Alex Heath
With millions of apps at our fingertips, it can be harder than ever to find the best of the best. Tech Insider is here to help, with our first annual list of the 100 best mobile apps in the world.
In this list you’ll find juggernauts like Facebook and Snapchat along with hidden gems that haven’t hit the top of the App Store’s charts yet. Every one of these apps serves a valuable purpose, making life easier, better, or just more fun.
Social networking is one of the largest categories of apps on this list — a mark of how much they're transforming human interactions around the world. On-demand apps are another category that has exploded in popularity, with a Uber creating a whole new economy.
We've also got apps for productivity, news and reading, health and education, entertainment and music, photography, travel, money, shopping and food, and of course, games. Keep an eye out for the Tech Insider "best of" badge in each category for the one app that stands out from the rest.
You'll find the full list below (or can jump to categories by clicking the links above).
Skye Gould / Tech Insider
Facebook Messenger is becoming the one app to rule them all.
Facebook
Facebook’s decision to break Messenger out of its main app in 2014 turned out to be a very smart move. Messenger now has 700 million users worldwide, and it’s become much more than a way to send text messages to friends.
Messenger can now send money, make video and phone calls over the internet, and send stickers and animated GIFs with ease. When Facebook’s virtual assistant “M” becomes available outside of San Francisco, Messenger will be able to do anything from order a pair of shoes to call your cable company for you.
If the future is one app that does everything, Messenger is poised to be a big winner.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android, web
Facebook is the most popular app of all time.
Facebook
Facebook is the most downloaded app of all time, according to the app analytic company App Annie. It's used by over 1 billion people.
There’s also a good chance that, out of all the apps on your phone, you use Facebook’s the most. The News Feed is the most coveted avenue for publishers, and many news organizations are part of Facebook’s Instant Articles program, so some of their stories are hosted directly inside the Facebook app.
Video in the Facebook app has also taken off, and the largest social network in the world sees the News Feed consisting mostly of video content within two years. That would explain why Facebook is so interested in virtual reality — it snapped up the VR company Oculus for $2 billion. 360 degree video in the News Feed could be just the beginning of what’s to come.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android, web
Instagram is the top social network for sharing photos.
Instagram
If you’re not addicted to checking your Instagram feed at least five times a day, you probably know a few people who are.
Instagram created not only a huge user base — with 400 million active each month — but also an entire industry of mobile photographers whom brands hire to travel the world and post on their behalf.
It’s changed the way restaurants advertise (When have millions of filtered images of delicious food ever been so accessible?), how live events are reported, and how creative people share their work with the world.
Even after its acquisition by Facebook for $1 billion in 2012, Instagram has proven that it’s focused on what’s gotten it this far: the community.
“Calling Instagram a photo-sharing app is like calling a newspaper a letter-sharing book, or a Mozart grand era symphony a series of notes,” Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom recently told The Guardian. “Instagram is less about the medium and more about the network.”
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android, web
WhatsApp is the most popular way to talk with people around the world.
iTunes / WhatsApp Messenger
If you don’t understand why Facebook would pay a staggering $19 billion to buy WhatsApp, then you probably don’t use the app.
WhatsApp is used by over 900 million people around the world, and a whopping 30 billion messages have been sent through its servers. Its popularity took off because it uses an internet connection to send messages instead of traditional cellular networks, so messages don't count against the allotment from your wireless carrier.
Another reason WhatsApp spread quickly around the world is that it populates your friends list with phone numbers already on your phone — you can find a contact that works without having to look up a separate email address or username.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
WeChat is huge in China.
WeChat
If you live outside of China, it's unlikely that you use — or perhaps have even heard of – WeChat. But with more than 600 million users, WeChat is one of the largest messaging apps in the world. And to call it a messaging app is actually an undersell because it does so much more.
You can use WeChat to do just about anything, including play games, send money to people, make video calls, hail a taxi, order food, buy movie tickets, read the news, book a doctor appointment, and more.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Snapchat is the future of social media.
Snapchat
With more than 100 million daily active users and a primary audience of 18 to 24-year-olds, Snapchat is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon.
The app’s premise (and Snapchat is just an app — there is no web interface) is the idea of ephemeral messaging: once a message, or “snap,” is viewed, it disappears forever.
Its 25-year-old CEO Evan Spiegel has a portrait of Steve Jobs hanging in his office, and he has a grand vision for his multi-billion dollar startup. In essence, “It’s all about talking with pictures and expressing yourself in the moment."
But Snapchat is also about consuming media. The app’s Discover section features interactive content from a range of publishers, including BuzzFeed, Mashable, CNN, People, and Vice. The goal seems to be keeping Snapchat’s users in the app as long as possible — and it’s working.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Twitter is where news breaks.
Bloomua/Shuttershock
Whether you use it or not, there’s no denying that Twitter has changed the way news is spread and reported. When the riots in Ferguson, Missouri began, people on the ground shared firsthand accounts of what was happening there on Twitter. And when events like the recent presidential primary debates take place, Twitter lights up with commentary, jokes, GIFs, and quick analysis.
Twitter has seen its fair share of turmoil recently — Jack Dorsey, one of the founders, is back as CEO, and the company recently laid off 8% of its employees — but it’s still the first place many people turn to to see what's going on.
We'll see if Moments, the company's latest endeavor into curating the news and making the service appeal to a wider audience, will catch on.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Vine is pure entertainment.
App Annie
Vine, the six-second video app owned by Twitter, has established itself with creators and entertainers because it easily allows them to create six-second videos and share them with followers.
While it's not as popular as Instagram or Snapchat, Vine has developed a vibrant, unique community that spawns countless internet memes. (Remember Smack Cam?) Vine stars have created a new class of celebrity with their mission set on creating Hollywood 2.0.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Periscope is revolutionizing live broadcasts.
Periscope
What Twitter did for making micro-status updates, Periscope could do for live video broadcasts. That may explain why Twitter bought the app and its small team in February before it even launched.
If you’ve never used Periscope before, here’s how it works: download the app to your phone, log in, and start a live video stream with your phone’s camera. Your friends on Periscope and Twitter will be notified to tune in, and viewers can interact with broadcasts by commenting and leaving virtual hearts.
You can choose to save your broadcast for people to view on Periscope later, but every video shared on the service expires after 24 hours.
Periscope was born out of its CEO’s frustration with the media’s coverage of the Gezi protests in Turkey, and as it grows in popularity, people around the world are discovering how powerful it can be for sharing a unique perspective of what’s happening.
Reporter Paul Ronzheimer recently used Periscope to document his journey with a group of Syrian refugees from Greece to Germany. “In Germany we have been having a big discussion about the intensity of media coverage of this story. But on Periscope, everybody could see it was live,” he told The Guardian. “It happened. No one was cutting it, no one was putting a two- or three-minute piece together after we filmed it. And for Germans, it was really good to understand the problems the refugees have been facing.”
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Yik Yak is hot on college campuses.
Apple App Store
Yik Yak, a social network that’s mainly used by college students, is what you get when you combine the community-driven aspect of Reddit with complete anonymity.
Yik Yak is location centric, so if you leave your college’s town you’re effectively out of what the service calls the “herd.” But the app will let you “set your herd” so you can have a peek into the hive mind of your alma mater’s student body after you graduate.
There is no identity attached to messages on Yik Yak, which opens the floodgates for all kinds of flavorful talk (hookup requests are a dime a dozen). Users can up-vote messages and comments they like and even post photos, as long as no one’s personally identifiable information is shared. Regardless of the ban on sharing personal information, the service has still forced schools to deal with cyber bullying like never before.
“Yik Yak is the Wild West of anonymous social apps,” Danielle Keats Citron, a law professor at University of Maryland and the author of “Hate Crimes in Cyberspace” told The New York Times earlier this year. “It is being increasingly used by young people in a really intimidating and destructive way.”
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Kik makes messaging easy and (potentially) anonymous.
Kik
It’s difficult to mention Yik Yak without bringing in Kik, the hugely popular app that, unlike other messaging apps, doesn’t require a phone number. Because you only need a username and an internet connection to use Kik, the app has become the main way for people to chat over internet without exchanging personal information. (It rarely takes more than a few minutes on Yik Yak before you see a question like, “What’s your kik?”).
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Pinterest is all about helping you find inspiration.
Pinterest
Pinterest describes itself as “a visual bookmarking tool that helps you discover and save creative ideas.” Users can “pin” images to the service and share them in collections, or “boards,” that other users can follow.
The social network has 100 million monthly active users, the majority of which are women.
According to The Washington Post, 38 million boards on Pinterest are dedicated to wedding planning alone. Women are flocking in droves to plan their dream weddings on Pinterest — even if they haven’t met their spouses yet.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Tinder is matchmaking in the 21st century.
iTunes
Let’s face it: For better or for worse, no app has revolutionized dating like Tinder. Its simple swipe-right-to-like, swipe-left-to-dislike interface has exposed the darker sides of hookup culture, but has also led to marriages.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Tumblr is social blogging.
Tumblr
Tumblr isn’t just a place to blog — it’s also a place to consume content from the more than 250 million other blogs on its platform.
The mobile app is good for posting text, photos, videos, and links on the go, and it of course lets you view all of the blogs you follow.
Tumblr has faced some criticism in recent months for changes its made —a controversial change to its dashboard design earlier was met with pushback — but the company’s colorful community appears to be staying on Tumblr.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Timehop will make you feel nostalgic.
iTunes
The premise of Timehop is simple: connect your social media accounts, and the app shows you what you shared online a year ago, two years ago, and even further back.
It's like getting a window into your past life on social media every day.
Earlier this year, Timehop told Business Insider that the app could eventually show you more than posts on social media, like rides with Uber, the songs you listened to on Spotify, your heath tracker data, and even your text messages. The end goal is to be come the ultimate digital archive of your life.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Skye Gould Tech Insider
Uber unlocked the on-demand economy.
Uber
No app exemplifies the burgeoning on-demand app economy more than Uber, which made hailing a ride with a smartphone app go mainstream. Tap a button to summon a car, tell it where you want to go in the app, and pay for the ride with your credit card stored in the app.
If the company has its say, Uber could eventually become the way we get everything from our packages to our groceries.
UberEATS, the company's meal delivery service, is already delivering lunch in Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto, and the UberRUSH delivery service works in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Postmates will bring you your next meal ... and just about anything else.
Postmates
Postmates was one of the first apps to popularize on-demand food delivery, and it’s steadily grown its footprint to dozens of cities and scored delivery partnerships with big chains like Walgreens, Chipotle, Starbucks, and the Apple Store.
The app lets you temporarily hire a delivery person to run an errand for you. It's typically used for food deliveries from restaurants that don't tie into apps like Seamless, but you can also ask Postmate workers to get anything for you from any store.
Deliveries cost between $5 and $20 on average now, but Postmates’ goal is eventually to offer $1 deliveries in under an hour for everyone.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Shyp will deliver your packages for you.
Shyp
Shyp takes the hassle out of mailing stuff. It’s really that simple. Using the mobile app, you take a picture of whatever you want to mail, and a Shyp courier comes to your door and takes it to a nearby facility where it's expertly packaged and sent on its way.
The app's most recent update lets you create a user name for your address so people can send you things by entering only your name. There's also a built-in packaging tracker that works for senders and Shyp recipients.
By taking your interactions with the post office out of the equation, Shyp has proven that it delivers an experience people want. So far, the startup is only operational in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco, but the company told Tech Insider that it's seeing 20% growth in new customers every month.
Price: Free to download (prices vary based on shipment)
Available on: iOS, Android
Instacart will do your grocery shopping.
Instacart
If Instacart has its way, you’ll never have to worry about getting your groceries again. Select what you want from a local store, like Whole Foods or Costco, and an Instacart worker will do your shopping for you and deliver it to your door. The service is only available in 19 states so far, but it’s seen steady growth since it launched in 2012.
Price: Free (groceries cost money though)
Available on: iOS, Android
Washio will do your laundry.
Washio
Washio does your laundry for you. It sends someone to your front door to take your clothes, wash them, and return them neatly folded within 24 hours.
For now, the service is available now in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and Washington DC, but there are plans to expand to more cities.
Price: Free to download with prices varied by service
Available on: iOS, Android
Blue Apron will send you meals to make.
Blue Apron
Blue Apron has exploded in popularity this year. It’s currently delivering fresh ingredients and original recipes straight to peoples’ doors to the tune of 3 million meals per month.
Here's how it works: The company sends you all the measured ingredients and instructions you need to make a meal. It's up to you to do all the chopping, slicing, and cooking though. But it's a fun alternative to going to the grocery store and trying to figure everything out yourself.
Back in July, Blue Apron released an iPhone app that makes it easy to order ingredients and view the startup’s recipes.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS
Seamless makes ordering takeout a breeze.
Seamless
Seamless changed takeout by allowing people to order food through their computer and smartphone instead of calling a restaurant. The service, which is part of the online and mobile food ordering company GrubHub, allows people to order from around 35,000 restaurants in more than 900 cities.
The app and website itself went through a rocky redesign this past summer, but it’s still as reliable as our late-night pizza cravings.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Skye Gould/Tech Insider
Slack is where you communicate with your coworkers.
Slack
Think of Slack like the modern equivalent of an internet chat room that eliminates the need for email. Log in to communicate with your colleagues in public channels or private groups, share files, and more.
The app is geared toward businesses large and small that need a way for their employees to communicate internally, and it’s hugely popular. Other apps and services can integrate directly with Slack too, which makes it kind of like a command center for getting stuff done at work.
Thousands of companies use Slack, including Tech Insider. Your team should be using it too.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android, web
Dark Sky will tell you when it's about to rain.
Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
Most weather apps give you a basic forecast. But Dark Sky takes it a step further with notifications that warn you when it's about to rain or snow in your exact location. It’s also an excellent app with a beautifully minimalist design and access to weather radar.
It’s like having a weather psychic in your pocket, and you’ll be glad you bought it the next time you almost get caught in the rain.
Price: $3.99
Available on: iOS
1Password will generate and store your passwords.
Google Play
It seems like there’s another massive customer data breach every day, and it’s more important than ever to make sure your passwords are not only strong but also unique for each service you use.
The problem with passwords is that they can be easy to forget, especially if you have more than a few, which you should.
But thankfully there's 1Password. It's the best app for managing your web logins and sensitive information. It has a user-friendly interface and it's available on whatever device you have with you at the moment, whether it be your desktop, phone, or even Apple Watch.
1Password will generate secure passwords for you and fill them in on websites using its free Safari and Google Chrome extensions.
Price: Free, but there's an optional upgrade with more features for $9.99.
Available on: iOS, Android
Dropbox is an easy way to store files in the cloud.
Dropbox
With cloud storage services like Apple's iCloud Drive and Google Drive, it may seem like the biggest tech companies have the cloud storage market cornered.
But Dropbox is a reliable and well-designed cloud storage app that works well on multiple devices.
You can automatically upload photos from your phone and store them in Dropbox, comment on documents you have shared with other people, and of course browse everything you have stored online.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Microsoft Outlook is an email app for getting things done.
iTunes
Leave it to Microsoft to take one of the most despised corporate email platforms, Exchange, and give it one of the best mobile email apps.
Thanks to its acquisition of the email app Acompli late last year, the Microsoft Outlook app has become quite good. It integrates with Exchange (of course), Office 365, Outlook.com, Apple’s iCloud, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail. There’s a built-in calendar view, quick access to files stored in attachments, and some smart filters that once you use, you find hard to live without.
It's simply the best email app you can use.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Sunrise is a simple, smart calendar.
Google Play
Let’s face it: The default calendar app on your phone probably doesn’t cut it. Sunrise, which is owned by Microsoft, is like the social-savvy cousin to the Outlook app. It integrates with Facebook, Evernote, Asana, TripIt, Songkick, Wunderlist, and Meetup to help add the little details to your schedule that eventually add up.
Faces of people you’re meeting with are filled in by social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter. The Weather app shows the forecast on a given date, and Google Maps integration gets you directions to where you need to go. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Make sure you also try Sunrise’s custom Meet keyboard on the iPhone because it’s one of the slickest ways to manage your calendar that we’ve ever seen.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Wunderlist is a collaborative to-do app.
Wunderlist
There’s no shortage of capable to-do apps in the App Store, but for most people, Wunderlist is the best option. It’s easy to use, offers a nice mix of customization, and can do collaborative task management. It’s also available as an app on just about every modern phone, tablet, and PC imaginable.
Wunderlist, which is owned by Microsoft, is free to use, but there’s a pro version with more features for businesses that costs a small monthly subscription.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Naked Apartments will help you find your next apartment.
Naked Apartments
If you're on the hunt for an apartment, try out the Naked Apartments app. The service works directly with brokers and landlords to find low or no fee rentals and lets you message owners directly and schedule viewings.
Plus, you'll have access to an incredibly handy renter's guide that will save you a lot of headaches.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android, web
Scanner Pro is what you need to go paperless.
Readdle
If you’re trying to go paperless or even just manage a growing mountain of receipts, Scanner Pro is a godsend. It uses your iPhone’s camera to scan documents and create a clean, editable PDF.
You can save and share files, or even upload them to cloud storage providers like Dropbox.
Price: $2.99
Available on: iOS
Day One will help you record your memories.
Day One
Day One is a beautiful journaling app that lets you record memories with photos, videos, links, and more. It supports syncing with iCloud and Dropbox and will even let you publish entries online to be shared with others.
Price: $4.99
Available on: iOS
Slice is the ultimate package tracker.
Slice
Slice is not only the smartest package tracker we know but also a great way to save money on stuff you buy online.
Slice connects to your email account and automatically recognizes tracking numbers for packages to track their progress for you so you know when they arrive. It also sends you alerts for price drops on the items you buy so you can claim the cheaper price from the retailer before your window of opportunity expires.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Paper will help you capture ideas.
FiftyThree
Paper by FiftyThree was one of the first hit iPad apps, and with the recent release of its iPhone version, it’s no longer just an app for drawing or making charts.
You can use your iPhone’s camera to create visual notes, make a checklist of things to buy at the grocery store, or use your finger to draw up a quick sketch and share it to get feedback from your other friends who use the app.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS
Workflow will automate tasks on your iPhone.
Workflow
Workflow lets you do all kinds of things on iOS that aren’t possible with individual apps alone. It’s tagline is “powerful automation made simple.”
You drag and drop “actions” together to make apps talk to each other in creative ways. Examples of what you can do with Workflow on the iPhone include: turn multiple photos in your camera roll into an animated GIF, download the audio from a YouTube video as a MP3, get an Uber to your next calendar appointment, and much, much more.
It's pretty incredible that one app is able to tap into so much unused potential in the iPhone.
Price: $3.99
Available on: iOS
Gallery Doctor will free up storage space on your phone.
MyRoll
If you're running out of storage space on your smartphone, then you need Gallery Doctor.
The app uses algorithms to scan your camera roll and show you photos that are blurry, duplicate, or just not good looking. It then lets you batch delete them so you can recover precious space.
Price: $2.99
Available on: iOS, Android
iTranslate breaks down language barriers.
iTranslate
When two people don't speak the same language, it can be nearly impossible for them to communicate. The app iTranslate helps overcome language barriers by allowing you to quickly translate back and forth between 90+ languages.
You can even speak into your phone or PC’s microphone and have what you’re saying translated into another language.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Google Now is a futuristic digital assistant.
Google
On Android, Google Now trumps Apple's Siri in just about every way.
It learns from your behavior from Google searches, calendar events, and emails to deliver you information you want to see, like sports scores from teams you like and flight information from itineraries sent to your Gmail. Best of all, the digital assistant is just a swipe away on your home screen once you install its launcher app.
On the iPhone, Google Now's capabilities are more toned down and confined to the main Google app. But the app still delivers helpful information at a glance, like the day's weather forecast and driving conditions. Its voice search capabilities are also more reliable than Siri.
Cost: Free
Available on: Android, iOS
Skye Gould/Tech Insider
Pocket will help you save articles to read later.
Pocket
Bookmarking articles is so 10 years ago — unless you use Pocket. The service lets you save anything you come across on your smartphone or desktop computer to come back to later. Lots of apps integrate directly with Pocket to let you save articles and videos.
The app itself can download stories in a clean, easily readable interface for offline reading. It even reads text to you with a Siri-like voice. You can also share (with comments) articles with other Pocket users, and the service learns what you like and recommends more articles you might find interesting.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
NYT Now is great for digesting the news.
iTunes
The New York Times exemplifies how to make a great news app with NYT Now. The app is run by a dedicated team at the Times and updated throughout the day with breaking news, features, stories from other publications, and easily digestible breakdowns of the day’s news highlights. Even better, you can use it for free, even if you don't subscribe to The New York Times.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS
Nuzzel shows you what your friends are reading.
iTunes
Nuzzel knows the stories your friends are talking about on Twitter and suggests them for you to read. Not only are you seeing the most talked about articles from around the web in your feed, but you also see them with comments from accounts that you follow.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Flipboard is a beautiful magazine of stories you want to read.
Flipboard
Flipboard has been in the App Store for a long time, but even with the introduction of the Apple News app in iOS 9, it’s managed to stay relevant.
Like Apple News, Flipboard pulls in stories from online publications and displays them in a mobile-optimized interface. Where Flipboard stands out is its ability to let you see what other users are reading through the app. You can also make your own “magazine” of content you like and share it with others on Flipboard or through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Amazon Kindle is great for reading e-books.
iTunes/Kindle
With access to over 3,000,000 books and audiobooks, the Kindle app is a no-brainer for reading.
It works on and syncs across Android, iOS, the desktop, and, of course, your Kindle, so your reading progress is up to date wherever you go.
The formatting options, built-in dictionary, and search capabilities are great, but the real killer feature is Amazon’s Whispersync For Voice technology, which lets you go back and forth between reading text and listening to an audiobook. For now, the feature is available on 60,000 titles.
Price: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Wattpad is a reading community with access to millions of free e-books.
Wattpad
Over 40 million people use Wattpad to read millions of free e-books, from classics like "Moby Dick" to "Twilight" fanfiction.
Wattpad is also a social network around reading. You can leave comments on passages and see comments from others. Authors on the app can talk directly with fans and share their works.
90% of all Wattpad activity is on mobile, and it's easy to see why: the app is universally loved with an average 5-star rating.
Cost: Free
Available on: iOS, Android
Skye Gould/Tech Insider
Sworkit is the best workout app.
Sworkit
Sworkit uses a combination of aerobic, strength, resistance, and flexibility workouts to create routines that work for all kinds of different fitness goals.
The app has been s