Finding similar apps on Google Play without the store’s own suggestions

Why the “similar apps” row on the store is not enough, and three data-based ways to find real alternatives.

The store’s row is a recommendation

The “Similar apps” row on a Google Play page is chosen by the store for that visitor. It changes from user to user and from day to day, so it cannot serve as a stable competitor list.

Three stable alternatives

• Same category, similar size. Filter the category with an install band around your own: min_installs=100000&max_installs=1000000.
• Same words. A full-text search on the words of your title finds apps that solve the same problem.
• Same publisher type. Rival publishers’ other apps show adjacent markets they may enter next.

Keeping it current

Save the queries, not the results. Re-running them monthly catches new entrants the day they cross your install band.