Astro vs Sonar (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Sonar grades higher than Astro: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Astro grades higher on value for money and ease of use. Sonar grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan.
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
Sonar
ASO keyword data and rank tracking that AI agents can use over MCP
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 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
| 2.2GPAAstroFair | 2.4GPASonarFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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, 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. 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 links to Apple Ads and DeepL, and its MCP server works with Claude, Cursor and VS Code. | 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 research on a 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: Astro and Sonar. 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. Sonar starts at $24.17 a month and scores 2.7.
Sonar scores higher, and starts $15.17 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other app store optimization tools on the chart, 4 score higher than Astro 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
| Astro | Sonar | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9 per month, billed annually ($108 a year) | $24.17 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | The free version tracks up to 10 keywords, without the popularity and difficulty scores. | 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 | 28 bit S.R.L. | Sonar |
| Price read from | tryastro.app | trysonar.app |
| 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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
Astro
No public discounts listed.
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, Astro or Sonar?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Astro is cheaper to start with: $9 a month, against $24.17 a month for Sonar. Astro starts at $9 per month, billed annually ($108 a year), and Sonar starts at $24.17 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Astro or Sonar?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Astro and Sonar have a free plan.
Which platforms do Astro and Sonar run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Astro 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.