Best Cydia Alternatives
There is no doubt that Cydia is the most popular package manager for iOS. It's installed by default with almost all jailbreak tools. The app was abounded by saurik who is not interested to maintain it anymore so it's a good idea to find the best Cydia alternative.
Cydia
Cydia was the first unofficial store for iOS devices created to allow users to install tweaks and apps not available in the official AppStore. The idea behind Cydia was to create a simple APT (Advanced Packaging Tool) that will manage all repositories and packages on your device.
The popularity of Cydia is connected with the popularity of jailbreaking. This package manager was and still is installed by default by many jailbreak apps released for iOS, including unc0ver. Therefore, searching for alternatives is not so obvious, but there are a few worth mentioning.
All modern package managers are always compared to Cydia and to be honest, all of them are very inspired by Cydia itself. The interface and all main features didn't change a lot since the first jailbreak in 2007. Still, new package managers did manage to stand out.
Jay Freeman, the developer behind Cydia and Cydia Impactor, left the jailbreak community a few years ago and he is not interested in maintaining Cydia and Impactor anymore.
Fortunately, the jailbreak community is still active and we have a few alternatives for Cydia available. All package managers are still under development with regular updates. At first glance, all look the same but each of them offers unique features and options.
Sileo
Sileo is a fast Cydia alternative for iOS and it's the only package manager installed by default by jailbreak tools like Odyssey, Taurine, and Electra. It supports officially all jailbreaks and can share its sources with Cydia if you're on unc0ver or checkra1n. The APT supports iOS 12 and up.
Sileo offers everything that you would expect from a modern APT package manager. Add quickly new repositories, manage all packages, navigate through categories, view the number of installed tweaks and apps per repository, or easily export all sources to the clipboard.
If you are familiar with the Cydia app you will already feel at home when switching to Sileo. The main page displays featured tweaks and apps offered both by commercial and free repositories.
Once taped on an app it will display a clean interface providing some basic information about the package including developer name, description, screenshots, compatibility, available repositories, version history, and actual price when it's a paid package.
What's more, you can add the package to your Wishlist, share it with your friends, send an email for support, or display more tweaks released by the Sileo Team.
Official website: getsileo.app
Zebra
Zebra is my favorited and used on a daily basis package manager for my iPhone. It's in my opinion the best Cydia alternative offering everything what would you need from a fast package manager to add repost and install Cydia tweaks. Zebra supports iOS 9 up to iOS 14.
Once installed, you can easily transfer community sources from popular package managers. Zebra can import repositories from Cydia, Sileo, and Installer with one tap. What's more, it recognizes tweak stores allowing you to log in and access all purchased tweaks and apps.
This feature is provided by the Sileo API. Zebra Package Manager can also export and import the list of all repositories and save the list of all installed packages on your device to a text file.
Zebra app is released as an open-source project. Managing repositories with this package manager was never easier. You can add multiple sources with a single tap and view all packages listed in repositories by categories. This will speed up setting up the app for the first time.
By default, Zebra displays recent jailbreak community news posted on Reddit and featured packages on the home page. You can disable those functions from app Settings.
Official website: getzbra.com
Installer
AppTapp Installer 5 is one of the best Cydia alternatives available for jailbroken devices running iOS 11 up to iOS 14. Installer 5 offers a clean and modern interface that can be easily explored. Once installed, AppTapp Installer will import all repositories from other package managers.
All packages are displayed on a clean interface with all information you would require. There's included actual version, category, what's new, description, developer name, reviews, dependencies, conflicts, developer website link, repository name, and more by the developer.
What's more, you can now follow your favorite repositories and developers and be notified when they release a new package. This social feature can be handy to find great tweaks or apps in thousand of packages refreshed every day by the community.
There is also a Wishlist where you can add interesting tweaks and apps. There are thousands of tweaks available and when you see one that is fun it can really quickly be lost if you don't save it. This feature is great for that. Packages Wishlist is available through Settings.
Since version 5.0 support for iOS 10 and lower has been dropped. Installer 5.1 beta is available for download. The latest version comes with a complete redesign and a major backend rewrite, which included several new features and fixing a whole lot of bugs. Get it from the beta repo.
Official website: apptapp.me
Saily
Saily is a simple and fast package manager for iOS 13 and newer. This is one of the best Cydia alternatives to manage repositories and install Cydia tweaks and apps on your device. It can import all Sources from Cydia, Zebra, Installer, and Sileo.
This APT comes with a secure payment system to support paid packages. Using this package manager you can buy tweaks from the best Cydia repositories. There is also an option to enable the ability to randomize device information for free packages making your device anonymous.
As mentioned already, Saily was designed with simplicity in mind. The main page displays a list of featured packages from repos, recent installs, and recent updates. From here you can also access the settings page by tapping on the cog-gear-widget icon in the right top corner.
Installed packages are displayed on a simple list sorted by date. You can filter packages by name or last modified. There is also a search engine to quickly find tweaks and packages. Search in your favorite collections. Search for repositories and packages by URL or description.
Saily is a smart Cydia alternative that I would recommend using for everyone who loves minimalism. The app is blazing fast and will not confuse new users with overwhelming features. It's the perfect balance between Cydia and a modern package manager for iOS.
Official website: sailyteam.github.io
