Qimai vs Sensor Tower (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Qimai grades higher than Sensor Tower: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Qimai 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.
Sensor Tower
Market intelligence on app downloads, revenue, usage and ads
Free plan
Which one is for you
Pick Qimai if
- Fits if you're launching or promoting an app in mainland China and read Chinese
- Works for teams that need rankings from Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO and other Chinese Android stores
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't read Chinese, as the whole site is in Chinese only
- Watch out: VIP, SVIP and Enterprise prices show only after you sign in, so you can't compare costs first
- Tight if several people share one login, since each account works on 2 to 5 devices at once and blocks the rest
- Tight if you track more than 10 apps or 100 keywords per app on the free edition
Pick Sensor Tower if
- Fits if you size app markets or competitors' downloads and revenue, not just your own keywords
- Works for publishers and investors who want app, ad and gaming data from one vendor
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a price before you talk to anyone, as every plan is quoted on a sales call
- Skip it if you want to know what's free first, as the free account's limits aren't listed and full app insights are paid
- Watch out: advertising, audience, web and gaming data are separate products from the app performance data
- Watch out: the MCP server works only with an active Sensor Tower API subscription
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAQimaiGood | 2.4GPASensor TowerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published to the public. The VIP, SVIP and Enterprise memberships show their prices only to signed-in users, so there's nothing to set against this category's $19 middle. | CNo price is published: the pricing page leads to a demo request, and Sensor Tower prices each customer's plan itself, so the price is only given on a sales call. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free edition with 10 apps, 100 keywords per app (1,000 in all) and 10 competitors. One person watching a few apps could stay on it, though the list of what's free only shows after you sign in. | CYou can make a free account, but Sensor Tower doesn't say what it includes, and full App Performance Insights access needs a paid plan. No trial is on record. |
| Features | BLive App Store charts and change alerts, keyword expansion and a keyword index, download and revenue estimates, competitor comparison, Apple Ads tools, and rankings from Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO and four more Chinese Android stores. It covers the whole job. | BDownload, revenue, usage and retention estimates by country and category, keyword rankings and opportunities on both stores, Apple Search Ads analysis and ad intelligence. It covers the job; advertising, audience, web and gaming data are separate products. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. The site is in Chinese only, sign-in is by password or a WeChat QR code, and each account works on 2 to 5 devices at once depending on the membership. | CNo rating on record. It's a data platform reached through a demo, with a lot of datasets to learn before it answers a store question quickly. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Apple Ads tied in through the same company's AppSA campaign tool. No desktop app is on record, and Apple Ads is the only integration listed. | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app and no integrations named. There's an API, and an MCP server for AI assistants that needs an active API subscription. |
| Best for | data on China's App Store and Android stores | app market estimates alongside store keyword data |
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: Qimai and Sensor Tower. How we grade
Where they differ
In commonFree planWebKeyword researchRank trackingApp store optimization
At a glance
| Qimai | Sensor Tower | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | A free edition sits beside the VIP, SVIP and Enterprise memberships: 10 apps, 100 keywords per app (1,000 in all) and 10 competitors. The comparison shows only after signing in. | A free account can be created on the site; Sensor Tower says full access to App Performance Insights needs a paid plan and does not list what the free account includes. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Beijing Qimai Technology Co., Ltd. | Sensor Tower |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Qimai
- The site is in Chinese only, with sign-in by password or a WeChat QR code.
- Prices for the VIP, SVIP and Enterprise memberships are shown only to signed-in users, so none are listed here.
- Each account can be signed in on 2 to 5 devices at once depending on the membership, and the site blocks logins beyond that.
Sensor Tower
- No prices are published: the pricing page leads to a demo request, and plans are priced per customer.
- The free account's limits are not described; full App Performance Insights access is paid.
- Advertising, audience, web and gaming data are separate products from the app performance data.
- The MCP server needs an active Sensor Tower API subscription.
Key features
Qimai
- Live charts and store monitoring
- Real-time App Store charts, trending searches, featured picks, and alerts when apps are listed, removed, updated or dropped from charts and keywords.
- Keyword tools
- A keyword optimization helper, keyword expansion, search suggestion lookups and a keyword index that can compare terms side by side.
- Download and revenue estimates
- Download and revenue charts and estimates for apps, which Qimai says covers more than 13 million apps and 20 million keywords.
- Competitor comparison
- Follow apps and their keywords and add competitors to compare; how many depends on the membership level.
- Chinese Android stores
- Rankings from eight Android stores in China, including Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO, Tencent's store, Baidu and 360.
- Apple Ads tools
- Apple Ads bid monitoring on Qimai, AppSA for running Apple Ads campaigns yourself, and a managed campaign service.
Sensor Tower
- Download and revenue estimates
- Estimated downloads, revenue, active users and engagement for apps by country, category and platform, built from a consumer panel and app store data.
- Store optimization data
- Keyword rankings, keyword opportunities, store listings and competitor positioning on the App Store and Google Play, with Apple Search Ads analysis.
- App advertising insights
- Share of voice across the larger mobile ad networks, with the top advertisers, publishers and ad creatives by region.
- Usage and retention benchmarks
- Sessions per user, time spent and new, retained and churned users, compared with the apps that perform best in a category.
- Gaming, web and audience data
- Separate products cover game metrics, website traffic, the audiences of apps and the ads they see, and ads across social, video and display channels.
- MCP server
- Ask questions of Sensor Tower's estimates from an AI chatbot. It needs an active API subscription and covers the datasets on that subscription.
Plans
Qimai
Pricing could not be confirmed. See qimai.cn.
Sensor Tower
Pricing could not be confirmed. See sensortower.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Qimai or Sensor Tower?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Qimai has no price we could confirm, and Sensor Tower has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Qimai or Sensor Tower?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Qimai and Sensor Tower have a free plan.
Which platforms do Qimai and Sensor Tower run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Qimai lists iOS and Android apps. Both list 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.