Waydroid
Runs a full Android system on Linux so you can use Android apps on the desktop.
Our verdict
Waydroid is the closest thing Linux has to BlueStacks. It runs a cut-down Android system in the background and shows each Android app as its own window on your desktop, which is a nicer result than the full-screen emulator windows Windows users are used to.
Be honest with yourself about the setup. It is packaged for Fedora, Debian 14 and later, Ubuntu 26.10 and later, and Void Linux, but it needs a Wayland session and a first-run download, and the Google Play Store is not there unless you go out of your way to add it.
For messaging and productivity apps it works well. For mobile games, particularly anything with anti-cheat, expect disappointment.
What's good
- Free and open source, with no advertising built in
- Android apps open in ordinary desktop windows next to your Linux apps
- Much lighter than a full virtual machine because it shares the Linux system underneath
- Officially packaged for Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu and Void
What to know first
- Setting it up is fiddly and assumes more confidence than most switchers have
- Needs a Wayland session, which not every Linux setup uses by default
- The Google Play Store is not included and getting it working is extra effort
- Games with anti-cheat or heavy 3D often refuse to run
The details
- Cost
- Free
- Open source
- Yes (GPL-3.0)
- How you install it
- Built-in app store
Windows apps it can replace
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