App stores are crowded with thousands of free downloads, making it easy to miss high-quality tools that sit outside the usual top charts. The following five apps are available on both Android and iOS, are either entirely free or offer full-featured free tiers, and tend to fly under the radar despite strong user reviews and ongoing development.
Yuka
Yuka is designed for people who want to better understand what they eat and the cosmetics they use. By scanning a product’s barcode, the app analyzes ingredients and highlights both benefits and potential risks.
For food, Yuka can surface details such as additives, sugar content, and fiber. For cosmetics, it breaks down ingredients and flags those that may pose health concerns. Its database covers more than 4 million food items and 2 million beauty products, increasing the odds that what you are about to buy is already in the system.
The app also suggests healthier alternatives when available. Yuka says it does not accept funding from brands or manufacturers, but users should still treat it as one source among many and do their own research on products. Yuka is free to download on Android and iOS.
Transit
Transit focuses on helping users navigate cities without relying on a car. Available in more than 1,000 cities worldwide, it emphasizes public transportation options such as buses, subways, and metro systems, as well as bike shares and walking routes.
When you open the app, it surfaces nearby transit lines and departure times without requiring multiple searches. You can still plan trips between locations, but the default view prioritizes what is most useful around you.
Transit says it uses real-time data, much of it contributed by its community, rather than just static schedules. The app also promotes a privacy-friendly approach, stating that it does not sell user data or employ ad tracking. Core features are free, with an optional subscription that unlocks extras like browsing transit lines far from your current location and viewing departure times further into the future. Transit is available on Android and iOS.
MyNoise
MyNoise is a customizable soundscape app aimed at people who want audio environments for focus, sleep, or relaxation. Each soundscape includes a bank of 10 sliders, letting you fine-tune individual elements. For example, in a forest scene you can reduce bird sounds while increasing wind or water.
The app includes a calibration tool that adapts sound levels to your hearing, along with a range of conventional and unusual soundscapes, from “Calm Office” to “Irish Coast.” It supports offline playback and is ad-free.
There is no subscription requirement. Many soundscapes are available at no cost, and a one-time payment unlocks the full catalog of more than 300 options. MyNoise is offered on Android, iOS, and the web.
Listonic
Listonic is a smart grocery list app built to reduce friction during shopping trips. Its standout feature is automatic aisle sorting, which groups items by store categories. That helps limit backtracking through the supermarket because you see what you need in a given section all at once.
The app supports real-time collaboration, so family members or roommates can add or remove items while someone else is at the store. It also learns from your history, suggesting frequently purchased products.
Listonic lets you add prices as you shop, allowing you to estimate the total before reaching the checkout. Because it remembers past prices, it can help you see when items have gone up or down in cost.
The core Listonic experience is free with ads on Android and iOS. A paid upgrade removes ads and unlocks extras such as additional themes.
Merlin Bird ID
Merlin Bird ID, developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is a powerful tool for birdwatchers and anyone curious about local wildlife. It offers multiple ways to identify birds you encounter.
Sound ID listens to bird calls and songs through your phone’s microphone and suggests possible species in real time. Photo ID lets you upload a picture and returns a list of matches. Even without audio or images, Merlin can guide you through a short questionnaire about size, color, behavior, and location to narrow down the possibilities.
The app includes a Life List feature for logging sightings and an Explore mode for browsing species likely to appear in your area. It works across six continents and can identify more than 6,000 bird species. Merlin Bird ID is free to download from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
How these apps were chosen
This selection focuses on well-rated apps that rarely appear in general-purpose recommendation lists despite strong utility. Each app is available on both major mobile platforms and is actively maintained. Priority was given to software that is free to download and whose no-cost version includes the essential features, even when optional paid upgrades exist.