Many times we have faced the issue that some apps or games are not available for download for the country, we reside in. These are exclusively launched in some particular region and other regions are deprived of playing them until an official APK arrives in the Play Store. Other times, even though the app is useful for the user, the developers need to remove it from the Play Store due to Play Store compliance or any other reasons.
However, there are several ways to install geo-blocked, unavailable and removed apps from the Play Store. You just need to download the APK file to sideload it. But, here’s the deal, you might straight away search it on Google and find lots of websites pretending to give you the APK you asked for. But, there is no guarantee that this APK installed from such websites are free from malware or any other viruses.
It is here, where I come in. In this article, we have checked and listed the top 5 Google Play Store alternative websites, from where you can download any game or app free without any virus. Moreover, you might also get a lot of paid apps and games for free from these websites.
Top 5 Google Play Store Alternatives
It is important to understand why to install APK files from trusted sources apart from Play Store because they might pose a serious threat to your private information stored on the data or could cause permanent damage to your device. Any un-ethical person with malicious intentions could modify the APK, then use it as a digital Trojan horse to install and run malware on your device.
Please download from the below third party sources only to avoid such issues.
Please note that, at the time of writing this article, all the websites mentioned here were free from any virus or malware, and has been tested by me. If in near future these websites get a virus or malicious APK’s then it is not my responsibility.
1. APKPure
One of the biggest APK store available on the internet which can give a close competition to Play Store is the APKPure. The APKPure websites also follow compliances which are close to the Google Play Store and all the APKs are checked, inspected and other rigorous security practices are followed to ensure that any APK you download, is free from viruses.
Moreover, it uses the SHA1 certification before publishing them, to verify the legitimacy of the apps or games available on the website. If an app has an update, it checks the cryptographic signature, and the APK is uploaded only when the signature matches the previous version. Moreover, you won’t be able to find any modded APK or patched APK on this website. It also provides you the information related to previous versions of the app, if in any case, you want to switch back to the old version. It also has a separate Android app for downloading directly from the app and act as a replacement for the Play Store.
[button anchor=”Download Android App” url=”https://apkpure.com/apkpure/com.apkpure.aegon/download?from=aegon” size=”medium” style=”material” color=”success”]2. APKMirror
The best third-party app store available to sideload apps or games on your device is the APKMirror. APKPure is a close competitor for APKMirror but, if I had to choose one then, it will definitely be the APKMirror. This website is owned and controlled by the widely read and popular Android Police website. So, its genuineness is answered here.
Moreover, the APKs are verified by the staff and are passed through the different security check before publishing them on the website. APKMirror also checks the cryptographic signature of the previous version of the APK with the new version of the APK to ensure real developers have signed them. You won’t find any modded APKs, pirated apps, or paid apps on the site because APKMirror cannot verify an APK’s validity. Moreover, you can update the apps installed from APKMirror from Google Play Store as well.
[button anchor=”APKMirror” url=”https://www.apkmirror.com/” size=”medium” style=”material” color=”success”]3. Aptoide
Aptoide is another third-party app store giant that boasts over 200 million users. Besides, it has been responsible for over 6 billion downloads. Aptoide also has a separate Android App from where you can download an app directly to your smartphone. This website allows you to download modded APK for games or applications.
But, as far as security is concerned all the apps are checked for viruses. This is one of those websites where you might be able to install any premium APK’s patched mod or modded APKs. Overall a good website, And you should prefer it only if you can’t find the apps on the above two mentioned websites. Moreover, there is a separate Android app for low-end devices called Aptoide lite APK.
[button anchor=”Download Android App” url=”https://en.aptoide.com/installer” size=”medium” style=”material” color=”success”]4. APK Downloader
APK Downloader is another way to download safe and secured APK files apart from Google Play Store. There is not much to talk about about this website. Only thing I would suggest is that you should look for apps on this website only which are not available on APKMirror or APKPure.
Moreover, all the apps are secure and free from any kind of viruses. They are directly pulled from the Google Play Store so, you can be confident about the security and safety. A good handy website in case you are unable to find the apps anywhere around the web.
[button anchor=”APK Downloader” url=”https://apk-dl.com/” size=”medium” style=”material” color=”success”]5. Amazon Appstore
With devices like Kindle, the Fire Phone, and other devices that are running the Fire OS, there is a growing market for downloads from the Amazon App Store. It is a nice app store that provides you APK for apps and games that are available for download. If you own any device running Fire OS, then it is your best choice for getting supported APK to download.
You can also download FireTV related apps also from the Amazon Appstore. Not much to say as the apps and games listed on the Amazon Appstore are security checked before publishing the apps on the Appstore. Moreover, you also get a separate Android app to install apps or games directly to your device.
[button anchor=”Amazon Appstore” url=”https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1002999431″ size=”medium” style=”material” color=”success”]6. Aurora Store
Aurora store is a great app for people who are using custom ROMS on their device. It has an elegant and clean user interface and provides you with all the apps available from the Google Play Store. Basically, it pulls the APKs directly from the Play Store so, there is nothing much to worry about security issues or anything regarding the listed apps. The best thing about Aurora Store is that you do not require a Google account to download apps. Besides, it also does not keep a track of APKs that you have installed.
Moreover, you can easily manage all the apps with the help of Aurora Store. You can check for updates of any apps downloaded from Aurora Store and moreover, delete the APK once it is installed. It gives you access to virtually every APK available on the Google Play Store. You also get a separate Android app for Aurora Store.
[button anchor=”Download Android App” url=”Aurora Store” size=”medium” style=”material” color=”success”]7. TutuApp
Well if you have an Android as well as an iOS device, then all your problems related to downloading apps is solved by TutuApp. You can download virtually any app available for download. But there is an interesting feature of this app. There are many apps or games available on the Google Play Store that require you to purchase or either spend your real money on the in-app purchases. But, with TutuApp, you can download any free or paid APK for free.
It has a friendly user interface and you find much clutter. Moreover, it provides links with high download speeds and it supports all the Android versions. There is a VIP version of the app that gets rid of ads, get the latest updates faster than others, and more.
[button anchor=”Download Android App” url=”https://cyanogenmods.org/downloads/tutuapp-for-android/#” size=”medium” style=”material” color=”success”]Conclusion
That’s it from my side in this article. Downloading apps from third-party sources also involves viruses and malware and keeping that in mind I have compiled this list so that no harm could be done while downloading your favorite APK. Please let us know in the comments if you liked this article and used any of the above mentioned Play Store alternatives.