Top 12 Android App Libraries to Use for Scalable and High-Performance Apps

There are two secrets behind every successful Android app: good code and intelligent decisions. Android app libraries are one of the most intelligent choices a developer can make. Such libraries are not mere shortcuts but time-tested solutions that accelerate development, provide even better stability to apps, and even allow you to save time that would have otherwise been spent trying to solve a problem that has already been resolved.

And the stakes have never been higher. According to Statista, Android held approximately 72.8% of the global mobile OS market in 2024. It implies that the competition is intense, and users demand apps that can run well, load fast, and provide a smooth experience across various devices.

In this post, we’ve pulled together the top Android libraries of the year, neatly categorized by their primary functions. From UI enhancements to networking, databases, and testing, you’ll find practical insights, real-world use cases, and tips to help you choose the right libraries for your next project.

Let’s dive in!

Why Developers Rely on Android Libraries

Creating a mobile app may take time and be demanding. This is why most developers consider using app libraries for Android, which are sets of ready-made, stable code components that do typical things, such as networking, media player, animations, and more. Using these libraries, developers are able to save precious time, avoid reinventing the wheel, and add unique features that make the user experience great.

Other than saving time, libraries assist in enhancing the performance and scalability of apps. Libraries that are well-maintained are faster and use less memory, meaning that your app can support more users and complicated features without impacting performance. They also help minimize bugs since the code is tested and polished by a community of active developers.

Take Google I/O, for example. The official Google annual developer conference app utilizes Glide, an Android image loading library, which is used to load and display images in an efficient manner within the app. With Glide, the development team did not need to create a custom image loading solution by themselves, which enabled them to concentrate on other important areas of the functionality and user experience of the app.

In the end, selecting the appropriate app library for Android is not just time-saving but an intelligent idea in developing apps that operate seamlessly, work well, and are prepared to address the needs of the modern tech-savvy users.

Criteria for Selecting Libraries

There are plenty of choices, which is why, in 2025, selecting an Android-based app library is not only about taking the one that is popular at the moment but also ensuring that it meets the requirements of your project, budget, and long-term objectives. And a wise decision in this can pay off in the future, whether you are dealing with a startup team or an established android development company. The following are the important considerations to note:

• Community activity & support: The existence of a strong community implies quicker resolutions in the event that you get stuck, documentation enhancement, and continuous enhancement. Libraries that have active contributors are much more trusted than those that have not been updated in years.

• Frequent updates & Android 14/15 compatibility: Android evolves quickly. A good library should keep pace with new OS versions, ensuring your app stays functional and smooth on the latest devices.

• Lightweight & performance impact: Bulky libraries have the ability to slow down your application and annoy users. Choose the ones that are lightweight and performance-based to ensure that you do not sacrifice speed or battery life.

• Licensing (MIT, Apache, GPL): Licensing is usually neglected, yet it is essential. Before integrating any library, check whether it’s open-source and if the license fits your project, especially if you’re building a commercial app.

• Security compliance: In some areas, such as finance or healthcare, compliance is not a choice. Libraries are supposed to adhere to high security standards to ensure the safety of confidential data and assist you in complying with such regulations as GDPR or HIPAA.

When you compare libraries to such standards, you establish a more solid base of your application. It is not only about reducing the time spent on development, but it is also about having a safe, scalable, and future-proof project.

12 Best Android Libraries of 2025

In developing the current Android applications, the appropriate libraries can be used to save time, enhance performance, and provide a better user experience. Below, we’ve categorized the best Android libraries of 2025 so you can quickly find what you need for your project.

UI & Animation

1. Jetpack Compose

Jetpack Compose is Google’s modern UI toolkit for Android. It simplifies the process of designing and constructing user interfaces a lot through a declarative approach. Rather than dealing with complex XML files, you are able to write simple, easy-to-read code that automatically updates as the data in the app changes.

As an example, Google Pay has used Jetpack Compose to update its interface with smoother, more rapid updates. Developers like it as it accelerates the app development process and provides a streamlined and easier experience.

To use Jetpack Compose, you just add the necessary dependencies to your Gradle file and start creating UI components directly in Kotlin. No XML hassle, just clean code and real-time previews.

2.  Lottie

Lottie is a lightweight animation library allowing you to render vector animations directly within Android applications. The best part? The animations are scalable, professional-looking, and do not take up a ton of space in your apps. 

Imagine those playful, smooth effects in apps, such as Airbnb, which are made by Lottie. With this library, you are able to scale up the engagement of your app without performance loss.

Lottie can be integrated by developers as a dependency and imported as animation files in JSON format created in After Effects. The results? Beautiful motion design that feels natural to users.

Networking

3. Retrofit

One of the most used libraries in dealing with REST API calls in Android is Retrofit. It converts complicated API responses into straightforward Java/Kotlin objects, which will save developers a lot of time.

Mobile applications such as Twitter and GitHub applications are based on Retrofit to fetch and sync data easily.  It simplifies the process of networking in mobile app development services and reduces the chances of errors.

All you need to do to use Retrofit is to set the system up by defining your API endpoints as interfaces, and Retrofit will automatically create the code you require to do the networking. Clean, presentable, and developer-friendly.

4. OkHttp

Another very necessary networking library that works well with Retrofit is OkHttp. It supports high-performance HTTP and WebSocket, which allows real-time communication and seamless data transmission.

As an example, OkHttp is frequently utilized by chat apps or other stock-tracking apps to provide a fast and reliable connection. It has features such as connection pooling, transparent GZIP compression and caching, which assist apps to perform better using fewer resources.

OkHttp simply needs a small Gradle dependency to add, which can then be configured to be your primary HTTP client.

Image & Media

5. Glide

Glide is an effective Android image loading and caching library. It makes it easy to show web-based images and make sure that they are loaded quickly and appear sharp.

You likely must have used Pinterest and, therefore, experienced the effect of Glide, making the loading of thousands of images a smooth process without lag. It works well with developers to work with the resizing, transformations, and even animated GIFs easily.

Glide is easy to integrate into any project and provides optimized performance, which is essential in the field of mobile app development in the present day.

6. ExoPlayer

ExoPlayer is Google’s open-source media playback library. In contrast to the original Android MediaPlayer, ExoPlayer is capable of more demanding functionality, such as adaptive streaming (DASH, HLS), DRM, and playback of large media files without interruption.

YouTube’s Android application relies on ExoPlayer to provide quality audio and video streaming. As a developer, it is fully customizable, allowing you to create media players that match your brand and user requirements.

With the addition of ExoPlayer dependencies to Gradle, you can now have access to professional-level streaming within the confines of your Android application.

Dependency Injection

7. Hilt (Dagger)

Hilt, which is based on Dagger, is a dependency injection (DI) library that eases the management of dependencies in a large-scale application. In the absence of DI, applications will be cluttered and difficult to maintain.

Consider a food delivery application that combines several features such as order tracking on maps, payments, and user profiles. With Hilt, developers don’t have to worry about manually wiring all those pieces together. It handles dependencies automatically, eliminating redundancy in code and simplifying the maintenance of the app over time.

By including Hilt in your Gradle build, you can easily annotate classes with @Inject, and Hilt takes care of the rest.

Database & Storage

8. Room

Room is the official ORM (Object Relational Mapping) library for Android. It simplifies the process of working with databases, as a developer can write database queries in Kotlin/Java. 

Instead of struggling with raw SQL queries, Room provides type safety and compile-time verification. Applications such as note-taking or budgeting tools are particularly useful when offline capabilities of Room are used.

In order to make Room work, all you need to do is add the dependencies and compile the DAO interfaces that model your database queries.

9. Realm

Realm is another powerful mobile database, designed for real-time and offline-first experiences. In contrast to conventional databases, objects in Realm are directly stored and updated in sync with devices.

Chat apps, like those used in collaboration tools, often rely on Realm to ensure that conversations stay in sync even with spotty internet connections.

Realm is easy to integrate into projects and provides live objects, so data changes are reflected instantly in the UI.

Testing & Debugging

10. Espresso

Espresso is part of the Android testing support library. It assists developers with the development of automated UI tests, which emulate actual user interaction.

To illustrate, it is capable of testing a login button to ensure it is functioning properly by typing in a field and checking the outcome automatically. This not only saves time on the part of developers but also makes apps bug-free before launching.

Espresso requires adding dependencies to your Gradle build, setting up the instrumentation runner, and then writing simple test cases. It’s widely trusted for making apps more reliable.

11. LeakCanary

LeakCanary is a memory leak detection library for Android. Memory leakage can silently impair application performance and even lead to failure, particularly when an application is active over the long term.

In the case of LeakCanary, developers receive immediate notifications in case of a memory leakage. It’s like having a watchdog for your app’s memory usage.

It is easy to incorporate LeakCanary into your project, and the information it offers can save you hours of debugging time.

Analytics & Performance

12.  Firebase Analytics

Firebase is a free mobile app analytics tool offered by Google. It assists in monitoring user activity, interaction, and retention, which is crucial to growth-oriented apps.

Indicatively, e-commerce applications leverage Firebase Analytics to identify products users engage with the most, and recommendations are made based on this.

It works well with other Firebase products such as Crashlytics, providing the developer with a full picture of the app performance and user experience.

Final Thoughts 

Selecting the proper Android app libraries in 2025 is not simply about staying in tune with the latest trends of technology. It involves making wiser choices that can make your apps run more quickly, efficiently, and remain safe over time. You can save time, reduce development expenses, and create an experience that your users will actually enjoy, whether you are creating a social platform, a fintech solution, or even a healthcare app using the appropriate libraries.

As you evaluate your options, look for libraries backed by strong community support and consistent updates. More importantly, prioritize security, especially when your application deals with sensitive information. Not only will the right tools make the development process less challenging, but they will also position your product to be successful in the long term.

If you’re ready to take your app idea from concept to reality, partnering with experts can make all the difference. Debut Infotech, a leading Android app development company, allows you to hire Android developers with deep experience in selecting and integrating the best libraries for modern apps. With the right team by your side, you’re not just speeding up development, you’re creating an app people will love to use.

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