# ASO Studio vs AppDrift

Source: https://asostudio.app/vs/appdrift

AppDrift has a free tier and about a dozen open ASO tools you can use without an account, with paid plans from $9.99 a month. Every paid plan includes both an MCP server and a REST API, which is unusually generous at that price. ASO Studio is $59 a year, App Store only, and runs as a native Mac app rather than in a browser.

## Side by side

|  | ASO Studio | AppDrift |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Entry price | $59/yr | Free tier, paid from $9.99/mo |
| Annual cost, paid plan | $59 | From $119.88 |
| Pricing model | One flat plan | Free tier plus paid plans |
| Stores | App Store only | App Store and Google Play |
| AI agent access | Built-in MCP server, runs on your Mac | MCP server and REST API on every paid plan |
| Delivery | Native Mac app | Web app |
| Free option | Free App Rating checker, no sign-up | Free tier plus a dozen open ASO tools |

## What AppDrift does better

- A dozen free ASO tools that need no account at all, which is more open than most of this market.
- MCP and a REST API on every paid plan rather than reserved for a top tier, so scripting is not an upsell.
- Google Play alongside the App Store.
- Browser delivery, so it runs on Windows and Linux where ASO Studio cannot.

## When to buy AppDrift instead

If you want to script against an ASO API without buying an enterprise plan, or you are on Android or not on a Mac, AppDrift is the better pick. Its free tools are also a fair way to answer one question without committing to anything. ASO Studio is the better buy if your work is App Store depth on a Mac: every storefront Apple operates rather than a headline set, and your research stored on your own machine.

## Why people move to ASO Studio

- **One flat price, nothing metered**: $59 a year covers unlimited apps and keywords, with no per-keyword tier and no seats.
- **It runs on your Mac**: A native macOS app, so your research lives on your machine and any keys stay in the Keychain.
- **Nothing to set up**: Works out of the box on public App Store data. No API keys, no developer account required.
- **Built for AI agents**: One address connects Claude, Claude Code or anything that speaks MCP to your keywords, rankings and market.
- **Our own models, grounded in App Store data**: Demand, competition and market size are modeled from search results, autocomplete, ratings, reviews and pricing.
- **Support from the person who builds it**: One developer writes the app and answers the email. No ticket tiers, no queue.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does AppDrift have free ASO tools?
Yes, around a dozen of them, usable without an account, alongside a free tier of the product itself. ASO Studio's free App Rating checker scores any App Store app out of 100 against its category leaders, also with no sign-up.

### Which has better API access?
AppDrift, for breadth: an MCP server and a REST API on every paid plan. ASO Studio has an MCP server but no public REST API. The difference is where it runs. AppDrift's is hosted, so your queries go to their servers; ASO Studio's runs inside the Mac app, so an agent reads your workspace without it leaving the machine.

### Is AppDrift cheaper than ASO Studio?
Not over a year on the paid plans. AppDrift starts at $9.99 a month, which is $119.88 a year, against $59 for ASO Studio. AppDrift's free tier costs nothing, which ASO Studio's paid app obviously cannot match.

Prices verified September 5, 2026, from https://appdrift.co/mcp.