# What is the best free app on your phone?

> Nothing here costs anything, which makes the argument about what you actually open.

*By YPB Team · Published August 6, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-free-app-on-your-phone*

---

## Current results (0 votes)

1. **YouTube**
   Effectively unlimited video without paying anything.
2. **Google Maps**
   Turn-by-turn navigation that replaced an entire industry of devices.
3. **WhatsApp**
   Free messaging that became the phone network in much of the world.
4. **Spotify**
   Ad-supported access to most recorded music ever released.
5. **Gmail**
   Email with enough storage that nobody deletes anything anymore.
6. **Instagram**
   Photos, stories and an endless recommendation feed.
7. **Duolingo**
   Language lessons broken into streaks and five-minute drills.
8. **Signal**
   Encrypted messaging run by a nonprofit with no ads.
9. **Wikipedia**
   The whole encyclopedia, offline-capable, no subscription.
10. **Google Photos**
   Automatic backup plus search that finds the picture by description.
11. **TikTok**
   A recommendation engine that needs no follows to work.
12. **Shazam**
   Names the song playing near you in a few seconds.
13. **Citymapper**
   Public transport directions that account for the walk to the platform.
14. **VLC**
   An open-source player that opens every video file ever made.
15. **Google Translate**
   Camera translation that reads a menu in a language you don't have.
16. **Strava**
   Run and ride tracking with a leaderboard on every local hill.

Tags: brands, apps, tech