AppStoreSpy vs Sensor Tower (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Sensor Tower grades higher than AppStoreSpy: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Sensor Tower grades higher on value for money, features and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
AppStoreSpy
App market research with install estimates and a Play Store extension
Sensor Tower
Market intelligence on app downloads, revenue, usage and ads
Which one is for you
Pick AppStoreSpy if
- Fits if you're hunting for app niches from install and revenue figures
- Works for sales teams building lists of app developers to contact
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you browse a lot, as plans cap app views a day at 100, 1,000, 10,000 and 50,000
- Pricey if you need the niche finder and keyword analysis, which start at Pro, $79 a month on yearly billing
- Skip it if you research the App Store, as the Chrome extension works on Google Play only
- Watch out: the pricing table lists API credits on every plan, but the API page says it's Business-only
- Not for you if a team shares it, as extra users and CSV export come only with Business, $159 a month billed yearly
Pick Sensor Tower if
- Fits if you size app markets or competitors' downloads and revenue, not just your own keywords
- Works for publishers and investors who want app, ad and gaming data from one vendor
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a price before you talk to anyone, as every plan is quoted on a sales call
- Skip it if you want to know what's free first, as the free account's limits aren't listed and full app insights are paid
- Watch out: advertising, audience, web and gaming data are separate products from the app performance data
- Watch out: the MCP server works only with an active Sensor Tower API subscription
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAAppStoreSpyWeak | 2.4GPASensor TowerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DPremium is $15 a month billed yearly, but it's mainly for the Chrome extension. The niche finder, keyword analysis and rivals' ads need Pro at $79 a month billed yearly ($99 monthly), past this category's dearest tenth ($49). | CNo price is published: the pricing page leads to a demo request, and Sensor Tower prices each customer's plan itself, so the price is only given on a sales call. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan with 1 user, 100 app views a day, Google Play keyword analysis, 1 collection of 5 apps and 100 API credits a month. Enough for a look, but you'll hit the daily cap. | CYou can make a free account, but Sensor Tower doesn't say what it includes, and full App Performance Insights access needs a paid plan. No trial is on record. |
| Features | CMarket Explorer with 30+ filters, collections, niche and keyword finders, a timeline of rivals' listing changes, ad creatives and SDK lookups. It's market research first: there's no keyword rank tracking or listing editor on record. | BDownload, revenue, usage and retention estimates by country and category, keyword rankings and opportunities on both stores, Apple Search Ads analysis and ad intelligence. It covers the job; advertising, audience, web and gaming data are separate products. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Market Explorer has more than 30 filters to learn, and each plan caps how many app records you can open a day. | CNo rating on record. It's a data platform reached through a demo, with a lot of datasets to learn before it answers a store question quickly. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb, plus a Chrome extension that works only on the Google Play website. No integrations are listed, and the API page says the API is Business-only. | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app and no integrations named. There's an API, and an MCP server for AI assistants that needs an active API subscription. |
| Best for | finding app niches from install and revenue data | app market estimates alongside store keyword data |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: AppStoreSpy and Sensor Tower. How we grade
Where they differ
- Sensor Tower also covers rank tracking.
At a glance
| AppStoreSpy | Sensor Tower | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly) | Not published |
| Free plan | 1 user, 100 app views a day, Google Play keyword analysis, 1 collection of 5 apps and 100 API credits a month. | A free account can be created on the site; Sensor Tower says full access to App Performance Insights needs a paid plan and does not list what the free account includes. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | MBR Property Listing Ltd | Sensor Tower |
| Price read from | appstorespy.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
AppStoreSpy
- Every plan caps how many app records you can view a day: 100 on Free, 1,000 on Premium, 10,000 on Pro and 50,000 on Business.
- Premium and Pro are single-user plans; extra users and CSV export come only with Business.
- The Chrome extension works on the Google Play website only, not the App Store.
- The pricing table lists API credits on every plan, but the API page says the API is Business-only; extra credits cost $60 per 25,000.
Sensor Tower
- No prices are published: the pricing page leads to a demo request, and plans are priced per customer.
- The free account's limits are not described; full App Performance Insights access is paid.
- Advertising, audience, web and gaming data are separate products from the app performance data.
- The MCP server needs an active Sensor Tower API subscription.
Key features
AppStoreSpy
- Market Explorer
- Search apps and developers with more than 30 filters, including daily installs, revenue estimates, chart ranks by country, ratings, updates and reviews.
- Collections
- Save niches, apps and developers into collections that keep their metrics up to date on your dashboard.
- Niche and keyword finders
- Analyze a niche from a few keywords, and generate keyword lists ranked by popularity with metrics for each term.
- App Timeline
- Follow changes to competitors' descriptions, icons and screenshots over time, alongside their growth.
- Ad creatives and SDKs
- See competitors' active ads and creatives with their social media pages, and look up which SDKs apps have integrated.
- Chrome extension for Google Play
- Shows installs, revenue and download estimates, release dates and developer totals directly on app cards in the Play Store website.
Sensor Tower
- Download and revenue estimates
- Estimated downloads, revenue, active users and engagement for apps by country, category and platform, built from a consumer panel and app store data.
- Store optimization data
- Keyword rankings, keyword opportunities, store listings and competitor positioning on the App Store and Google Play, with Apple Search Ads analysis.
- App advertising insights
- Share of voice across the larger mobile ad networks, with the top advertisers, publishers and ad creatives by region.
- Usage and retention benchmarks
- Sessions per user, time spent and new, retained and churned users, compared with the apps that perform best in a category.
- Gaming, web and audience data
- Separate products cover game metrics, website traffic, the audiences of apps and the ads they see, and ads across social, video and display channels.
- MCP server
- Ask questions of Sensor Tower's estimates from an AI chatbot. It needs an active API subscription and covers the datasets on that subscription.
Plans
AppStoreSpy
Free$0
1 user, 100 app views a day, keyword analysis on Google Play and tracking for 5 apps.
Premium$15
per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
Mainly for the Chrome extension: daily installs and revenue estimates, 1,000 app views a day and 100 apps in a collection.
Pro$79
per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
1 user and 10,000 app views a day, with niche finder, keyword analysis, competitor ad creatives, removed apps and developer contacts.
Business$159
per month, billed annually ($199 billed monthly)
3 users, 50,000 app views a day, 100 private collections of up to 10,000 apps, CSV export and 100,000 API credits a month.
Sensor Tower
Pricing could not be confirmed. See sensortower.com.
Ways to pay less
AppStoreSpy
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
AppStoreSpy's pricing page gives a 20% discount for paying annually: Pro is $79 a month billed annually ($948 a year) against $99 monthly.
Sensor Tower
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, AppStoreSpy or Sensor Tower?
As of Oct 23, 2026, AppStoreSpy starts at $15 per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly), and Sensor Tower has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, AppStoreSpy or Sensor Tower?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both AppStoreSpy and Sensor Tower have a free plan.
Which platforms do AppStoreSpy and Sensor Tower run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only AppStoreSpy lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.