Ascope vs Sonar (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Sonar grades higher than Ascope: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ascope grades higher on value for money and ease of use. Sonar grades higher on the free plan, features 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
Sonar
ASO keyword data and rank tracking that AI agents can use over MCP
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 Sonar if
- Fits if you run your ASO through an AI coding agent such as Claude Code or Codex
- Works for small studios tracking up to 10 apps on both stores
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: the 7-day trial asks for a card and the plan starts on its own when it ends
- Tight if you stay free, as rank tracking and the dashboard need a paid plan
- Pricey if a team shares it, as more seats, white-label reports and priority refresh start at Agency, $149 a month
- Watch out: API credits outside a plan are $10 per 1,000, and full keyword research uses 10 credits a call
- Watch out: refunds are decided case by case under Sonar's terms
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAAscopeWeak | 2.4GPASonarFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CIndie is $24.17 a month billed yearly ($29 monthly) for 10 apps, 1 seat and 2,500 keywords, between this category's cheaper quarter ($10) and dearer quarter ($49). Credits outside a plan are $10 per 1,000. |
| 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. | CWith no account, 7 API and MCP endpoints work at 30 requests a day per IP and 5 keywords a day for metrics. Tracking and the dashboard need a plan, and the 7-day trial takes a card. |
| 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. | BKeyword research with Apple's own Search Popularity, daily rank tracking in all countries, rival keyword gaps, ad spy, AI review replies, a listing manager and a screenshot studio. It covers the whole job. |
| 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. | CNo rating on record. Through an agent you add the MCP server or CLI first; in the dashboard you still set up apps, keywords and rivals. |
| 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. | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. A hosted MCP server with 63 tools, a CLI and a REST API reach Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Claude and ChatGPT, and it links to App Store Connect. |
| Best for | App Store keyword ranks kept on your Mac | ASO data for AI coding agents over MCP |
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 Sonar. 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. Sonar starts at $24.17 a month and scores 2.7.
Sonar scores higher, and starts $16.67 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other app store optimization tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Ascope for less, and none scores higher than Sonar 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 | Sonar | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $7.50 per month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly) | $24.17 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | No account needed: 7 API and MCP endpoints, such as keyword suggestions and top charts, at 30 requests a day per IP and 5 keywords a day for keyword metrics. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of the paid plans; a card is required and the plan starts automatically |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Made by | TURKA Yazılım ve Danışmanlık Ticaret Ltd. Şti. | Sonar |
| Price read from | ascope.app | trysonar.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.
Sonar
- Rank tracking and the dashboard need a paid plan; the 7-day trial asks for a card and the plan starts when it ends.
- Indie has 1 seat and 2,500 keywords; team seats, white-label reports and priority refresh need Agency at $149 a month.
- API credits outside a plan cost $10 per 1,000, and full keyword research uses 10 credits a call.
- Refunds are decided case by case under Sonar's terms.
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.
Sonar
- Keyword research
- Uses Apple's own Search Popularity where Apple reports it and Sonar's estimates elsewhere, with difficulty scores and AI suggestions checked against store autocomplete.
- Daily rank tracking
- Positions for every tracked keyword on both stores, updated daily in all countries, with unlimited history and App Store Connect downloads alongside.
- MCP server, CLI and API
- 63 tools that Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP clients can call; an agent can draft listings, but publishing stays with you.
- Competitor gaps and Ad Spy
- See every keyword a competitor ranks for and the ones you miss, plus the ads competitors run on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
- Review insights and responder
- AI summaries of praise and complaints, and AI-drafted replies to App Store reviews in the reviewer's language, with an optional auto mode.
- Listing Manager and Screenshot Studio
- Draft titles, subtitles and keyword fields with live data, design and localize screenshots in the browser, and export them for App Store Connect.
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.
Sonar
Free tier$0
7 stateless API and MCP endpoints with daily limits per IP, plus free browser tools for ASO scores and keyword ideas.
API Credits$10
one-time top-up for 1,000 credits, used as you go
Prepaid credits that never expire: most calls cost 1 credit, full keyword research 10. Packs up to $100 for 15,000 credits.
Indie$24.17
per month for 10 apps, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)
1 seat, 2,500 tracked keywords, unlimited competitors, all countries, 300 AI review replies a month and 1,000 API requests a day.
Agency$149
per month for 50 apps, billed monthly ($1,490 a year billed annually)
5 seats, 10,000 keywords, 5,000 API requests a day, portfolio rollup, white-label client reports and priority rank refresh.
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.
Sonar
- Annual discount
Save 17% with annual billing
Sonar's pricing lists annual billing at 17% off: Indie is $290 a year instead of $29 a month, and Agency $1,490 a year instead of $149.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ascope or Sonar?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Ascope is cheaper to start with: $7.50 a month, against $24.17 a month for Sonar. Ascope starts at $7.50 per month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly), and Sonar starts at $24.17 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Ascope or Sonar?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Sonar has a free plan. Ascope does not.
Which platforms do Ascope and Sonar run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Ascope lists a macOS app and only Sonar lists 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.