Every free way to sideload apps on iPhone works the same way underneath: you sign the app with your own free Apple ID, and Apple issues a certificate that lasts seven days. What actually differs between the tools is the ergonomics — whether you need a computer, whether it re-signs over Wi-Fi or wants a cable every week, whether it can inject tweaks, and how much setup it takes before anything installs. Here is the honest ranking, from the simplest to start to the most capable-but-fiddly. For a head-to-head on the three big installers, see our AltStore vs SideStore vs LiveContainer breakdown.
The limits every free tool shares
Before the tools, the ceiling they all live under. A free Apple ID gives you apps that expire after 7 days and must be re-signed, a cap of 3 apps at a time, roughly 10 new app IDs per week, and no push notifications or in-app purchases. None of the tools below removes these — they are Apple’s rules for the free tier. What they change is how much work staying inside those limits costs you.
iSign Loader — the simplest to start
iSign Loader is a portable Windows tool — no install, no AltServer, no developer account. You download the .exe, plug your iPhone in over USB, sign in with your Apple ID, pick an IPA, and it signs and installs in one pass. It is the fastest setup on this list, which makes it the easiest entry point if you are on Windows and just want an app on your phone. The trade-off: it is USB-only. There is no Wi-Fi refresh, so when the seven days run out you re-plug the cable and run it again. Best for a handful of apps you do not mind re-signing by hand.
AltStore — the proven middle ground
AltStore is the original free installer and still the most reliable. You install AltServer on a Mac or Windows PC, pair your iPhone once over USB, and after that AltStore can refresh apps over Wi-Fi — as long as the computer running AltServer is awake and on the same network. That «computer must be reachable» requirement is its main catch: no PC on the network, no refresh. For most people it is the balance of reliable and not-too-complex.
Sideloadly — the one that injects tweaks
Sideloadly is a desktop tool for Windows and Mac that does more than plain signing. From its advanced options you can inject tweaks (.dylib, .deb, .framework), change an app’s name, and rewrite its bundle ID so you can run two copies of the same app side by side. That makes it the free tool of choice when you want tweaked or modified apps rather than stock IPAs. It has an auto-refresh helper, but it still runs from the computer, so in practice you are back at your desk roughly once a week. More power, and more options to get wrong.
SideStore + LiveContainer — the most capable, and the most complex
SideStore is a fork of AltStore built to cut the cord: after a one-time setup on a computer, it refreshes on-device over Wi-Fi with no PC needed, using a background VPN (StikDebug or a local dev VPN). Pair it with LiveContainer, which runs many apps inside a single certificate slot, and you effectively get past the 3-app limit too. The price is complexity: pairing files, a VPN app that Apple keeps pulling from the store, and a setup that runs well past ten steps. It is the most capable free stack — and the one most likely to break on you.
| Tool | Computer | Refresh after week 1 | Inject tweaks / rename | 3-app limit | Ease |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iSign Loader | Windows | USB, every time | Standard signing | 3 | Easiest start |
| AltStore | Mac / Win | Wi-Fi (PC on network) | Standard signing | 3 | Moderate |
| Sideloadly | Win / Mac | USB (~weekly) | Yes — inject + rename | 3 | Moderate+ |
| SideStore + LiveContainer | Setup on PC, then on-device | Wi-Fi via VPN | Standard signing | Bypassed by LiveContainer | Hardest |
Which one should you use?
- One app, fast, on Windows: iSign Loader.
- Reliable Wi-Fi refresh, and you keep a PC on the network: AltStore.
- Tweaked or modified apps: Sideloadly.
- No computer after setup and more than 3 apps, and you will fight the setup: SideStore + LiveContainer.
When free stops being worth it
Every option here trades money for maintenance — a weekly re-sign, a cable, a VPN, or a computer that has to stay on. If that upkeep is the part you want gone, that is exactly what a paid signing service buys. On builds.io, apps are signed long-term and re-signed for you: no 7-day refresh, no cable, no VPN, no 3-app cap, and none of the shared-certificate revokes that free grey-market services get hit with. The free tools above are genuinely good — the question is whether your time is worth more than the price of skipping the chores.
