Comparison · Checked
Sextant vs Sonar
Sonar is a web dashboard and an MCP server for the App Store and Google Play, priced by the month or the year with limits on apps and keywords. Sextant is a native Mac app for the iOS App Store that judges every search around your app for fit and writes your keyword field, for one price by the month or the year, with no limit on apps or searches.
macOS 14 and later · Version 1.3.0 · 11.8 MB
The short version
Pick Sextant if
- You build for the iOS App Store and want a native Mac app.
- You want every search judged for your app, not only by popularity and difficulty.
- You want the keyword field written from the searches you can win.
- You want no limit on apps or searches for US$89 a year. Sonar's Indie plan is US$290 a year for 10 apps.
Pick Sonar if
- Your apps are on Google Play too.
- You work from an AI agent today, through its hosted MCP server, CLI or API.
- You run a studio or an agency and need seats and client reports.
- You want competitors' ads, review replies and revenue estimates in the same tool.
Sextant and Sonar, side by side
Sonar's side comes from its own website, read on 23 October 2026. The numbers link to each source.
| Sextant | Sonar | |
|---|---|---|
| The basics | ||
| Runs on | A native Mac app, built in SwiftUI, for macOS 14 and later | A web dashboard, and AI agents through its MCP server, CLI and REST API12 |
| Stores | The iOS App Store | The App Store and Google Play1 |
| Storefronts | All 175 App Store storefronts | All countries, on every plan1 |
| 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. | Indie US$29/month or US$290/year. Agency US$149/month or US$1,490/year1 |
| Limits | Unlimited apps and searches, for one Mac | Indie: 10 apps, 2,500 tracked keywords, 1 seat. Agency: 50 apps, 10,000 keywords, 5 seats1 |
| Trying it | No free trial. A full refund within 14 days, no questions asked | A 7-day free trial, card required, and a free mode for agents with daily limits1 |
| Keywords | ||
| Where keywords come from | Mined from competitor listings and App Store autocomplete | AI suggestions checked against live store autocomplete, and the keywords competitors rank for1 |
| 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, with a Gap column: popularity minus difficulty1 |
| Popularity | Estimated from Apple's own App Store search, on Apple's 5 to 100 scale | Apple's own Search Popularity where Apple reports it, and Sonar's estimate below Apple's floor of 51 |
| Difficulty | How hard it is to rank against the apps already there, and your chance of reaching the top results | Sonar's own score, on iOS from the rating counts of the top ten apps1 |
| Keyword field | Written for you: 100 characters from the searches you tick, with no word your title or subtitle already has | Drafted with its Listing Manager or by your agent, for you to review1 |
| Tracking | ||
| Ranks | Daily, in the first 200 results, for every judged search and any you add, each kept until you remove it | Daily, for every tracked keyword1 |
| Competitors | Confirmed from what Apple shows for your searches, with their ranks, ratings and chart momentum. For any app, it checks up to 80 searches around it and lists the ones where it is in the first 200 | Unlimited competitor tracking, with keyword gap analysis1 |
| Before you have an app | Explore scores a niche's searches from a few words, an idea or a competitor's App Store link | Revenue and download estimates for any app, to size a niche1 |
| AI agents | A local MCP server on your Mac, for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and Codex | A hosted MCP server with 63 tools, a CLI and a REST API, on every plan1 |
| Also included | A before and after for every listing change, from App Store Connect | Competitors' ads, AI review replies, Screenshot Studio, top charts and email alerts1 |
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
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 read our guide to the best ASO tools for Mac.
Sources
Each product's own site and docs, read on . Prices are in US dollars, as each site lists them.
- 1.trysonar.app: features, pricing and FAQ trysonar.app/
- 2.trysonar.app: About Sonar trysonar.app/about
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