Alternatives · Checked
Astro alternatives
Astro is a Mac app that tracks popularity, difficulty and your rank for the keywords you add, for US$108 a year. If you want a tool that also tells you which searches fit your app, or one that covers Google Play too, here are two alternatives, checked 23 October 2026.
macOS 14 and later · Version 1.3.0 · 11.8 MB
2 alternatives
1.
SextantA native Mac app that judges every search around your app and writes your keyword field.
- A Fit from 0 to 100 for every search, from four questions about your app
- The 100-character keyword field, written from the searches you tick
- All 175 storefronts, with unlimited apps and searches
- US$9/month or US$89/year. Founders get 50% off their first year on the annual plan: US$44.50, then US$89/year.
Best for: Indie iOS developers on a Mac who want to know which searches are theirs.
2.Sonar
A web dashboard and an MCP server for the App Store and Google Play.7
- Both stores, in every country
- A hosted MCP server, a CLI and a REST API on every plan
- Indie US$29/month or US$290/year, for 10 apps and 2,500 tracked keywords
- A 7-day free trial, card required
Best for: Apps on Google Play too, teams, and work done from an AI agent.
Astro and Sextant at a glance
Astro's side comes from its own website, read on 23 October 2026. The numbers link to each source.
| Sextant | Astro | |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Price | US$9/month or US$89/year. Founders get 50% off their first year on the annual plan: US$44.50, then US$89/year. | US$108/year, shown as US$9/month billed annually1 |
| Storefronts | All 175 App Store storefronts | 91 of the 175, the ones where Apple Ads is available2 |
| Trying it | No free trial. A full refund within 14 days, no questions asked | A free version with up to 10 keywords, without popularity or difficulty. A refund within 14 days123 |
| How a keyword is judged | A Fit from 0 to 100 from four questions: do searchers want an app like yours, does Apple show apps like yours, do people really type it, and what kind of search is it | By popularity and difficulty. Its docs suggest keywords with popularity above 25 and difficulty below 753 |
| Keyword field | Written for you: 100 characters from the searches you tick, with no word your title or subtitle already has | Not among the features on its site or in its docs12 |
| AI assistants | A local MCP server on your Mac, for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and Codex | An MCP server on your Mac, in beta5 |
Sextant asks whether a search is yours.
Popularity says how often a phrase is typed, and difficulty says how crowded it is. Neither says whether the people typing it want an app like yours. Sextant asks four questions about every search, gives it a Fit from 0 to 100, and files it under one of four verdicts: Title or subtitle, Keyword field, Worth considering or Weak fit.
gift wish list
Title or subtitle
Fit71
- Do searchers want an app like yours?
- 73%
- Does Apple show apps like yours?
- 72%
- Do people really type it?
- Yes, people type it
- What kind of search is it?
- Category
couples app
Weak fit
Fit40
- Do searchers want an app like yours?
- 42%
- Does Apple show apps like yours?
- 19%
- Do people really type it?
- Yes, people type it
- What kind of search is it?
- Category
A real run for Lovit, a wishlist app for couples, on the US storefront, 6 October 2026. The searches come from the App Store. The odds come from Jev, a decision model that answers with probabilities instead of writing text, so it can't make up a keyword.
Your keyword field, written.
Apple gives you 100 characters. Sextant writes them from the searches you tick, topped up from other good ones, with no word already in your title or subtitle, no repeats or plurals, and no filler.
Keyword field · Sextant's plan
98 of 100 characters
Moving to Sextant
1. Download Sextant
Open it on macOS 14 and later and sign in with a code sent to your email, or with Google.
2. Add your app
From App Store Connect, or from its App Store link. App Store Connect adds your live keyword field.
3. Run an analysis
Two to four minutes for a new app. Tick the searches you want, and Sextant writes the keyword field from them.
Every app and every search, by the month or the year.
Sextant
Everything included, for every app you make.
One Mac per subscription
Annual
Regular price US$89/year
Founder price US$44.50/first year
50% off your first year, then US$89/year. Billed once a year.
Founder offer
Applied automatically at checkout on the annual plan.
Monthly
US$9/month
Billed every month.
- Unlimited apps and searchesEvery app you make, as many analyses as you like.
- All 175 storefrontsEach with its own searches, results and competitors.
- Competitor intelligenceFacts, chart momentum and where they rank against you.
- Watch competitorsWhat they change, day by day: versions, names, screenshots, charts and reviews.
- Popularity and difficultyHow often people search each one, from Apple's own App Store search, and how hard it is to rank for.
- Daily ranksYour place in the first 200 results for every search.
- Explore before you buildA niche's searches, scored, from a few words or a competitor's link.
- App Store Connect integrationLive listings, search reports and publishing to your next version. Key kept in your Keychain.
- Your AI, connectedA local MCP server for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and Codex.
- Before and afterWhat every listing change did to search traffic and ranks.
macOS 14 and later · Version 1.3.0 · 11.8 MB
Download for MacBoth plans renew automatically, Monthly at US$9/month and Annual at US$89/year, unless canceled; cancel anytime in the customer portal. Founders pay US$44.50 for their first year of Annual, then US$89/year. A full refund within 14 days, no questions asked.
Or see every ASO tool for Mac we compared.
Sources
Each product's own site and docs, read on . Prices are in US dollars, as each site lists them.
- 1.tryastro.app: features, pricing and FAQ tryastro.app/
- 2.Astro docs: How to add keywords tryastro.app/docs/how-to-add-keywords
- 3.Astro docs: Data Overview (Keywords) tryastro.app/docs/data-overview-keywords
- 4.Astro docs: Temporary Apps tryastro.app/docs/temporary-apps
- 5.Astro docs: MCP Server tryastro.app/docs/mcp
- 6.Astro docs: License Transfer tryastro.app/docs/license-transfer
- 7.trysonar.app: features, pricing and FAQ trysonar.app/
- 8.trysonar.app: About Sonar trysonar.app/about
Astro is made by 28 bit S.R.L. Sextant is made by Moby Solutions and is not affiliated with or endorsed by 28 bit S.R.L. Product names belong to their owners and are used here only to say which product we mean.
Sonar here means the ASO tool at trysonar.app. Sextant is made by Moby Solutions and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sonar. Product names belong to their owners and are used here only to say which product we mean.
Something here out of date? Write to hello@trysextant.app and we'll fix it.
Find your place in App Store search.
Add your app, see who you're up against, and start climbing the searches that fit you.
macOS 14 and later · Version 1.3.0 · 11.8 MB