Best ASO tools in 2026: free and paid, honestly compared

The best ASO tool depends on the job. To learn what to fix on your listing, use an audit tool. To track keywords every day, use a tracker. For competitors' downloads and revenue, you need market data. And before you pay for anything, use the free tools Apple and Google already give you. Below is every tool worth knowing in 2026, what it costs, and which one fits your budget. We make one of them (Growdone), so we have tried to be extra fair to the others, and every price comes from the company's own site.

Definition

ASO tool: software that helps your app show up and get chosen in App Store and Google Play search, by finding keywords, tracking ranks, checking your listing or testing your screenshots.

The short answer: pick by job

Start with the free tools from Apple and Google

Most developers skip these and pay for things they already have.

Apple (App Store Connect and Apple Ads)

• App Analytics: shows how many downloads came from App Store search versus browsing, and your conversion rate (downloads divided by unique impressions). Check it before and after every listing change.
• Product Page Optimization: A/B test your icon, screenshots and preview video. Apple lets you test up to three versions against your original, for up to 90 days.
• Custom Product Pages: up to 70 extra versions of your page, each with its own screenshots and link. You can assign keywords so a custom page shows in search for those terms.
• Apple Ads search popularity: a 1 to 5 score for how often a keyword is searched. It is the only first-party measure of iOS search demand, and many paid tools build on it.

Google (Play Console)

• Store listing experiments: test your icon, feature graphic, screenshots and descriptions against your current listing, measured by install clicks.
• Custom store listings: up to 50 extra listings, targeted by country, by link, or by the search keywords people used.
• Store performance: shows the actual search terms people typed before they visited your listing, with visitors and conversion for each. Apple does not show this, so it is gold for Android keyword research.

ASO tools compared

Monthly prices on monthly billing, from each vendor's pricing page on 25 October 2026. Most are cheaper billed yearly. Before you buy, check the vendor's page, because prices change.

What each tool is good at

Growdone: an audit that tells you what to change

Paste an App Store or Google Play link and in about a minute you get a score out of 100, fixes in order of impact, keyword gaps against competitors and a rewritten title. No setup and nothing to connect. Pricing is in rupees in India. Watch out: it does not track ranks every day or reply to reviews. Pair it with a tracker if you need that. See every check it runs.

Astro: the cheapest keyword tracker for the App Store

A Mac app that tracks App Store keywords across 60+ countries using Apple Ads data, with unlimited apps and keywords for $9 a month. Watch out: App Store only, Mac only, and no free trial (a 14-day refund instead).

MobileAction: low entry price, strong on Apple Ads

Lite is $15 a month for 100 keywords and 5 apps; Basic is $69 and Pro $239. Its Apple Ads campaign manager is free up to $10,000 a month in ad spend. Watch out: Lite keeps only 3 months of history, and the trial needs a card.

AppFollow: best for reviews

AppFollow is built around review management: AI replies, tags, sentiment and helpdesk integrations. Its ASO plan is $29 a month ($19 billed yearly) for 2 apps and 500 keywords, and there is a free plan. Watch out: the next plan up is $179 a month. AppFollow vs Growdone.

Appfigures: analytics first, ASO second

Appfigures connects to your store accounts for downloads, revenue and reviews, and adds keyword tools. There is a free plan and a free trial without a card. Watch out: keyword tracking starts on the $44.99 plan, and competitor tracking only on the $599.99 plan.

Asodesk and ASOMobile: lots of keywords for less

Both have free plans and paid plans from $59 a month. Asodesk is strong on keyword research, tracking in 100 countries and review replies (sold separately). ASOMobile gives 500 keywords on its $59 Indie plan. Watch out: both are research tools with a learning curve. Asodesk vs Growdone.

App Radar: track, edit and publish in one place

Part of SplitMetrics since November 2023. Keyword tracking, AI keyword lists, review replies and a metadata editor that publishes straight to both stores. From €69 a month. Watch out: no free plan, the trial needs a card, and billing is in dollars or euros only. App Radar vs Growdone.

AppTweak: the deepest data for full-time ASO

Twelve-plus keyword tools, volume history, difficulty scores, creative intelligence, Apple Ads and AI agents. From $99 a month for 5 apps and 500 keywords. Watch out: one seat below Enterprise, no free ASO plan, and a lot to learn. AppTweak vs Growdone.

SplitMetrics: Apple Ads and store-page testing

SplitMetrics Acquire manages Apple Ads and is free up to $25,000 a month in ad spend. SplitMetrics Optimize tests store pages outside the store, before you launch. Watch out: Optimize is sold by demo only, with no public price, and is aimed at large publishers.

Sensor Tower: market intelligence

Estimates of any app's downloads, revenue and ad spend, plus ASO features. It bought data.ai (formerly App Annie) in 2024. Watch out: prices are custom and aimed at enterprises; it is not built to tell you what to change on your listing. Sensor Tower alternative.

Which one should you pick?

• Just launched, no budget: Apple's and Google's free tools, plus a free Growdone audit to find the obvious fixes. Read our 30-point checklist too.
• Indie app with some revenue: an audit to decide what to change, plus one cheap tracker to watch your top 20 keywords.
• ASO is someone's full-time job: AppTweak, App Radar, Asodesk or ASOMobile. Try two trials side by side on the same app.
• You need market size or competitors' revenue: Sensor Tower, or AppTweak's market-intelligence plans.

Still not sure? See our side-by-side comparisons, or learn the basics in What is ASO?