Python is usually not the primary choice for Android app development because native Android apps are typically built using languages like Java or Kotlin. You could technically do it using something like Kivy, which lets you use Python for android app dev, but Java and Kotlin enable better integration in the end. Edit: If you already know Python, learning Kivy is a good way to start making simple Android apps. However, from an end-game perspective Java or Kotlin are the way to go. For example, if your app needs advanced features like complex animations, in-depth camera functionality, or seamless integration with various Android services, you might be able to do it in Kivy but it would require a lot of workarounds from what I understand. Answer from Jeanca500 on reddit.com
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › why is python generally not recommended for building android apps?
r/learnpython on Reddit: Why is python generally not recommended for building Android apps?
January 13, 2024 -

I am fairly new to programming. So really need kind of an "explain like I am five" explanation. The logic building for an app can be done with python too right? Then why is java and Kotlin recommended to create android apps? Kivy with python should be able to do the job too right?

Or are there any issues when trying to do the latter? I am sure there are reasons given the former is the popular way. But I can't wrap my brain around why it is the way it is. Would really appreciate some explanations.

Also I am asking this because while brushing up my python skills I am wondering if I should learn kivy (or pygame maybe) or just move on to Java and kotlin after this, if my end goals are mainly building Android apps or games.

Top answer
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186

To answer your first question: yes it is feasible to develop an android application in pure python, in order to achieve this I suggest you use BeeWare, which is just a suite of python tools, that work together very well and they enable you to develop platform native applications in python.

checkout this video by the creator of BeeWare that perfectly explains and demonstrates it's application

How it works

Android's preferred language of implementation is Java - so if you want to write an Android application in Python, you need to have a way to run your Python code on a Java Virtual Machine. This is what VOC does. VOC is a transpiler - it takes Python source code, compiles it to CPython Bytecode, and then transpiles that bytecode into Java-compatible bytecode. The end result is that your Python source code files are compiled directly to a Java .class file, which can be packaged into an Android application.

VOC also allows you to access native Java objects as if they were Python objects, implement Java interfaces with Python classes, and subclass Java classes with Python classes. Using this, you can write an Android application directly against the native Android APIs.

Once you've written your native Android application, you can use Briefcase to package your Python code as an Android application.

Briefcase is a tool for converting a Python project into a standalone native application. You can package projects for:

  • Mac
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • iPhone/iPad
  • Android
  • AppleTV
  • tvOS.

You can check This native Android Tic Tac Toe app written in Python, using the BeeWare suite. on GitHub

in addition to the BeeWare tools, you'll need to have a JDK and Android SDK installed to test run your application.

and to answer your second question: a good environment can be anything you are comfortable with be it a text editor and a command line, or an IDE, if you're looking for a good python IDE I would suggest you try Pycharm, it has a community edition which is free, and it has a similar environment as android studio, due to to the fact that were made by the same company.

I hope this has been helpful

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You could try BeeWare - as described on their website:

Write your apps in Python and release them on iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS, Linux, Web, and tvOS using rich, native user interfaces. One codebase. Multiple apps.

Gives you want you want now to write Android Apps in Python, plus has the advantage that you won't need to learn yet another framework in future if you end up also wanting to do something on one of the other listed platforms.

Here's the Tutorial for Android Apps.

Discussions

Creating Python Android/iOS Apps

I guess you can try out kivy. But if you ever decide to go down the path of app development, I'd recommend you switch to flutter but you need to learn dart.

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March 26, 2022
Your opinion on the best android app/web to learn Python

Umm the best method is having something you want the program to do, and figuring out how to make the code do that, you’ll pick up a lot the first couple times. Then when you go..hmm I do need to learn more about string, it comes with a context that you need to learn about strings because you want to do something with them.

With out the what learning any programming language become tedious and boring IMHO, especially at the beginning. It not gonna make much sense because you have no use case for the various tools.

Like

hello = “hello world” 
print(hello) 

is technically a program but who cares…yet I make this type of declaration in every program ever. That’s not explained very well in any intro thing I’ve seen.

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It has already been asked here a few time here: https://www.reddit.com/r/androiddev/comments/1095667/i_have_a_python_script_that_queries_an_api_with/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Please learn how to be a Dev and look for answers before asking a question.

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I program on a galaxy s21 ultra, I use the Pydroid 3 app. I can have the automated book and Pydroid 3 open side by side via Dex. Using termux to install the relevant python pieces, I can code just fine on mobile. I've even got a card game that can play free cell, solitaire and spider solitaire all working well! Sometimes it's a struggle to get things working, because my phone isn't rooted so I have to find work arounds, but with a octocore processor and 12gb ram, it's possible to do it! More on reddit.com
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Medium
medium.com › @krishanjara069 › building-android-apps-with-python-a-comprehensive-guide-effcc62e4cff
Building Android Apps with Python: A Comprehensive Guide | by Krishanjara | Medium
November 25, 2023 - Save this code in a file (e.g., main.py) and run it using Python. This simple app consists of a vertical box layout containing a label and a button. When the button is clicked, the label’s text is updated. Test Locally: Before deploying to an Android device, test your app locally using the Kivy framework.
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Python
docs.python.org › 3 › using › android.html
6. Using Python on Android — Python 3.14.4 documentation
As a result, the only way you can use Python on Android is in embedded mode – that is, by writing a native Android application, embedding a Python interpreter using libpython, and invoking Python code using the Python embedding API.
Python is usually not the primary choice for Android app development because native Android apps are typically built using languages like Java or Kotlin. You could technically do it using something like Kivy, which lets you use Python for android app dev, but Java and Kotlin enable better integration in the end. Edit: If you already know Python, learning Kivy is a good way to start making simple Android apps. However, from an end-game perspective Java or Kotlin are the way to go. For example, if your app needs advanced features like complex animations, in-depth camera functionality, or seamless integration with various Android services, you might be able to do it in Kivy but it would require a lot of workarounds from what I understand. Answer from Jeanca500 on reddit.com
Find elsewhere
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Kivy
kivy.org
Kivy: Cross-platform Python Framework for GUI apps Development
Kivy runs on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS and Windows. ... Get started! Kivy has been built to be easy to use, cross-platform and fast. With a single codebase, you will be able to deploy apps on Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS and Android.
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Google Play
play.google.com › store › apps › details
Pydroid 3 - IDE for Python 3 - Apps on Google Play
Pydroid 3 is the most easy to use and powerful educational Python 3 IDE for Android. Features: - Offline Python 3 interpreter: no Internet is required to run Python programs. - Pip package manager and a custom repository for prebuilt wheel packages ...
Rating: 4.5 ​ - ​ 80.7K votes
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Manektech
manektech.com › home › blog › python tools for android app development in 2026: the ultimate guide
Python Tools for Android App Development in 2026 & Beyond
February 25, 2026 - Some users may find the user interface a little complex. Framework’s package size is very large and can take hours to download. ... Beeware is a widely used python tool for Android app development.
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GitHub
github.com › kivy › python-for-android
GitHub - kivy/python-for-android: Turn your Python application into an Android APK · GitHub
Turn your Python application into an Android APK. Contribute to kivy/python-for-android development by creating an account on GitHub.
Starred by 8.9K users
Forked by 2K users
Languages   Python 75.1% | Java 13.9% | C 5.4% | Makefile 1.4% | kvlang 1.4% | Cython 1.2%
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Towards Data Science
towardsdatascience.com › home › latest › mobile app development with python
Mobile App Development with Python | Towards Data Science
August 15, 2025 - This article has been a tutorial to demonstrate how to design and build a cross-platform mobile app with Python. I used Kivy to design the user interface and I showed how to make it available for iOS devices.
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PowerGate Software
powergatesoftware.com › tech-blog › android-app-development-using-python
Android App Development Using Python: Is It the Right Choice?
November 13, 2025 - BeeWare’s Toga toolkit has enabled developers to build apps like Travel Mate and Weather App that run on multiple platforms with a single Python codebase. These examples show that while not mainstream, real projects have been delivered with Python. However, Python is not without its weaknesses. When compared with Android’s native languages, such as Kotlin or Java, developers may encounter challenges like:
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Pydroid
pydroid.app
Pydroid 3 - Python IDE for Android | Official Website
Pydroid 3 is the Python IDE for Android. Write, run, and debug Python code on your Android device with ease. Download now for free!
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Infinity Tech
infytech.ae › home › android app with python: a complete step-by-step guide
Android App with Python: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide
September 17, 2025 - While Python provides a more approachable starting point for many developers, Java and Kotlin are the standard languages for Android programming. This tutorial will provide you a thorough introduction to create Android apps with python, with an emphasis on general concepts as opposed to detailed coding examples.
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Medium
medium.com › @justacademy19 › best-python-programming-app-in-android-b6e56e9b97c3
best python programming app in android | by Anjali S | Medium
December 16, 2024 - One of the best Python programming apps for Android is Pydroid 3. It serves as a complete offline interpreter for Python 3, allowing users to write and run Python code directly on their devices.
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Quora
quora.com › How-do-I-build-Android-apps-and-games-using-Python
How to build Android apps and games using Python - Quora
Answer (1 of 2): Since Android ... that does have access to Android APIs. A couple popular options include BeeWare [1] and Kivy [2]. In the past, people also ......
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GP Solutions
gpsolutions.com › home › python for android app development: can it beat kotlin?
Python for Android App Development: A Good Idea or a Recipe for Disaster?
February 12, 2026 - It doesn’t compile down to Android bytecode naturally. To run Python on a phone, you need to ship the language interpreter inside an app. When you build an Android app with Python, you face a few vital issues:
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DataFlair
data-flair.training › blogs › android-app-using-python
Android App with Python - How Python on Android Works? - DataFlair
August 25, 2021 - Hello Everyone, I know many of you are aspiring to develop applications, but are stuck with Java. Yes, it is a living reality that you cannot know everything that exists in this world. And it is fine to not know if there is an alternate for it. The alternative that I’m talking about here is Python that can be used instead of Java. So, if your question is “Can I make an Android app with Python?”. My answer to this question is a Yes.
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DEV Community
dev.to › mustufa786 › how-to-make-android-apps-with-python-1pl6
How to Make Android Apps With Python - DEV Community
November 2, 2020 - In this article, I am gonna show you we can develop android apps on python. An android app is an app... Tagged with python, android, java, kotlin.