When comparing F-Droid vs itch.io, the Slant community recommends F-Droid for most people. In the question“What are the best Android game stores?” F-Droid is ranked 1st while itch.io is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose F-Droid is:
Free and open source applications that are not for profit
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Non-profit
Free and open source applications that are not for profit
Pro All titles are free and open source
All apps and games on F-Droid are open source (FOSS), making for a complete store resource for users who want to use only open source software on their device.
Pro All apps have no ads nor tracking
This alone can be a great reason to use the apps available on F-Droid, but there is also the fact that this can increase battery life due to tracking and ads never requiring a data connection, since they are not present.
Pro Multiple repository sources
You have more than one source of apps and updates and local repository too
Pro Highlights 'anti features'
Features that are often considered undesirable by users and the open source community are highlighted. This could be advertising or connecting to non-free services
Pro Previous versions of apps remain available after updates
If you don't like to an app after an update, you can download the previous version again. This is not possible on GooglePlay.
Pro File sizes are shown
For those running out of room, the size of the APK is always shown.
Pro F-Droid compiles all packages
F-Droid compiles all the packages themselves ensuring a high level of security. Other stores just allow the developer to upload the app already compiled, meaning anything malicious could be in the app.
Pro Everyone can release a game on itch.io
Everyone is free to use itch.io for the distrubution of their game, free or paid.
Pro No accounts required for buyers
It allows linking an itch.io page where the customer can just click to buy.
Pro Allows sellers to set their own revenue share
Makes it one of the best places to support your favorite creators as there is no limit as to what you want to set for the platform fee since it can be set all the way down to 0% or set as high as 100%. It is up to the developer to pick what they would like.
Pro Pay-what-you-want model with optional enforced minimums
Users can pay any amount they want to for a game, down to a minimum specified by the uploader. The minimum can be zero. A user can go back and pay more later if they want.
Pro Mostly self-service
Change prices or the design of your page at will. No need to give lead time if you want to offer a sale.
Pro Best discoverability out there
It's where unknown indies find and buy games from other unknown indies.
Pro Cross-platform desktop client
Desktop client available for downloading games and auto-updating.
Pro Offer preorders
You can start selling your game before it's finished.
Cons
Con No ratings/comments/number of downloads
All apps are presented equally. It is difficult to judge an app's quality/popularity before trying it. On the upside, descriptions are fair (written by the F-Droid maintainers, not by the app authors).
Con Not all apps have screenshots
It can be difficult to tell what an app is like without installing it.
Con Small selection
F-Droid has a small selection of apps when compared to other major Android markets. This is due to every app being open source and given away for free, something not many people are willing to do with their time and creations.
Con It doesn't have all the open source apps
There are many open source apps that aren't available on F-Droid due to their authors not making it available on that particular app store. One example is Omni Noted, which is on the Play Store but not F-Droid.
Con Descriptions are only available in English
Though the store app is multilingual, the app descriptions are only in English, meaning you must know English to find an app, even if the app is supposed to be multilingual.
Con A lot of apps lack polish
Since every app on F-Droid is FOSS and released for free, many of them aren't as polished compared to other markets and their paid app selections.
Con F-Droid bans Gab for being a “free speech zone” that will “tolerate all opinions”
F-Droid is just another liberal marxist echo chamber. It silences, bans, any opinion that deviates from their "progressive" marxist narrative.
Con It's not a good alternative for Google Play
Most useful softwares are not available on this platform so we can't call it an adequate alternative.
Con Updates are not automatic for non root users
You have to click the updates one-by-one in order to make them happen. If user has rooted their device automatic updates are possible, the app needs to be converted to a system app.
Con Most applications are outdated/deprecated
Most applications (80% of them) haven't been updated for more than 4 years.
Con No DRM Service and itch customers can just share your games and apps
They say they do, but you actually need a server to achieve it. They make things over complicated on purpose, because they hate DRM in nature. That's why they cannot be a popular game platform. They don't protect indie developer's game at all.
Con Very very indie
If production values and braod appeal are a thing you cherish, pass your way. Curation standards aren't mainstream at all there.
Con No quality control
You can upload and release almost anything in any state on itch.io