It is an alternative. And it is infinitely superior than the situation on iOS where you are simply out of options if Apple does not approve. With Android it might be harder than being listed in the Play Store, but at least it is possible and there are massive communities who do so.
Apple allows none of that. As a hobbyist I find Google to be much more reasonable, paying 25$ once vs 100$ a year for a dev account.
Getting my Apple dev account was such a horrible process, I had to talk to at least 6 people and it took months.
I'll just pay Cook's ransom, guess I have motivation to develop something new if only to justify the dev fee.