AsoBeast vs Sonar (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick AsoBeast: it is second in our ranking of app store optimization tools, and it grades higher too, 2.6 against 2.4.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
AsoBeast grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
AsoBeast
Open-source ASO rank tracker for both app stores, hosted or self-run
Sonar
ASO keyword data and rank tracking that AI agents can use over MCP
Which one is for you
Pick AsoBeast if
- Fits if you track up to 5 apps on both stores and want to pay $10 a month
- Makes sense if you'd rather run your ASO tool on your own server with Docker
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a free hosted plan, as the hosted service is paid after the 7-day trial
- Pricey if you outgrow Indie, since the next plan, Ultimate, jumps to $99 a month
- Watch out: a keyword market is one keyword in one country, so 1,000 markets is 200 phrases in five countries
- Watch out: there's no uptime guarantee or service level agreement
- Watch out: payment goes through Link and shows on card statements as LINK.COM* ASOBEAST
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
| 2.6GPAAsoBeastGood | 2.4GPASonarFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BIndie is $10 a month ($100 a year) for 5 apps and 1,000 keyword markets, at this category's cheaper quarter, with no per-seat charge. Self-hosting is free but needs your own server, and the next plan, Ultimate, is $99. | 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 | CNo free hosted plan. The 7-day trial needs no card and runs with Indie limits and 25 AI calls. The AGPL code is free to self-host with every feature, if you run it with Docker. | 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 | BDaily ranks on both stores to depth 200 in every storefront, competitor and listing-change alerts, a listing audit, keyword research, an Action Center of ranked tasks and AI metadata drafts. It covers the whole job. | 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 | CNo rating on record. Hosted, you add apps, keywords and countries before it says much; self-hosting needs Docker, about 2.5 GB of memory and 5 GB of disk. | 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 | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. A REST API and an MCP server come with both plans, and alerts go to Slack, Discord, email or a webhook. | 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 | rank tracking on both stores, hosted or self-run | 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: AsoBeast and Sonar. How we grade
Price against what you get
AsoBeast starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Sonar starts at $24.17 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and AsoBeast starts $14.17 a month lower. Of the other app store optimization tools on the chart, none scores higher than AsoBeast 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
- AsoBeast is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
At a glance
| AsoBeast | Sonar | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month for 5 apps and 1,000 keyword markets, billed monthly | $24.17 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Self-hosting is free with every feature, unlimited apps and keyword markets, and no rate limits; you run it with Docker. There is no free hosted plan after the trial. | 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 | 7-day free trial of the hosted service with Indie limits and 25 AI calls, no card needed | 7-day free trial of the paid plans; a card is required and the plan starts automatically |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Adex77 | Sonar |
| Price read from | asobeast.com | trysonar.app |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
AsoBeast
- The hosted service has no free plan after the 7-day trial; the free route is self-hosting with Docker, about 2.5 GB of memory and 5 GB of disk.
- A keyword market is one keyword in one country, so 1,000 markets is 200 phrases tracked in five countries.
- Plans are sold through Link, a Stripe affiliate, which appears on card statements as LINK.COM* ASOBEAST.
- Uptime is best effort with no service level agreement.
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
AsoBeast
- Daily rank tracking on both stores
- Each keyword is checked daily to position 200 in every country added, across 175 App Store and 225 Google Play storefronts, with a year of history.
- Competitor and listing-change alerts
- Finds competitors from search results, flags the day a rival changes its title, icon or version, and shows keyword gaps. Alerts go by email, Slack, Discord or webhook.
- Action Center
- 15 rules watch the ranking history and queue tasks by estimated impact, such as a winnable keyword the listing never mentions.
- Listing audit and keyword research
- Scores a listing out of 100 with fixes ranked by points gained, and suggests keywords from search, competitors, similar apps, seasonality and reviews.
- MCP server and REST API
- An MCP server with 27 read tools and 5 opt-in write tools works with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and others, and the REST API is documented with OpenAPI.
- AI assist and exports
- AI drafts metadata and analyzes icons and screenshot captions within a monthly call allowance; any table exports to CSV, or the workspace to JSON.
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
AsoBeast
Self-hosted$0
The AGPL-3.0 code on your own server with Docker: every feature, unlimited apps and keywords, no rate limits. You host and back it up yourself.
Indie$10
per month for 5 apps and 1,000 keyword markets, billed monthly
Hosted: 10 competitors per app, all countries, 200 AI calls a month, the REST API and MCP server. $100 a year if billed yearly.
Ultimate$99
per month for 50 apps and 10,000 keyword markets, billed monthly
Hosted: 25 competitors per app, 2,000 AI calls a month and higher API rate limits. $990 a year if billed yearly.
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
AsoBeast
- Annual discount
Save 17% with yearly billing
AsoBeast's pricing page lists Indie at $100 a year instead of $120 and Ultimate at $990 instead of $1,188 when paid yearly.
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, AsoBeast or Sonar?
As of Oct 23, 2026, AsoBeast is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $24.17 a month for Sonar. AsoBeast starts at $10 per month for 5 apps and 1,000 keyword markets, billed monthly, and Sonar starts at $24.17 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, AsoBeast or Sonar?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both AsoBeast and Sonar have a free plan.
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.