Apktool vs Relyze

Apktool is a command-line tool for reverse engineering Android APK files. It can disassemble an app’s resources into a form close to their original structure, then rebuild an app after changes such as translation or permission edits. Its analysis mode attempts to extract resources and the manifest for inspection without rebuilding. Apktool runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS; its official installation guide describes wrapper-script steps for those systems and requires Java 8 or later. Decode options include choosing resource-resolution behavior, skipping resources or source disassembly, and setting a framework directory. Build options include selecting an aapt2 binary, adding a generic Network Security Configuration file, and disabling APK repacking. The Apache license permits redistribution, modification, and integration into another project. Apktool is free, with no pricing tiers stated. Its FAQ says Android devices are not officially supported, and some OEM-modified “Magic APKs” may not decode or build. Builds are unsigned; copying a signature retains only the original APK signature v1 scheme.

Relyze is a Windows application for disassembling, decompiling and comparing native-code software. It analyzes PE and ELF binaries, object files and object archives for x86, x64, ARM32, including Thumb mode, and ARM64 (AArch64). Its decompiler produces high-level pseudocode and lets users rename or retype variables and follow variable references. Binary diffing compares binaries and pseudocode to show similarities, differences, and functions that were changed, removed or added. Interactive control-flow, call and reference graphs support investigation alongside automatic function and data-type analysis. Batch analysis handles multiple files in parallel and can tag and archive them or run custom plugins. A Ruby plugin framework and command-line support fit into existing toolchains; symbol imports include PDB, COFF, STAB, TDS and MAP. The product page describes binary diffing for patch analysis and malware-variant analysis. The free Relyze plan costs nothing. The download page lists Windows, at least 4 GB of memory and 300 MB of disk space as requirements.