Ascope vs Astro (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Astro grades higher than Ascope: 2.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Astro grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Ascope
Mac app that tracks App Store keyword ranks daily in 50+ countries
Astro
Mac app for App Store keyword research and daily rank tracking
Which one is for you
Pick Ascope if
- Fits if you build iPhone or Mac apps and want your ranking data stored on your own Mac
- Works for developers tracking the same keyword across several countries side by side
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on Windows or need Google Play, as it's a Mac app for the App Store only
- Not for you if you want to try before paying, as there's no free plan or trial, only a 14-day refund
- Watch out: ranks update once a day, and only while the app is running on your Mac
- Tight if you work on two Macs or an older one, since a license runs on one Mac at a time and needs macOS 14 or later
Pick Astro if
- Fits if you're an indie iOS or Mac developer doing your own keyword work
- Works for people tracking thousands of App Store keywords who want one flat yearly price
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your app is on Google Play too, as the pages read only cover Apple's App Store
- Not for you if you work on Windows or in a browser, as it runs only on Macs with macOS 14 or later
- Watch out: ranks only update while the app is open on your Mac, and a license covers one Mac at a time
- Tight if you stay free, since the free version tracks 10 keywords without popularity or difficulty
- Watch out: billing is yearly only at $108, and suggestions come from Astro users' searches, so niche apps may get few
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAAscopeWeak | 2.2GPAAstroFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPro is $89.99 a year, $7.50 a month ($9.99 month to month), inside this category's cheaper quarter, for unlimited apps and keywords. It's one plan with everything in it. | B$108 a year, about $9 a month, for unlimited apps and keywords, inside this category's cheaper quarter, which runs to $10. Billing is annual only, and the license works on one Mac at a time. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no free plan and no trial. A 14-day money-back guarantee is the only safety net, and that isn't a trial. | CThe free version tracks up to 10 keywords with daily updates, but leaves out the popularity and difficulty scores, which is most of the point. No trial is on record. |
| Features | CDaily ranks to the top 200 in 50+ countries, Apple's popularity scores, difficulty, keyword ideas, competitors from the You Might Also Like row and a local MCP server. It covers App Store keyword work only; Google Play isn't tracked. | CPopularity and difficulty scores, daily rank tracking, keyword suggestions, competitors' keywords, ratings across every country's store and a local MCP server. It does App Store keyword work fully, but that's a smaller job, and Google Play isn't mentioned. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record. It's a Mac app you install, paste the license key into and add your apps and keywords to, with no server to run. | BNo rating on record. It's a Mac app you install, then you search a keyword or paste an App Store link and add your app, with no store account to connect. |
| Platforms and integrations | DMac only, on macOS 14 or later, one Mac per license. It reads Apple Search Ads popularity, and its MCP server works with Claude, Cursor, Codex and Gemini CLI. | DMac only, on macOS 14 or later, one Mac per license. It links to Apple Ads and DeepL, and its MCP server works with Claude, Cursor and VS Code. |
| Best for | App Store keyword ranks kept on your Mac | App Store keyword research on a Mac |
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: Ascope and Astro. How we grade
Price against what you get
Ascope starts at $7.50 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Astro starts at $9 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Ascope starts $1.50 a month lower. Of the other app store optimization tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Ascope for less, and 4 score higher than Astro for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| Ascope | Astro | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $7.50 per month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly) | $9 per month, billed annually ($108 a year) |
| Free plan | None | The free version tracks up to 10 keywords, without the popularity and difficulty scores. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Made by | TURKA Yazılım ve Danışmanlık Ticaret Ltd. Şti. | 28 bit S.R.L. |
| Price read from | ascope.app | tryastro.app |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Ascope
- It runs only on Macs with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, and one license is active on one Mac at a time.
- It covers the App Store only (iPhone and Mac apps); Google Play is not tracked.
- There is no free plan or free trial; instead there is a 14-day money-back guarantee.
- Rankings update once a day only while the app is running.
Astro
- It runs only on Macs with macOS 14 or later, and each license is active on one Mac at a time.
- It covers Apple's App Store (iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS apps); the pages read make no mention of Google Play.
- Billing is annual only, at $108 a year; refunds can be requested within 14 days.
- Rankings update only while the app is open on the Mac.
Key features
Ascope
- Daily rank tracking
- Each keyword is checked once a day in the top 200 App Store results, in any of 50+ countries, with the change since yesterday and full history.
- Apple popularity scores
- Shows the 5 to 100 popularity score Apple reports in Apple Search Ads, refreshed at most every five days, with marked estimates where Apple has none.
- Difficulty and keyword ideas
- A 0 to 100 difficulty score from the ratings of apps already ranking, and related searches with popularity and difficulty filled in.
- Competitors from Apple's own picks
- Pulls the You Might Also Like row from the App Store, with download and revenue estimates for iPhone apps, and tracks any of them in one click.
- Local MCP server
- A server on the Mac lets Cursor, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex or Gemini CLI read rankings, research terms and change what is tracked.
Astro
- Popularity and difficulty scores
- Popularity comes from Apple Ads; difficulty is Astro's own estimate of how hard it is to reach the top 10. Both need the paid license.
- Daily keyword rank tracking
- Keywords are re-checked every 24 hours while the app is running, with position changes and a day-by-day ranking chart.
- Keyword suggestions
- Lists keywords an app ranks or has ranked for, drawn from searches made by all Astro users, so new or niche apps may get few suggestions.
- Competitor keywords
- Paste a competitor's App Store link to see the keywords it ranks for in a chosen store, sorted by popularity and difficulty.
- Ratings across stores
- A ratings view sums ratings from every country's App Store, with daily changes, per-store counts and a chart over time.
- MCP server (beta)
- A local MCP server, switched on in Settings, lets AI assistants such as Claude, Cursor and VS Code Copilot query Astro's data.
Plans
Ascope
Pro$7.50
per month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly)
$89.99 a year. Unlimited apps and keywords, daily ranks in 50+ countries, popularity and difficulty, suggestions and the MCP server.
Astro
Free version$0
Up to 10 keywords with daily rank updates; popularity and difficulty scores are left out.
Single Mac License$9
per month, billed annually ($108 a year)
Unlimited apps and keywords, popularity and difficulty data, suggestions, competitor keywords, ratings analysis and translations.
Ways to pay less
Ascope
- Annual discount
Save 25% with yearly billing
Ascope's pricing page lists Pro at $89.99 a year, or $7.50 a month, against $9.99 billed month to month.
Astro
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ascope or Astro?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Ascope is cheaper to start with: $7.50 a month, against $9 a month for Astro. Ascope starts at $7.50 per month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly), and Astro starts at $9 per month, billed annually ($108 a year).
Which has a free plan, Ascope or Astro?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Astro has a free plan. Ascope does not.
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.