronous operations in their projects with better readable and maintainable code.  

Pros of Kotlin 

• Mobile apps developed using Kotlin will have 20% less crashes.  
• Kotlin multiplatform makes it easy for developers to create hybrid apps (iOS, backend and web applications), not just native mobile apps. 
• Kotlin is considered as the modern programming language and that makes a compelling choice for developers to go with it. 
• As a go-to programming language for Android apps, Kotlin has a simple syntax making the code more readable. 

Cons of Kotlin 

• It's challenging for beginners to learn this programming language, but if you're a Java developer, then using this won't be a difficult job. 
• Mobile developers require to learn Java in addition to Kotlin to understand and handle legacy projects. 
• The compilation of Kotlin code may take more time due to de-compilation into java internally. 

4. Visual Studio With Xamarin

Visual studio with Xamarin is a type of IDE used for developing Android, web and desktop apps. It uses the Microsoft technology stack and offers an advantage to you to reuse around 90% of the code across platforms. 

In addition, this Android app development tool uses C#, C++ and Python for developing cross-platform apps. 

The best part? It allows you to either build your app from scratch or you can select from predefined templates to start your app development project. 

• Enterprise standard costs $499.99/monthly. 
• The professional standard plan starts at $99.99/month. 

Pros 

• You can create GUI applications with ease, and it doesn't even require much coding. 
• If you're working across different projects and programming languages, then it's a good starting point for you. 
• It provides a single environment to develop, deploy and ship apps faster. 

Cons 

• Need to install everything manually. 
• Challenging task to handle large scale projects 
• Processing often degrades during the development of applications 
• Development time is more than other cross-platform frameworks. 

5. Android Debug Bridge (ADB)  

Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is primarily a command line tool which acts as a bridge between Android devices and computers. 

ADB is a cross-platform development tool that works on various platforms such as Windows, Mac OS, Linux, etc. You can send commands from your computer to your phone such as installing apps, copying files and fixing problems. 

As a developer, you would want to develop the app and deploy it across different devices without requiring a third-party platform. The deployment can either be done using USB or wireless mode like Wi-Fi. That's what Android debugging tool comes. 

Furthermore, it's a straightforward tool that helps install and debug programs, track files, create apps, automate tasks and troubleshoot issues in your phone. Best part? It's a game changer for accessing the emulator and making changes on devices. 

Pros of Android Debug Bridge 

• It is easy for you to send commands from computer to Android device and manage their Android device. 
• You can control your Android device from changing the app settings to installing apps on the phone. 

Cons of Android Debug Bridge 

• It's not beginner friendly. 
• Command line knowledge is required. 

6. Gradle

Gradle, as an Android development tool, creates an environment that facilitates the smooth building and packaging of applications.

This tool analyzes the source code for errors and packages into an executable application which can be installed in emulators or physical devices.

Best part? It offers flexibility as its scripts can be customized depending on project requirements.

They can write tasks, add plugins, and implement dependencies in Gradle scripts per the project requirements.

Few use cases of Gradle android tool-

1. It has its own domain-specific language used for building configuration scripts.
2. Developers get the option to choose Kotlin or Groovy to write the configuration code for build scripts which get interpreted using the domain appropriate engine.
3. Using these build scripts, they can manage the targeted Android devices, optimization of applications, code obfuscation, and many more.

In a nutshell, Android Studio uses Gradle as its build system. Developers manage dependencies and appropriate settings for their projects through project files provided by Gradle.

Pros of Gradle 

• Being open source in nature, Gradle is free for anyone to use and has got large community support. 
• It's a great tool for managing project dependencies.  
• It’s a flexible tool to build software and can be customized as per different project needs. 
• Gradle supports multi-language and multi-platform support meaning you can build the project in different programming languages such as Java, Kotlin, Groovy, Scala etc. 
• As Gradle is highly integrated with Android studio, you can edit scripts and manage Gradle settings. 

Cons of Gradle 

• Flexible but tricky to debug when it breaks. The debugging experience that Gradle provides is weak. 
• Setting up large scale projects using Gradle is challenging. 
• You need to have sound technical knowledge to build projects through Gradle. 
• Migrating from other build tools to Gradle is not an easy chore as you need to be familiar with old and new systems. 

7. LeakCanary

LeakCanary is a third-party library used for identifying memory leaks in Android apps. Usually, Android devices come with limited memory resources and if memory leaks happen, then it would degrade the performance of mobile applications and at times result in app crashes as well. 

This Android development tool is used for identifying instances where memory leaks occur and it helps developers to prevent out of memory error crashes. 

It provides detailed reports to developers as to when a leak occurs so they can fix the issues on their own before it affects user experience. 

Pros of LeakCanary 

• Easy to detect memory leaks. 
• Plug and play setup, installed in under 60 seconds. 
• Shows you exactly which object or memory is leaked, class and location of leaked object. 
• Points out which part of codebase has a memory leak. 
• Leak trace reports are readable even for non-pros. 

Cons of LeakCanary 

• As it constantly analyzes leak memory and runs in background, it makes the app sluggish and slows down the process of building, testing and debugging. 
• Analysis of heap dumps is a time-consuming task. It further slows down development workflow. 
• LeakCanary may not detect all leaks such as low-level issues or native leaks are ignored. 
• Leaks will not detect if the garbage collector feature frees up the memory space.

8. Firebase

Google developed Firebase, which is a backend as a service platform and offers developers everything from real-time database to cloud storage and providing granular level insights on app performance. It ensures that your mobile applications are always up and running. 

As a backend development tool, its cloud-based infrastructure allows developers to build apps faster. Developers need not worry about handling server-side architectural issues and instead can focus on how to enhance user experience. 

Best part? Its ready-to-use infrastructure allows developers to skip the back-and-forth hassle of developing apps that takes days and months to develop. You can quickly prototype your app idea in hours, not days. 

Firebase provides easy-to-integrate SDKs for different platforms such as Android, iOS and web. 

It has a Crashlytics library which can be used for detecting and fixing crashes in real time for Android apps. It provides a snapshot to developers on a single dashboard highlighting- 

• Visualizations and the exact timeline when crashes occur 
• How many users are affected and the frequency of each crash 

Firebase provides Firebase Cloud Messaging solution which makes it easier for developers to send messages through notifications to their targeted users. 

Pros 

• Its analytics feature provides real-time insights to developers regarding how users interact with the app, how many times a particular screen is viewed so that you can improve UX. 
• Firebase real-time database syncs the data in real time and it's a game changer for building real-time messaging apps or real-time tracking systems.  
• Firebase provides authentication features which can be done through email/password authentication or social platforms like Google, Facebook, etc. 
• Its SDKs allow you to integrate the features and functionality into cross-platform apps (Android, iOS and web) also. It's like using one codebase for deploying the app everywhere. 

Cons 

• Project configuration setup is complex for a beginner to understand. 
• Firebase comes up with subscription plans for basic development needs. 
• Developers face data syncing issues while using some of the services of Firebase, e.g., Firestore 
• Limited control over server-side services logic. 
• Loss of data while using bulk notifications through firebase. 

9. Jetpack Compose Library 

Initially, XML was used for defining user interfaces but now Jetpack compose has changed the way user interface is created.

With a compose library, developers can build native UI using predefined templates.

It's like you tell Compose how you want the UI to look, and this Android tool will handle the rest.

Developers can become more productive using the compose features for UI development and state management. This way, they don’t have to write unnecessary lines of code used for basic UI development.

Take the example of Recycler View, which made developers create multiple files for UI and View binding. Using compose; Developers can mirror the same functionality with a single block of code without creating multiple files.

It uses a declarative approach to develop user interfaces. The declarative approach focuses more on defining the state and component avoiding unnecessary references, and listeners for a basic functionality, unlike XML.

As it’s considered the official toolkit that Android provides, so Google is pushing developers to move towards jetpack composition.

Pros of Jetpack compose  

• It reduces the boilerplate code as initially developers had to work on 2 different files - Kotlin/Java and XML. This increases the development time.  
• You can create beautiful apps with intuitive UI which was a complex job when working on XML.
• Compose provides the features to preview UI in different resolutions in real time.  
• You need to use different attributes to customize the UI in XML which can be done using Modifiers in Compose with ease.  
• It's easier to handle animations in Jetpack Compose.  

Cons of Jetpack Compose  

• The learning curve is steeper for developers who're unfamiliar with declarative programming.  
• Unlike traditional XML layouts, Jetpack Compose offers limited community support and documentation for solving problems. 
• Jetpack Compose isn't compatible with all third-party libraries.  
• Performance of applications may degrade if composable functions are not managed properly.  
• Learning Jetpack Compose is not enough for Application Development. Knowledge of how the view system works is always required. 

10. Dagger Hilt 

Dagger Hilt is a dependency injection library for Android to see how different classes in an app depend on each other.  

Earlier, Developers used to handle dependency injection manually, but with this library, the development time has been reduced, and code has become more maintainable and better for scalability. 

Consider Dagger Hilt as building a house and instead of doing everything on your own, you delegate tasks to somebody else. That’s where the concept of dependency injection comes in. Dependency injection, referred to as Software Design Pattern, is all about providing the objects and functions to another class without letting the class have the unnecessary changes in the codebase.  

This way, you can reduce a lot of boilerplate code and manage dependencies across different code bases. With the use of Dagger Hilt, the process of dependency injection gets simplified, and the code bases readability improves, making it easier for developers to test and debug.

Pros of Dagger Hilt 

• Unlike Dagger, Hilt reduces boilerplate code and makes the project more maintainable. 
• It simplifies dependency injection and is helpful for the testing process as testing one class doesn't affect other classes. 
• Hilt offers performance and robustness and makes it easier for developers to handle dependency injection. 

Cons of Dagger Hilt 

• It's not a beginner friendly platform. 
• It's not compatible with some of the Kotlin versions. 
• The learning curve is steeper as developers need to be aware of annotations and generated code. 
• Hilt does not offer great error descriptions for debugging 

11. Coil (Coroutine image loader) 

Coil is an image loading library that works with Kotlin coroutines so it's a perfect choice for developing android apps and can work with tools like Jetpack Compose.  

It makes loading, caching and displaying images easier from any source. While it requires fewer resources, its image processing capabilities are blazingly fast. 

As one of the best tools for Android apps, it offers customization capabilities (resizing or cropping) to developers to handle image loading issues and alter them before publishing. Best part? It loads images faster in mobile devices as it's a lightweight library. 

Being a Kotlin first library, Coil provides developers to prioritize the image requests meaning critical images will be given high priority for loading. 

Pros of Coil 

• Supports image formats such as WebP, GIFs etc. 
• Quickly loads images without increasing your app size and consumes less memory. 
• Works well for projects that require extensive use of Kotlin and coroutines. 

Cons of Coil 

• If you're proficient in Java and new to Kotlin, then learning this library takes time. 
• It's mostly suited for Kotlin projects and doesn't work if your app is written in Java. 
• The community support is less than other established players such as Glide. 

12. Charles Proxy  

It's an inspector tool used for identifying network code requests and monitoring the traffic between an app and the backend server. This allows developers to debug and test issues for testing scenarios. 

This app development tool is a blessing for Android developers as they can quickly see when something goes wrong. 

One of the great features about Charles Proxy is that it lets you simulate your app performance when there is slower internet connectivity (3G, 4G or Edge) under different network conditions. This way by testing your app in different conditions, you can improve its performance. 

Pros  

• Supports diverse environments such as Windows, macOS and Linux. 
• Identify issues quickly under different network conditions. 
• Saves lot of time for developers at the time of debugging. 

Cons 

• Difficult to learn for beginners 
• Comes with a licensing fee of $50 

13. Android lint 

Android Lint, a lint warning tool which is used for spotting mistakes in code, errors and ensuring that your code complies with Android app development guidelines. Besides identifying redundant code and usability issues, it can correct the errors before publishing the app. 

This is helpful for identifying errors in large and complex projects which can be left untouched by the human eye.  

Lint tool is present inside Android Studio, and this tool analyzes the code automatically.  

The lint checks can be handled manually, and it also provides convenience to developers to suppress the unnecessary lint checks. This helps the developers in analyzing the code leading to better code standards and optimization. 

Pros 

• Developers can integrate this tool in their development process as this tool is inbuilt within Android Studio. 
• This tool provides real-time feedback to developers as and when they code. 
• Developers can enhance their code quality as Lint guides them about the best coding practices or common coding errors they usually make. 

Cons 

• Lint may sometimes produce false results as coding suggestions are not always relevant for every project. 
• Running lint for large scale projects may degrade the build time due to processing in real time. 

14. Android Profiler

Android Studio Profiler is a performance analysis tool used for identifying performance related issues. It will provide you with real-time insights about how much CPU it is utilizing, memory it is consuming.

This android tool is easy to use, and developers can take advantage of this tool to optimize the applications. Once you run the application, a profiler session can be created through the attached debuggable instance of the application.

The insights of active and non-active instances of applications can be viewed through the profiler. It shows the CPU utilization on every interaction with components in application.

The below image shows how much memory the app consumes when interaction with the components takes place in the running instance of application. This helps in detecting the amount of memory consumption at a specific point.

Pros 

• Developers can find out root cause and see what’s affecting their app performance. 
• Profiler provides you visual representations of how your app is performing. 
• Early identification of memory consumption can increase the possibility of app optimization. 

Cons 

• Profiling slows down the app's performance. 
• It consumes a lot of memory which leads to slowing down the debug process. 
• The performance of Android studio gets impacted while using profiler. 
• The measurement of accurate data becomes a challenging task through this. 

How BigOhTech can help you in Android App Development?

With an increasing number of Android apps, there comes the need for Android development tools that enable developers to produce quality apps. 

Starting your next Android app development project is a difficult process. Undoubtedly, you can use hundreds of Android app development tools to kickstart your app development journey.  

But the above ones will help you develop scalable and high-quality Android applications. 

Need help developing next-generation Android apps that can 2x your traffic, so connect with our Android app development experts now and get a 30 min free consultation session now.