Best Free ASO Tools in 2026 (iOS + Android): What's Actually Free

> Disclosure: We build Sonar (trysonar.app), so weigh this accordingly. Sonar has free web tools and a keyless API tier, but no free dashboard plan — so several picks below are competitors' free plans, because they're more generous for free keyword tracking. Free-plan limits and prices were checked on each vendor's own pricing page on October 19, 2026.

Most ASO tools aren't built for indie budgets

The big ASO platforms — Sensor Tower, AppTweak and the like — are priced for mobile teams with real marketing budgets. Sensor Tower doesn't publish prices at all. If you're an indie developer hoping your app covers its $99/year Apple Developer fee, you need to know what you can do for free first. (For paid tools at every price point, see our best ASO tools guide.)

The good news: the free options cover more than most people think. Here's what's actually free, what each one is best at, and where free runs out.

Best Free ASO Tools in 2026

There's no single best free ASO tool — each free option covers a different job. Our picks:

• Best free data on your own app: App Store Connect and Google Play Console. First-party impressions, conversion and search-term data no third-party tool can match.
• Best free keyword-tracking plan: AppFollow Free. 2 apps and 500 keywords, plus Slack and Zendesk integrations for reviews, with no card required (appfollow.io/pricing).
• Best free plan for trying both stores in a small way: ASOMobile Free. 20 keywords and 2 apps, no card (asomobile.net).
• Best free plan for a few keywords on both stores, with a cheap upgrade: Applyra Free. A permanent free plan, not a trial: 1 app, 5 keywords and 1 competitor with daily rank updates and no card, plus a $9.99/month upgrade to unlimited when you outgrow it (applyra.io).
• Best free option for iOS on a Mac: Astro's free version. Up to 10 keywords in a native Mac app (tryastro.app).
• Best no-signup listing audit and keyword checks: Sonar's free tools. An ASO checker, keyword generator and rank checker that need no account, plus a keyless API and MCP tier for AI agents.
• Best free demand signals: store autocomplete and Google Trends.
• Best free A/B testing: Google Play store listing experiments and Apple's product page optimization, both built into the stores' consoles.

The main gap in all of this is unlimited daily rank tracking with history — that's where paid plans start. For a look at what ASO costs overall, see our breakdown of ASO pricing, and for free-trial options, the paid tools section below.

App Store Connect and Google Play Console

You already have access to the best free ASO data source — your own developer console.

• Impressions and product page views, broken down by source
• Conversion rate (impressions to downloads)
• Top search terms that led users to your app (App Analytics > Metrics > Search Terms)
• Download and revenue data by territory

This is real data, not estimates. No third-party tool can match the accuracy of first-party analytics for your own app (see Apple's App Analytics documentation). The limitation is that you only see your own apps, and Apple doesn't show search popularity or competitor data here.

• Store listing visitors and installers with conversion rates
• Search terms that led to your listing
• Acquisition reports by country and source
• A/B testing through store listing experiments (icons, screenshots, descriptions)

Google Play's built-in store listing experiments are particularly valuable: you can test listing variants against each other for free.

Bottom line: if you're not checking these dashboards at least monthly, start there before paying for anything. Our App Store Connect analytics guide covers which metrics matter.

Google Trends

Google Trends doesn't measure App Store search volume, but it's a useful proxy for interest in a topic. If "budget tracker" is trending up on Google, app store searches often move the same way.

• Seasonal trends — does "calorie counter" spike every January? Time your metadata and screenshots for resolution season.
• Comparing demand — "habit tracker" vs "habit journal" vs "daily routine": which has more sustained interest?
• Regional differences — a term popular in the US may not travel to the UK or Australia.

It won't give you app store difficulty or rankings, but it's free and good for directional decisions.

Store autocomplete (manual keyword research)

Typing keywords into the App Store or Google Play search bar is legitimate research. Autocomplete suggestions are real queries — the stores don't suggest terms nobody searches for.

1. Open the App Store or Google Play
2. Type your primary keyword ("meditation")
3. Write down every suggestion
4. Try variations: "meditat", "mindful", "calm", "breathing"
5. Try competitors' names — autocomplete often suggests related generic keywords

It's free and always current, but you get no volume or difficulty data — just ideas. Our ASO keyword research guide shows how to turn them into a prioritized list.

Free plans from ASO tools

Several ASO platforms have genuinely free plans. Limits as listed on their pricing pages on October 19, 2026:

AppFollow Free is the most generous free keyword allowance we found, and it's the obvious pick if reviews matter to you too. ASOMobile Free is smaller but a reasonable way to test a both-stores workflow. Astro's free version suits a Mac-based iOS developer who wants to try a native app before paying $108/year. Applyra Free has the smallest keyword allowance here: 1 app, 5 keywords and 7 days of ranking history, with no API, MCP access or CSV export. But it's permanent rather than a trial, needs no card, updates ranks daily on both stores and includes keyword difficulty scores, so it's enough to watch your five most important keywords. Its one paid plan, Unlimited at $9.99/month ($99.99/year), lifts the caps under a fair-use policy and adds a REST API (10,000 requests a month) and an MCP server. Appfigures' free plan is about your own apps' analytics rather than keyword research.

Sonar's Free Tools

Sonar's free tools are web tools and a keyless API tier that anyone can use without an account or a trial:

ASO Score Checker — paste any App Store or Google Play listing and get an audit scored 0–100, covering title, subtitle, keyword usage, description, screenshots, ratings and update frequency, with specific fixes. Pair it with our metadata optimization guide to act on the results.

Keyword Generator — enter a seed keyword and get suggestions with difficulty and opportunity ratings, for the App Store or Google Play.

Rank checker — see where an app ranks right now for up to five keywords in a country. It's a one-off check, not tracking.

Keyword difficulty pages — more than 80 popular app keywords analyzed per store and country, with difficulty, popularity and the apps ranking for each. Compare password manager with flashcard app to see how much difficulty varies. Our guide on finding low-competition keywords shows how to use the numbers.

Keyless API and MCP access — seven of Sonar's API endpoints work with no key and no signup, including app lookup and search, the ASO score, keyword extraction, keyword suggestions and keyword metrics. The limit is 30 requests a day per IP, plus difficulty and popularity for 5 keywords a day. The same free mode works through Sonar's MCP server: run npx -y @sonarapp/mcp@latest with no SONAR_API_KEY set and Claude Code, Cursor or another MCP client gets working ASO tools at no cost. The OpenAPI spec is at trysonar.app/openapi.json.

What Sonar's free tools don't do: they don't save anything, track ranks over time or keep history. Daily tracking needs the Indie plan ($29/month) after a 7-day trial that requires a card. If you want free tracking, AppFollow's free plan is the better fit.

Free ASO Audit Tools

A free ASO audit scores your listing against best practices and flags specific issues — title length, keyword coverage, screenshot count, rating health and update frequency. The options that cost nothing:

• Sonar ASO Score Checker — described in Sonar's Free Tools above. No account required.
• Google Play Console pre-launch report — on Android, Google's pre-launch report tests your app on real devices and flags crashes, accessibility and performance problems that hurt your ranking. Not a metadata audit, but it catches technical issues that affect ASO.
• Paid tools' trials — Appfigures' trial unlocks its Optimize features with no card, and most other platforms in the trial table below let you audit your listings during the trial.

If you only audit one thing, start with your title and subtitle — on iOS those two fields carry most of the ranking weight, and on Google Play the title plus short description do.

Free ASO Tools for Android

The best free ASO tools for Android are Google Play Console (search-term reports, conversion data and built-in A/B testing), Google Trends, Play autocomplete, AppFollow's and ASOMobile's free plans for keyword tracking, and Sonar's free keyword generator for Google Play difficulty lookups. Android developers get more free ASO functionality than iOS developers because Play Console includes store listing experiments and Google Play indexes roughly 4,000 characters of keyword-eligible metadata versus about 100 on iOS (Google Play Console Help).

What are solo Android developers actually using? When the question came up on r/androiddev, the common advice was to use the free tools before paying for anything. Start with Play Console's search terms, because they show the queries that already bring you visitors and installs (how to read them). Expand with Play autocomplete. Add a rank tracker once you have 10–20 target phrases, which is roughly when checking by hand stops working. Paid tools come last, once you need history or competitor tracking.

What makes Android ASO tooling different:

• Google Play indexes the full long description, not just the title and short description — roughly 4,000 characters against iOS's ~100 across title, subtitle and keyword field (Google Play documentation; Apple App Store Connect Help). Our guide on Google Play long description keyword structure explains how to use that space.
• Store listing experiments are free and built in. Test your icon, screenshots, short description and full description in Play Console. On iOS, Apple's product page optimization tests icons, screenshots and previews but not your text.
• Custom store listings let you create country-specific metadata at no cost.
• Google Play weighs different signals, including engagement, crash rate and Android vitals. The free Android vitals dashboard surfaces performance data that affects your ranking. More in how Play Store ranking works.

For a full workflow with free and low-cost tools, see our Android ASO guide.

Paid Tools Worth Considering

When free tools aren't enough — usually once you track rankings over time and need history — these are the paid options that make sense at indie budgets. For the full paid landscape, see our best ASO tools guide.

ASO free trials — what you get before you pay

Trial terms from each vendor's pricing page, October 19, 2026. App Radar has no free plan.

Cheapest paid entry points

• Applyra Unlimited — $9.99/month ($99.99/year) for unlimited apps and keywords on both stores under a fair-use policy, with a REST API (10,000 requests a month) and an MCP server.
• Mobile Action Lite — $15/month ($12.50 billed yearly) for 100 keywords across 5 apps, if a small keyword list covers you.
• AppFollow ASO — $19/month, the step up from its free plan.
• Astro — $108/year for unlimited iOS keywords on one Mac.
• Sonar Indie — $29/month or $290/year for both stores, 10 apps and 2,500 keywords, with the API, CLI and MCP server included.
• Appfigures Monitor — $44.99/month for 100 tracked keywords next to Appfigures' analytics.

Appfigures — free plan, keyword tracking from $44.99/month

Appfigures started as an analytics dashboard for your own apps and added ASO and market intelligence. Its free plan and $9.99 Connect plan are about your own apps' store metrics; keyword tracking starts on Monitor at $44.99/month (100 keywords), and the ASO-focused Optimize plan is $149.99/month for 500 keywords. Every account gets 1,000 API requests a day, and it has a hosted MCP server. A good choice if you want analytics first and ASO second.

Sonar — $29/month (or $290/year)

Our tool. Indie covers 10 apps and 2,500 tracked keywords (competitors don't count against the caps) on both stores, with daily rank tracking, keyword difficulty, competitor keyword gaps and full history since you started tracking. The REST API, CLI and a hosted MCP server (80 tools) are included. The 7-day trial gives full access; it needs a card. For scripts and agents only, API credit packs start at $10, with 50 free credits on signup. Full details on the Sonar pricing page.

What it doesn't have: a free dashboard plan, download estimates, or Apple-reported popularity for most long-tail iOS keywords — Apple reports 5 for those, so Sonar shows its own estimate below that floor.

Beyond indie budgets

Past the $15–50/month tier, you're into mid-market and enterprise tools: AppTweak (from $79/month billed yearly), App Radar (from €69/month), and at the top end Sensor Tower, which publishes no prices (Vendr's third-party data puts its median deal around $75,000 a year). Those tools solve problems most indie developers don't have yet. Our best ASO tools guide covers all of them.

Feature comparison

Plan limits from each vendor's pricing page, October 19, 2026. "Not checked" means we couldn't confirm it from public pages.

What to use at each stage

Pre-launch (no budget)

1. Google Trends to validate demand for your concept
2. Store autocomplete to build a list of 30–50 candidate keywords
3. Sonar's free tools to check difficulty and spot low-competition terms
4. App Store Connect / Google Play Console once your app is live

It's manual, but it costs nothing and teaches you how ASO works. For a step-by-step pre-launch workflow, see our ASO checklist.

Post-launch (first few hundred downloads)

Now you need to know whether your metadata works, which means tracking ranks. Start with a free plan — AppFollow Free (500 keywords), ASOMobile Free (20 keywords) or Applyra Free (5 keywords) — and use our free rank checker for quick one-off checks. Move to a paid plan when you hit those limits or need more apps.

Growing (1K–10K downloads)

Past 1K downloads you have enough App Store Connect data to make informed decisions and enough revenue to justify a proper tool. Daily rank tracking, competitor keyword gaps and history start paying off here. Pick by job: Sonar if you want both stores and an agent doing the work, Astro if you're iOS-only on a Mac, Appfigures if your own analytics come first, AppFollow if reviews do.

The API-first difference

If you manage several apps, an API or MCP server matters more than another dashboard:

Automated keyword tracking. A cron job calls the API and pipes results into a spreadsheet, database or Slack channel — for keywords like to-do list or voice recorder.

Metadata checks in CI. A release step that checks your ASO score catches a keyword you accidentally dropped from your subtitle.

Competitor monitoring. A daily script that diffs competitor metadata tells you within a day when a rival changes its title. For the manual version, see our guide to competitor keyword analysis.

AI agents. Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or Claude can call ASO tools directly and write metadata from real data instead of guessed volumes.

Free and cheap API options exist in several places: Sonar's keyless tier (30 requests a day per IP) and 50 free credits, AppFollow's free plan (500 API credits), and Appfigures' 1,000 requests a day for your own apps' data (other apps' data costs credits). The cheapest paid plan we found with both an API and an MCP server is Applyra Unlimited at $9.99/month, with 10,000 API requests a month. Sonar's paid credit packs start at $10 with no subscription, and its MCP server runs in the same keyless free mode, so you can wire up an agent before spending anything.

When Sonar is the wrong pick

• You want free keyword tracking. Sonar has no free dashboard plan. AppFollow Free (500 keywords), ASOMobile Free (20 keywords) and Applyra Free (5 keywords) cost nothing.
• You want the cheapest flat-rate plan with an API and MCP server. Applyra Unlimited is $9.99/month, against Sonar Indie's $29.
• You're iOS-only on a Mac and want the lowest price. Astro is $108/year for unlimited keywords, against Sonar's $290/year.
• You mostly want your own sales and download analytics. Appfigures' free plan is built for that.
• You need download or revenue estimates for competitors. Sonar doesn't have them; Appfigures' Explorer plans and Sensor Tower do.

Which tool should you pick?

Zero budget: App Store Connect, Google Play Console, store autocomplete, AppFollow's free plan for tracking, and Sonar's free tools for audits and keyword checks.

A small keyword list on a tight budget: Applyra Free for up to 5 keywords, then Applyra Unlimited at $9.99/month, Mobile Action Lite at $15/month or AppFollow ASO at $19/month.

iOS-only on a Mac: Astro, free for 10 keywords or $108/year.

Both stores, more apps, or an AI agent doing the research: Sonar at $29/month (or $290/year), or API credits from $10 if you only need the API.

Analytics first: Appfigures, free for your own apps.

Revenue that justifies deeper data: AppTweak, from $79/month billed yearly.

The best ASO tool is the one you actually use. A free tool you check weekly beats a paid one you forget to open.

How we evaluated

We looked for tools that do a real ASO job — keyword research, rank tracking, listing audits or first-party analytics — at no cost, and noted exactly where each free plan stops. Free-plan limits, trial terms and prices come from each vendor's pricing page, checked October 19, 2026. Sonar's free tools were tested directly; for competitors' plans we relied on their published pages. No affiliate links or paid placements.

FAQ

Q: What are the best free ASO tools in 2026?

A: App Store Connect and Google Play Console for first-party data, store autocomplete and Google Trends for demand, AppFollow's free plan (2 apps, 500 keywords) for keyword tracking, ASOMobile's free plan (20 keywords) for a small both-stores setup, Applyra's free plan (1 app, 5 keywords, daily ranks on both stores) if you want a cheap unlimited upgrade later, Astro's free version (10 keywords) for iOS on a Mac, and Sonar's no-signup ASO checker, keyword generator and rank checker for audits and one-off checks.

Q: Is there a free ASO tool with rank tracking?

A: Yes. AppFollow's free plan includes 2 apps and 500 keywords, ASOMobile's free plan 20 keywords across 2 apps, Applyra's free plan 5 keywords for 1 app on both stores with 7 days of history, and Astro's free version 10 iOS keywords on a Mac (limits from their pricing pages, October 19, 2026). Sonar's rank checker is free but one-off — it doesn't track over time.

Q: What are the best free ASO tools for Android?

A: Google Play Console (search terms, conversion data and free store listing experiments), Play autocomplete, Google Trends, AppFollow's or ASOMobile's free plans for tracking, and Sonar's keyword generator for Google Play difficulty. See our Android ASO guide for the full workflow.

Q: Are free ASO tools accurate enough for keyword research?

A: For direction, yes. App Store Connect and Play Console report exact impressions and conversions for your own app (Apple App Store Connect Help, Google Play Console Help), and autocomplete reflects real queries. Free tools fall short on competitor rankings and history, which need a tool with its own keyword index.

Q: Does Sonar have a free plan?

A: Not for the dashboard. Sonar's free options are its no-signup web tools, a keyless API and MCP tier (30 requests a day per IP, plus 5 keyword metrics a day), and 50 free API credits on signup. Daily rank tracking needs the Indie plan ($29/month) after a 7-day trial, which requires a card.

Q: Is there a free ASO audit tool?

A: Yes. Sonar's ASO Score Checker audits any App Store or Google Play listing with no account. See Free ASO Audit Tools for other options, including Google Play's pre-launch report.

Q: Do any ASO tools offer a free trial?

A: Most paid tools do. Sonar, AppTweak, Mobile Action and App Radar offer 7-day trials (Sonar, AppTweak and App Radar require a card or billing details), Appfigures has a no-card trial of its Optimize features, and ASOMobile offers 3 days on paid plans. See the trial table above.