Astro vs GrowASO (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Astro and GrowASO share a 2.2 GPA, and only Astro has a free plan.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Astro grades higher on ease of use. GrowASO grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Astro
Mac app for App Store keyword research and daily rank tracking
GrowASO
Low-cost AI ASO tool with listing writer, rank tracking and icons
Which one is for you
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
Pick GrowASO if
- Fits if you're an indie developer who wants ASO tools for under $20 a month
- Works for consultants handling many client apps, since paid plans cover unlimited apps
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you rewrite listings often, as the copilot does 2 a month on Premium and 5 on Professional
- Watch out: the free trial is 1 audit, 1 app profile and 10 keywords, and leaves out the keyword database
- Skip it if you want it wired into other tools, as there are no integrations or API on record
- Watch out: refunds are pro-rated within 7 days of purchase, less AI usage and payment fees
- Pricey if you want the work done for you, as done-for-you ASO is a separate service from $99 a month
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAstroFair | 2.2GPAGrowASOFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BPremium is $12 a month billed yearly, $149 a year, inside this category's cheaper quarter, with unlimited tracking and research on unlimited apps. Monthly it's $19, the category's middle. |
| Free plan and 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. | CNo free plan. The trial needs no card but covers just 1 listing audit, 1 app profile and 10 keywords each for tracking and research, and the keyword database needs a paid plan. |
| Features | 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. | CListing drafts, rank tracking on both stores, a 60,000-keyword database, app revenue estimates, audits and AI icons. The basics are there, but the copilot writes 2 listings a month on Premium and 5 on Professional. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo rating on record. It's a web app where you add apps and keywords before tracking tells you anything. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | CWeb only, with no desktop or phone app, and no integrations or API on the listing. |
| Best for | App Store keyword research on a Mac | AI-drafted store listings for indie developers |
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: Astro and GrowASO. How we grade
Price against what you get
Astro starts at $9 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. GrowASO starts at $12 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Astro starts $3 a month lower. Of the other app store optimization tools on the chart, 4 score higher than Astro for less, and 6 score higher than GrowASO 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
- GrowASO also covers image generation.
At a glance
| Astro | GrowASO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $9 per month, billed annually ($108 a year) | $12 per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | The free version tracks up to 10 keywords, without the popularity and difficulty scores. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial with no card: 1 listing audit, 1 app intelligence profile and 10 keywords each for tracking and research |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Made by | 28 bit S.R.L. | GrowASO |
| Price read from | tryastro.app | growaso.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
GrowASO
- AI output is capped each month: 2 copilot listings and 5 icons on Premium, 5 and 10 on Professional.
- The free trial covers only 1 listing audit, 1 app profile and 10 keywords for tracking and research; the keyword database needs a paid plan.
- Refunds are pro-rated within 7 days of purchase, less AI usage and payment processor fees.
- Done-for-you ASO work is a separate service from $99 a month, scoped and priced per project.
Key features
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.
GrowASO
- AI ASO Copilot
- Researches competitors and keywords, then writes a title, subtitle, description and keyword field within store limits, including in languages other than English.
- Keyword rank tracking
- Track any number of keywords in any country on iOS and Android on paid plans, with on-demand refreshes and the top-ranking apps for each keyword.
- Keyword Ideas Database
- Over 60,000 keywords with traffic and difficulty estimates that can be filtered by range, with the top apps and their revenue estimates per keyword.
- App Intelligence profiles
- Look up any app's estimated monthly revenue and downloads, its ratings, screenshots and a summary of its user reviews.
- ASO Audit
- Scores a listing across its main ASO elements and returns a visibility score with a ranked list of fixes.
- AI app icon generator
- Generates store-ready icon variations for conversion testing; generated icons and listings may be used commercially, including for clients.
Plans
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.
GrowASO
Premium$12
per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
2 AI copilot listings and 5 AI icons a month, unlimited audits, rank tracking and keyword research, on unlimited apps. $149 a year.
Professional$16
per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly)
Everything in Premium with 5 AI copilot listings and 10 AI icons a month. $199 a year.
Ways to pay less
Astro
No public discounts listed.
GrowASO
- Annual discount
Save up to 35% with annual billing
The pricing page says annual billing saves 35%, or 12 months for the price of 8: Premium is $149 a year against $19 billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Astro or GrowASO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Astro is cheaper to start with: $9 a month, against $12 a month for GrowASO. Astro starts at $9 per month, billed annually ($108 a year), and GrowASO starts at $12 per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Astro or GrowASO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Astro has a free plan. GrowASO does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Astro and GrowASO run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Astro lists a macOS app and only GrowASO 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.