The cheapest way to do ASO as an indie iOS developer is free: RespectASO is free and open source, and ASO Suite tracks up to 20 keywords for free. If you want keyword ranks tracked automatically in many countries, the paid tools for small budgets cost about $80–$120 a year. TrackASO costs from $9.99/month or $79.99/year (taxes may apply). It's a cloud tracker: every keyword you track is checked every night in up to 175 App Store countries, and your Mac can stay off. It covers the iOS App Store only. Prices below come from each vendor's own pricing page, checked Oct 13, 2026.
I build TrackASO, so treat this as a vendor page. I only list what each product says on its own site, and I don't rate competitors' accuracy, because I haven't benchmarked them.
Pricing and limits compared (checked Oct 13, 2026)
| Tool | Price (vendor's own page) | Free option | Tracking limits | Countries | Where it runs | Platforms | API / MCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TrackASO (pricing) | From $9.99/month or $79.99/year, taxes may apply | No free plan; one free rank check a day on the home page; 14-day refund | 10 apps, 100 keywords per app (400 in all) | 175 | Cloud, any browser | iOS App Store | Hosted MCP server; no public REST API |
| Astro ASO (tryastro.app) | $108 billed annually ("$9/m") | Trial ("Start Trial") | "Track unlimited keywords" | "More than 60" | Mac app, macOS 14+ | App Store | Not listed |
| Ascope (ascope.app) | Pro $29.99/month or $99.99/year | No free tier; 14-day refund | "Unlimited apps and keywords" | "50+" | Mac app, macOS 14+ | App Store | MCP server "included in Pro", runs on your Mac |
| AsoBeast (pricing) | Indie $10/month or $100/year; Ultimate $99/month or $990/year | 7-day trial, no card; free if you self-host (AGPL-3.0) | Indie: 5 apps, 1,000 keyword markets | 175 App Store + 225 Google Play | Web, or self-hosted | iOS, Google Play | REST API and MCP server |
| ASO Suite (asosuite.com) | Unlimited for $99/year | Free up to 20 keywords | Unlimited on paid | Not stated on homepage | Web | App Store | Not listed |
| ASO Pulse (aso-pulse.com) | $0.005 per rank check, top-ups from $10 | $1 bonus | You pick how often to check | "Any globally supported country" | Web + REST API | iOS, Google Play | REST API |
| RespectASO (GitHub) | Free, open source | Yes | Keyword research tool, runs locally | — | Your Mac | App Store | "No API keys, no accounts" |
| AppTweak (pricing) | Essential €79/month or €949/year | 7-day free trial | Essential: 500 keywords, 6 months of history | "100+" | Web | App Store, Google Play | API; "MCP Access" listed |
Prices in USD unless shown; taxes may apply. Copies of each page are saved with the date I checked it. If a vendor changes its price, its own page is the one to trust.
Which tool fits which budget
- $0, and you're happy running it yourself: RespectASO (local, open source) or a self-hosted AsoBeast.
- $0, a handful of keywords: ASO Suite's free tier (up to 20 keywords).
- You check rarely: ASO Pulse's $0.005 per check can cost less than any subscription. For example, 100 keywords checked once a week is about $0.50 a week.
- About $80–$120 a year, iOS only, your Mac stays off: TrackASO ($79.99/year) or ASO Suite ($99/year unlimited).
- About $100–$110 a year, Mac app, unlimited keywords: Ascope ($99.99/year) or Astro ASO ($108/year).
- You also ship on Google Play: AsoBeast or ASO Pulse. TrackASO doesn't cover Android.
- You need download and revenue estimates: AppTweak lists them. TrackASO doesn't.
The best ASO tool for a solo developer on a small budget
For a solo developer, the price matters less than one question: will you actually open the tool every week? Here's what I'd check before paying:
- Does it check ranks without you? A Mac app only updates when the Mac is on. A cloud tool updates overnight.
- Does it cover the countries you ship to? Every country has its own ranking. See tracking rankings by country.
- Does it tell you what to change? Ranks alone don't tell you what to put in your 30-character subtitle or your 100-byte keyword field.
- Can you leave easily? CSV export, monthly billing and a refund window all lower the risk.
TrackASO was built around that list: nightly cloud checks, 175 countries, a weekly plan with 3 searches your app can win now plus a subtitle idea that fits in 30 characters, CSV export, and a refund within 14 days of any payment.
Which ASO tools are easiest to use?
"Easy" depends on what you'd rather not deal with. Mac apps (Astro ASO, Ascope) run on your Mac. Web tools (TrackASO, ASO Suite, AsoBeast) need nothing installed and work from any device. Self-hosted tools (RespectASO, a self-hosted AsoBeast) put you in charge of setup.
With TrackASO, setup looks like this:
- Sign in from any browser. There's no Mac app, and App Store Connect access isn't required.
- Add your app, keywords and countries, or import an Astro ASO CSV export in one step.
- Each new keyword is checked within seconds, then every night after that.
Where TrackASO is weaker
- iOS App Store only. No Google Play (AsoBeast, ASO Pulse and AppTweak list it).
- No download or revenue estimates. TrackASO tracks search rankings, not market data.
- No public REST API. There is a hosted MCP server for Claude, Cursor and Codex. If you need plain HTTP endpoints for your own scripts, AsoBeast, ASO Pulse and AppTweak list a REST API.
- A keyword cap. 400 keywords (100 per app), while Astro ASO, Ascope and paid ASO Suite advertise unlimited. The cap exists because every keyword is checked in the cloud each night.
- No free plan. ASO Suite has a free tier, and RespectASO is free. TrackASO offers a 14-day refund and one free rank check a day.
- Popularity is our own estimate, made from App Store search suggestions. Astro ASO says it extracts popularity data directly from Apple Search Ads. See methodology.
- 90 days of history. AppTweak Essential lists 6 months.
- Top 250 only. Below #250 you see "not yet" rather than a guess.
- New product. TrackASO is new, so there are few public reviews yet. I answer every email myself.
FAQ
What is the cheapest ASO tool for indie iOS developers? Free options come first: RespectASO is free and open source, and ASO Suite tracks up to 20 keywords for free. For automatic tracking in many countries, paid options start around $80–$120 a year. TrackASO is from $9.99/month or $79.99/year, taxes may apply (vendor pages checked Oct 13, 2026).
What is the best low-cost App Store keyword tracking tool? It depends on your setup. For iOS-only tracking while your Mac is off, TrackASO checks every tracked keyword every night in up to 175 countries from $79.99/year. For unlimited keywords on one Mac, Ascope ($99.99/year) and Astro ASO ($108/year) list that. For Google Play too, AsoBeast ($100/year Indie) lists both stores.
Which ASO tool is best for a solo app developer? Pick one that checks ranks without you, covers the countries you ship to, suggests what to change in your subtitle and keyword field, and is easy to cancel. TrackASO was built for that, but it is iOS-only and has no download estimates.
Is there a free plan for TrackASO? No. There is one free rank check a day on the home page without an account, free browser tools at /tools, and every payment can be refunded within 14 days.
Does TrackASO support Google Play? No. TrackASO covers the iOS App Store only.
Does TrackASO have an API? It has a hosted MCP server for AI assistants such as Claude, Cursor and Codex, included in the plan. It does not have a public REST API.