App Finder uses "complete matching" by default. That is, all words / phrases from the query are required to occur (if OR is not used). Different word forms are allowed.
As shown with many detailed examples here, this consistently leads to significantly more relevant results than the "incomplete matching" that is used by the Play Store by default.
In addition to common search operators like quotes, OR, minus, there are some special ones:
/
that can also be used inside quotes,
+
to require words or phrases in
title
or summary, which can often improve the specificity
drastically,
#
and @
to
search
for title and developer name by prefix.
The keywords are highlighted in the results.
The user guide (available here and within the app) describes App Finder's keyword search in detail.
AI-based natural-language search is planned as an alternative.
In the screenshot, you see the most important filters, which are enabled by default.
The category filter lets you select one or multiple categories, all apps, or all games.
Many more filters can be enabled, e.g.:
Extended ranges for the sliders are available.
It is possible to use world-average rating for filter and sort, which is available for many more apps than country-average rating (see below).
To discover less-known apps, you can also filter for app with few ratings or downloads.
Like Google Play, App Finder sorts the results by “relevance” by default.
That is, by a score that is carefully calculated from the match with the query and quality indicators (average user rating and number of ratings and downloads).
However, it also has the option to sort by a single
characteristic, which may provide much better orientation
for comparing the results.
The exact result count is shown immediately when a query is entered or filters are applied, so that you can adjust the search if there are more or less results than you want to inspect.
Also, the results are numbered.
* In most of the world. In "global rating countries" (e.g. China, Ethiopia, Denmark) there is no difference.
Since some time, Google Play shows local (country-average) user ratings in most larger countries.
While these have obvious advantages over global (world-average) ratings, they also have the disadvantage of being based on the opinion of fewer people, or not being available at all for apps with too few ratings from the user's country.
As you see from the examples below, local ratings are available for only a fraction of the apps for which global ratings are available.
For smaller countries, this is a really small fraction.
In the countries shown in the table and 83 others, Google Play shows no rating at all
for apps without local rating, and hides them when the rating filter is applied.
Obviously, this is a serious problem for users from smaller such countries, and for developers of apps that are not very popular.
This is why App Finder shows global ratings for apps without local rating, and makes it possible to see global ratings instead of or in addition to local ratings, and to use them for filter and sort.
Alternatively, users from small countries may choose to see ratings from a large country of their choice (note that for example, there are ratings for about 8 times more apps for the US than for New Zealand).
See here for more information and examples.
Apps available | Apps with global rating | Apps with local rating | Ratio | |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | 3,064,000 | 1,359,000 | 429,000 | 3.17 |
India | 3,022,000 | 1,356,000 | 490,000 | 2.77 |
United Kingdom | 2,944,000 | 1,321,000 | 189,000 | 7.0 |
Australia | 2,907,000 | 1,312,000 | 102,000 | 12.9 |
Ireland | 2,888,000 | 1,303,000 | 46,000 | 28.3 |
Laos | 2,857,000 | 1,292,000 | 29,000 | 44.3 |
The table is based on data for about 3.7 million apps and 181 countries/regions that we have scraped from the Google Play website in Oct 2023. There are actually more apps on Google Play (probably some 100,000 more, mostly with very few ratings), but is is clear that the ratios are not significantly affected.
App Finder’s user interface adapts to phones and tablets of all sizes, and the size of text and other elements can finely be adjusted.
A 1-, 2-, or 3-pane layout can be used, and the result list can be customized.
App Finder was designed to be as intuitive and self-explanatory as possible.
However, some things still require explanation, so there is comprehensive integrated help, also available here.
App Finder does not contain ads, and all essential functionality is free. Some advanced features require a license for a small fee, see the comparison.
The apps are installed through the Play Store app, so you have the same level of protection as if you would use the Play Store directly.
No sign-in is required, and we do not collect information that we could use to identify you. No data is shared with third parties.
... and much more!
App Finder uses "complete matching" by default. That is, all words / phrases from the query are required to occur (if OR is not used). Different word forms are allowed.
As shown with many detailed examples here, this consistently leads to significantly more relevant results than the "incomplete matching" that is used by the Play Store by default.
In addition to common search operators like quotes, OR, minus, there are some special ones:
/
that can also be used inside quotes,
+
to require words or phrases in
title
or summary, which can often improve the specificity
drastically,
#
and @
to
search
for title and developer name by prefix.
The keywords are highlighted in the results.
The user guide (available here and within the app) describes App Finder's keyword search in detail.
AI-based natural-language search is planned as an alternative.
In the screenshot, you see the most important filters, which are enabled by default.
The category filter lets you select one or multiple categories, all apps, or all games.
Many more filters can be enabled:
Extended ranges for the sliders are available.
It is possible to use world-average rating for filter and sort, which is available for many more apps than country-average rating (see below).
To discover less-known apps, you can also filter for app with few ratings or downloads.
Like Google Play, App Finder sorts the results by “relevance” by default.
That is, by a score that is carefully calculated from the match with the query and quality indicators (average user rating and number of ratings and downloads).
However, it also has the option to sort by a single characteristic, which may provide much better orientation for comparing the results.
The exact result count is shown immediately when a query is entered or filters are applied, so that you can adjust the search if there are more or less results than you want to inspect.
Also, the results are numbered.
* In most of the world. In "global rating countries" (e.g. China, Ethiopia, Denmark) there is no difference.
Since some time, Google Play shows local (country-average) user ratings in most larger countries.
While these have obvious advantages over global (world-average) ratings, they also have the disadvantage of being based on the opinion of fewer people, or not being available at all for apps with too few ratings from the user's country.
As you see from the examples below, local ratings are available for only a fraction of the apps for which global ratings are available.
For smaller countries, this is a really small fraction.
In the countries shown in the table and 83 others, Google Play shows no rating at all
for apps without local rating, and hides them when the rating filter is applied.
Obviously, this is a serious problem for users from smaller such countries, and for developers of apps that are not very popular.
This is why App Finder shows global ratings for apps without local rating, and makes it possible to see global ratings instead of or in addition to local ratings, and to use them for filter and sort.
Alternatively, users from small countries may choose to see ratings from a large country of their choice (note that for example, there are ratings for about 8 times more apps for the US than for New Zealand).
See here for more information and examples.
Apps available | Apps with global rating | Apps with local rating | Ratio | |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | 3,064,000 | 1,359,000 | 429,000 | 3.17 |
India | 3,022,000 | 1,356,000 | 490,000 | 2.77 |
United Kingdom | 2,944,000 | 1,321,000 | 189,000 | 7.0 |
Australia | 2,907,000 | 1,312,000 | 102,000 | 12.9 |
Ireland | 2,888,000 | 1,303,000 | 46,000 | 28.3 |
Laos | 2,857,000 | 1,292,000 | 29,000 | 44.3 |
The table is based on data for about 3.7 million apps and 181 countries/regions that we have scraped from the Google Play website in Oct 2023. There are actually more apps on Google Play (probably some 100,000 more, mostly with very few ratings), but is is clear that the ratios are not significantly affected.
App Finder’s user interface adapts to phones and tablets of all sizes, and the size of text and other elements can finely be adjusted.
A 1-, 2-, or 3-pane layout can be used, and the result list can be customized.
App Finder was designed to be as intuitive and self-explanatory as possible.
However, some things still require explanation, so there is comprehensive integrated help, also available here.
App Finder does not contain ads, and all essential functionality is free. Some advanced features require a license for a small fee, see the comparison.
The apps are installed through the Play Store app, so you have the same level of protection as if you would use the Play Store directly.
No sign-in is required, and we do not collect information that we could use to identify you. No data is shared with third parties.
... and much more!
Android, Google Play, and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC. Skyica is not affiliated with Google.
All data shown in App Finder is taken from the Google Play website. All rights belong to the app owners and/or Google. We do not guarantee the correctness of the data.
The apps shown in the screenshots are purely exemplary and shall not be interpreted as endorsement or affiliation with the app owners.