NewPipe and 5 Alternatives: Open-Source YouTube Apps Compared (2026)

These apps let you watch YouTube without the official app, without a Google account and without Google Play Services. None of them is made by Google, and none is on Google Play. NewPipe’s own README says that publishing it or any fork there would break Play’s terms.

They all depend on YouTube not changing in ways that break them. When it does, maintained apps ship a fix in a new release, and apps that are no longer maintained stay broken. Their repositories (F-Droid and IzzyOnDroid) flag all of them NonFreeNet, because they rely on a proprietary service.

Quick picks

• You want the lean original, or also use PeerTube, SoundCloud or Bandcamp: NewPipe.
• You want SponsorBlock, dislikes and fewer Shorts in a NewPipe-style app: PipePipe.
• You want sync between devices, or DeArrow: LibreTube.
• You use FreeTube on your computer, or want profiles: FreeTube Android.
• You want to block channels or hide low-view videos, or have an old phone: SkyTube.

They install side by side, so you can try more than one before settling.

At a glance

	NewPipe	PipePipe	LibreTube	FreeTube Android	SkyTube	Tubular
Built on	Its own extractor	NewPipe (fork)	Its own code, optional Piped	FreeTube desktop (fork)	NewPipe Extractor (fork)	NewPipe (fork)
Other services	PeerTube, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, media.ccc.de	BiliBili	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
SponsorBlock	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Return YouTube Dislike	No	Yes	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Yes
Downloads	Yes	Yes, whole playlists too	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Not listed
Status	Maintained, labelled beta	Maintained	Maintained	Maintained, labelled beta	Maintained	Discontinued July 2026
Minimum Android	6.0	6.0	8.0	10	4.4	5.0
CPU types in the build	ARM and x86, 32- and 64-bit	64-bit ARM only	Any (no native code)	Any (no native code)	Any (no native code)	ARM and x86, 32- and 64-bit
Size	11.5 MB	32.4 MB	9.3 MB	5.1 MB	9.3 MB	11.0 MB
Tracker SDKs in our scan	ACRA	ACRA	None	None	None	ACRA

“Not listed” means the project’s README doesn’t mention the feature, not that we found it missing. The last four rows come from the APKs we checked. ACRA is a crash-reporting library that NewPipe and its forks include; finding it shows the code is in the package, not what it sends.

NewPipe: the original

NewPipe is where most of this started. It reads YouTube’s website itself through the NewPipe Extractor, needs no account, and plays PeerTube, SoundCloud and Bandcamp as well. It doesn’t include SponsorBlock or dislike counts. Our copy is the developer-signed build from F-Droid.

PipePipe: NewPipe with more of everything

PipePipe forked NewPipe in 2022 and adds a long list of features: SponsorBlock, Return YouTube Dislike, hiding Shorts and paid videos, gestures, a sleep timer, whole-playlist downloads and BiliBili support. Its build is 64-bit ARM only.

LibreTube: privacy first, with optional sync

LibreTube is its own app rather than a NewPipe fork. Besides SponsorBlock and Return YouTube Dislike it supports DeArrow, which replaces clickbait titles and thumbnails. It can route everything through a Piped instance, and a Piped account syncs subscriptions and playlists between devices.

FreeTube Android: the desktop app on your phone

FreeTube Android is a fork of the FreeTube desktop app. If you already use FreeTube on a computer, the look and features will be familiar: profiles that split your subscriptions into separate feeds, SponsorBlock and distraction-free settings. It is the smallest here and needs Android 10 or later.

SkyTube: filters and bookmarks

SkyTube builds on its own fork of the NewPipe Extractor and is about controlling what you see: block whole channels, hide videos with few views, and keep bookmarks and subscriptions on your phone, with backup and restore. It downloads videos and supports SponsorBlock, and it runs on the oldest phones of the six, from Android 4.4.

Tubular: only if you know what you’re getting

Tubular was a NewPipe fork with SponsorBlock and Return YouTube Dislike, but its developer discontinued it in July 2026. Its last version won’t receive fixes, so pick one of the others unless you have a reason to stay.

Clipious: no longer maintained

Some lists still recommend Clipious, an app for Invidious, a privacy-focused front end for YouTube. Its developer archived the project on GitHub on 29 January 2026, which makes the repository read-only, and the last change to its code was pushed in September 2025. We don’t host it.