# App Store Connect review (2026): is it worth $99 a year? > Apple's tools to publish, test and measure apps on the App Store Checked Oct 23, 2026 ยท graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA. App Store Connect is Apple's portal for developers who sell apps on the App Store. It is where the product page is written, with the app's name, subtitle, keywords, screenshots and previews in up to 40 languages, and where builds are submitted to App Review and released. For store optimization it adds A/B tests of the product page, up to 70 custom product pages, App Analytics on impressions, sources and conversion, and replies to reviews. It comes with the Apple Developer Program membership. - **Category:** App Store Optimization (ASO) - **Made by:** Apple - **Website:** https://developer.apple.com/app-store-connect/ - **Runs on:** Web, iOS - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you need keyword research or rank tracking, as none is built in. - **Facts last checked:** Oct 23, 2026 ## Pricing As of Oct 23, 2026, App Store Connect is a paid product, starting at $99 per membership year for the Apple Developer Program. - **Pricing model:** Paid - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Apple Developer Program | $99 per membership year | Includes App Store Connect: product pages, TestFlight, App Review submission, App Analytics, sales reports and the App Store Connect API. | Read from https://developer.apple.com/programs/whats-included/ on Oct 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with App Store Connect before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Fee waiver for nonprofits, schools and government** (Nonprofit): Eligible nonprofits, accredited educational institutions and government entities can ask Apple to waive the Apple Developer Program membership fee. Source: https://developer.apple.com/help/account/membership/fee-waivers/ ## Key features - **Product page:** Enter the app name, subtitle, keywords and description in up to 40 languages, with up to 10 screenshots and three app previews for each language. - **Product page optimization:** Test up to three alternate versions of the app icon, screenshots and previews against the original, then show the winner to everyone. - **Custom product pages:** Publish up to 70 extra versions of the product page, each with its own URL, screenshots and promotional text, and assign keywords so they can appear in search. - **App Analytics:** Downloads by source such as App Store Search and Browse, impressions and conversion rate, retention, cohorts and peer group benchmarks. - **Reviews, events and promo codes:** Reply to user reviews on the product page, publish In-App Events that show on the App Store, and hand out promo codes for free downloads. - **TestFlight and releases:** Invite up to 10,000 testers by email or public link, submit builds to App Review, and release manually, on a date or in phases over seven days. ## Good for - Developers publishing apps on the App Store - Testing which icon or screenshots convert store visitors best - Matching custom product pages to ad campaigns and keywords ## Worth knowing - Access comes with the Apple Developer Program at 99 USD per membership year; App Store Connect has no separate price. - Apple takes a 30% commission on digital sales (15% in the Small Business Program and for qualifying subscriptions), with different terms in some countries. - Product page tests are shown only to App Store visitors on iOS and iPadOS 15 or later, and usage data counts only users who share diagnostics. - It covers Apple's App Store only; Google Play listings are run in Google Play Console. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Oct 23, 2026. App Store Connect is Apple's portal where your App Store page is written and released, with product page A/B tests, up to 70 custom product pages and App Analytics. It comes with the Apple Developer Program at $99 a year, and Apple takes 30% of digital sales (15% for small businesses). It has no keyword research, rank tracking or rival data, and it covers the App Store only. - **Value for money: B.** $99 a membership year for the Apple Developer Program, about $8.25 a month, inside this category's cheaper quarter ($10). Apple also takes 30% of digital sales, or 15% in the Small Business Program and for qualifying subscriptions. - **Free plan and trial: F.** Nothing free: access needs the $99 membership. Only eligible nonprofits, schools and government bodies can ask for the fee to be waived. - **Features: C.** Product pages in 40 languages, A/B tests of icon, screenshots and previews, 70 custom product pages, App Analytics and review replies. It runs your own Apple listing fully, but there's no keyword research, rank tracking or rival data. - **Ease of use: C.** No rating on record. Enrolment is verified by Apple, and product page tests, custom pages and analytics each take setup and learning. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** The web portal and an iPhone app, with the App Store Connect API and links to Xcode, TestFlight, Apple Ads and Game Center. It manages the App Store only. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Apple's own pages on 23 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among app store optimization tools - App Store Connect's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 8 of the 42 other app store optimization tools we grade, and level with 9. - It stands best on value for money (B, above 31 of 42) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $8.25 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $19 for the category: 3 of the 33 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/app-store-optimization ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace App Store Connect you would be making keyword rankings and popularity scores from both app stores, gathered every day. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 25 of the 42 other app store optimization tools grade higher. It costs $99 a year. - You could make: Reports: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: Keyword rankings and popularity scores from both app stores, gathered every day. - You could not: Splitting visitors between versions and telling you which won. - You could not: A real app for iOS. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Xcode, TestFlight and Apple Ads among them, and has an API. - You could not: Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Xcode, TestFlight, Apple Ads, Game Center **Tags:** App store optimization, A/B testing, Reports, Public API ## Alternatives - [Google Play Console](https://toolgpa.com/tools/google-play-console): Google's console to publish, test and grow Android apps on Google Play. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/app-store-connect-vs-google-play-console) - [AppTweak](https://toolgpa.com/tools/apptweak): App store optimization and Apple Ads platform for apps and games. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/app-store-connect-vs-apptweak) - [Sensor Tower](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sensor-tower): Market intelligence on app downloads, revenue, usage and ads. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/app-store-connect-vs-sensor-tower) - [Appfigures](https://toolgpa.com/tools/appfigures): App analytics, review replies and ASO keyword tracking in one account. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/app-store-connect-vs-appfigures) - [App Radar](https://toolgpa.com/tools/app-radar): ASO platform with keyword tracking and a store listing editor. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/app-radar-vs-app-store-connect) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 23, 2026: - https://developer.apple.com/programs/whats-included/ - https://developer.apple.com/app-store-connect/ - https://developer.apple.com/app-store/product-page-optimization/ - https://developer.apple.com/app-store/custom-product-pages/ - https://developer.apple.com/app-store-connect/analytics/ - https://developer.apple.com/help/account/membership/fee-waivers/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/app-store-connect Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).