Best Free ASO Tools in 2026: A Practical Guide

Most indie developers do zero ASO. Not because they think it is unimportant, but because they assume it requires expensive tools they cannot justify. Sensor Tower, AppTweak, data.ai -- the tools that dominate search results for "ASO tools" all cost $69 to $500 per month. When your app makes $300 per month, spending $69 on a keyword tracker is not an investment. It is a bad trade.

Here is the thing those articles never mention: free tools can close 70-80% of the ASO gap between an unoptimized listing and a professionally optimized one. The last 20% requires paid tooling, but that last 20% only matters when you have enough traffic to make marginal improvements count. For an app getting 500 downloads per month, the difference between a good title and a perfect title is maybe 50 extra downloads. For an app getting 50,000 downloads per month, it is 5,000.

This guide covers every free ASO tool worth your time in 2026. Not "freemium tools that are useless without the paid tier," but genuinely useful tools you can use at zero cost to meaningfully improve your store listing. If you also want to compare paid options side by side, see our best ASO tools comparison for indie developers.

Category 1: Free Keyword Research Tools

Keyword research is the single highest-ROI ASO activity for most indie apps. Getting the right terms into your title, subtitle, and keyword field (iOS) or description (Android) determines whether people find your app when they search. Here are the tools that help you do this for free.

App Store Search Ads Keyword Tool

Apple's Search Ads platform includes a keyword suggestion tool that provides relative search popularity scores on a 1-100 scale. The crucial detail: you do not need to spend a single dollar on ads to access it. You just need a Search Ads account, which is free to create.

How to use it: Go to searchads.apple.com and create an account using your Apple Developer credentials. Navigate to the campaign creation flow, and in the keyword targeting section, you will find a keyword suggestion tool. Type any term and Apple will show you related keywords with their relative popularity score.

A score of 50-60 indicates moderate search volume. Scores above 70 are high-volume terms that will also be highly competitive. Scores below 30 are low-volume but potentially easier to rank for. The sweet spot for indie apps is usually the 40-60 range: enough search volume to matter, but not so much that you are competing against every major app in your category.

Limitations: The scores are relative, not absolute. A score of 50 does not mean a specific number of searches. The tool also does not show you how many apps are targeting each keyword, so you get volume signals without competition signals. Still, it is the closest thing to free keyword volume data for iOS, and you should use it before finalizing any keyword changes.

Google Autocomplete and Play Store Suggestions

Both Google Search and the Play Store search bar provide autocomplete suggestions based on real user queries. This is not sophisticated, but it is real data from real users, and it is available right now on your phone.

The systematic probing technique: Start with your three to five core category terms. Type each one into the App Store or Play Store search bar, then systematically add each letter of the alphabet after it. "Meditation a," "meditation b," "meditation c," and so on. Document every suggestion that is relevant to your app.

Then try variations: "best meditation," "meditation for," "free meditation," "meditation app for." Each variation reveals a different cluster of user intent. Someone searching "meditation for sleep" has a very different need than someone searching "meditation timer."

Recording your results: Create a simple spreadsheet with columns for keyword, source (which autocomplete query surfaced it), estimated relevance to your app (high/medium/low), and whether you are currently using it in your metadata. After 30 minutes of systematic probing, you will typically have 40-80 keyword candidates. Filter this down to your top 15-20 based on relevance.

Limitations: No volume data. You know people search for these terms, but not how many. Results are somewhat personalized based on your search history and location. But for discovering keyword opportunities you had not considered, autocomplete probing is genuinely effective and completely free.

Keyword Tool io Free Tier

Keyword Tool io automates the autocomplete probing process described above. It pulls suggestions from the App Store and Play Store, then presents them in a structured list. The free tier shows you the keyword suggestions but not search volume, CPC, or competition data.

How to use the free tier effectively: Enter your primary keyword and select "App Store" or "Google Play" as the source. The tool generates hundreds of long-tail suggestions organized alphabetically. Export the list, then manually filter for terms relevant to your app.

The value is in discovering long-tail variations you might not think of yourself. "Budget tracker" is an obvious keyword for a finance app. "Budget tracker for couples" or "budget tracker with recurring bills" are more specific terms that the tool might surface and that could have lower competition.

What you lose without the paid tier: Search volume estimates, competition data, and trend information. The paid version starts at $69 per month, which pushes it firmly into paid-tool territory. But the free keyword suggestions alone provide useful discovery data at zero cost.

Category 2: Free Analytics and Tracking

You cannot optimize what you do not measure. These first-party analytics tools from Apple and Google are more powerful than most developers realize.

App Store Connect Analytics

Apple provides detailed analytics for every app you publish, and these reports contain genuinely actionable data. The problem is not the data quality -- it is that most developers never look beyond the top-level download graph.

The Sources tab is the most important report. It breaks down where your users come from: App Store Search, App Store Browse (category browsing and featured placements), App Referrer (links from other apps), and Web Referrer (links from websites). For most indie apps, 60-70% of installs come from search. If search is your primary channel, ASO is your primary growth lever.

The Metrics tab shows your conversion funnel: impressions (how many people saw your app in search results or browsing), product page views (how many tapped to see your full listing), and installs (how many downloaded). A healthy conversion rate from impression to install is 3-8% for search. If you are below 3%, your icon, title, or screenshots need work. If you are above 8%, you are doing well.

Date comparison is underused. Compare your last 30 days to the previous 30 days after making metadata changes. Did impressions increase? Did conversion rate change? This is the closest thing to A/B testing that Apple offers, and it costs nothing.

Weekly check-in routine (10 minutes): Open App Store Connect, go to Analytics, check Sources for any meaningful shifts, check conversion rate for changes, and note your total impressions trend (up, flat, or down). That is it. Ten minutes per week gives you a clear picture of your listing's health.

Google Play Console Stats

Google Play Console surpasses App Store Connect in several important ways, and most Android developers are not taking advantage of it.

Acquisition reports show you the actual search terms that drive installs. Not just aggregate "search" traffic, but the specific queries people typed. This is gold. If "expense tracker simple" is driving installs but is not in your title, you have found a keyword opportunity with real data backing it.

Store listing experiments are free A/B testing. You can test different icons, screenshots, short descriptions, and full descriptions against each other with real traffic. No other platform gives you this for free. Apple charges for Custom Product Pages and does not offer direct A/B tests of individual listing elements.

To run an experiment: go to Store Presence, then Store Listing Experiments, create a new experiment, upload your variant(s), and let it run until statistical significance is reached. Google will tell you the confidence level and which variant is winning. For apps with at least 100 daily visitors, you can reach significance within one to two weeks.

Limitations: Experiments need meaningful traffic. If your app gets 20 visits per day, reaching statistical significance could take months. Start with your highest-impact element first -- typically the icon or the first screenshot -- to make the most of the traffic you have.

What Metrics to Focus On

With limited tools and limited time, focus on three metrics that capture the health of your ASO effort:

Conversion rate (impressions to installs). This tells you whether people who find your app are convinced to download it. A declining conversion rate means your listing is underperforming -- your screenshots, icon, title, or ratings need attention. Track this weekly.

Organic download trend. Are your organic downloads going up, staying flat, or declining? An upward trend means your ASO is working or your category is growing. A declining trend means something changed -- either competition increased, you lost keyword rankings, or your rating dropped. Track this weekly.

Rating trajectory. Is your average rating improving, stable, or declining over the last 90 days? Ratings affect both rankings and conversion. A declining rating is a red flag that needs product-level attention before more ASO work makes sense. Track this monthly.

These three metrics together tell you whether your listing is healthy, and they are all available for free in App Store Connect and Google Play Console.

Category 3: Free Competitor Analysis

You do not need a $400 per month platform to understand what your competitors are doing. Manual research takes more time, but it provides context that automated tools cannot.

Manual Methods That Actually Work

The most effective free competitor analysis is simple and structured. Open the App Store or Play Store, search your five to ten target keywords, and document what you find.

The spreadsheet method: Create a spreadsheet with columns for app name, title structure (brand-only vs. brand-plus-keywords), subtitle or short description, rating, review count, screenshot count, screenshot style (raw captures vs. captioned), last update date, and any patterns you notice.

Fill in the top five to ten results for each of your target keywords. You will quickly notice patterns: maybe every top-ranking meditation app uses "guided" in the title. Maybe the top fitness apps all have captioned screenshots with benefit-focused text. Maybe your rating is significantly lower than the top five competitors in your category.

This exercise takes about 60-90 minutes and gives you a clear picture of what the competitive landscape looks like. Do it once when you launch, then refresh it quarterly to catch changes.

Browsing Top Charts and Categories

Category top charts are free competitive intelligence that most developers ignore. Go to the App Store or Play Store, navigate to your app's category, and scroll through the top 50.

What to look for: How many of the top 50 apps include keywords in their titles versus using brand-only titles? What is the average rating? How often are the top apps updated? What visual patterns do their screenshots follow?

For most categories, you will find that the top 20 apps follow surprisingly similar patterns. They tend to have keywords in titles, captioned screenshots, ratings above 4.5, and recent updates. If your app deviates from these patterns in ways that are not deliberate strategic choices, you have found your optimization targets.

StoreLit Free ASO Audit

StoreLit offers public audit pages that provide an algorithmic ASO score breakdown for any app. The scoring covers title optimization, description quality, keyword usage, ratings assessment, and visual analysis. These public audits are available without an account and provide a quick benchmark of where your listing stands.

For a deeper analysis with AI-powered recommendations and real competitor data, a full audit costs one credit ($5). But the free public audit gives you enough to identify your most obvious weaknesses -- and obvious weaknesses are where the biggest gains are for apps that have never been optimized.

Category 4: Free Screenshot and Visual Tools

Screenshots are the second most important conversion factor after your icon. Apps with professional, captioned screenshots convert 25-35% better than those with raw UI captures, according to multiple industry studies. You do not need Photoshop skills to create good screenshots -- you need the right tools.

Figma Free Tier

Figma's free tier is powerful enough for professional app screenshots. You get unlimited files, real-time editing, vector tools, text styling, and export at any resolution. The learning curve is steeper than dedicated screenshot tools, but the creative freedom is unmatched.

Setting up a screenshot template: Search the Figma Community for "app store screenshot template." You will find dozens of free templates with device frames, text layouts, and background options already configured. Pick one, duplicate it into your workspace, and customize it with your app's screenshots and captions.

Workflow: Take raw screenshots from your app. Import them into Figma. Place them inside the device frame in your template. Add caption text above or below the device. Adjust colors to match your app's branding. Export at the required resolutions (1290x2796 for iPhone 6.7-inch, 2048x2732 for iPad).

Limitations: Figma requires design decisions at every step. There are no "generate screenshots from my app" buttons -- you are building layouts from scratch (or from a community template). For developers who enjoy the design process, this is a feature. For those who want to get screenshots done in 20 minutes and move on, it is a hurdle.

Canva Free Tier

Canva is the fastest path from zero to finished screenshots for developers with no design experience. The template library is enormous, the drag-and-drop editor is intuitive, and you can go from signup to exported screenshots in under 30 minutes.

How to use it for App Store screenshots: Search for "app screenshot" or "app store" in Canva's template library. Select a template that matches your visual style. Replace the placeholder screenshot with your actual app screenshot, edit the caption text, adjust the brand colors, and export.

Limitations: The free tier includes Canva watermarks on certain premium templates and assets. Export resolution is limited compared to Figma. The templates are widely used, so your screenshots may look similar to other apps using the same templates. For a quick solution, Canva works. For a distinctive visual identity, you will eventually want more control.

Free Device Frame Generators

If you just need a device frame wrapped around a screenshot without building a full layout, several online tools do this instantly:

MockUPhone generates device mockups for iPhone, iPad, Android phones, and tablets. Upload your screenshot, select a device, and download the result. It is fast and free but limited to a single device per image with no caption text overlay.

Previewed offers free 3D device mockups with angle options. The output looks more premium than flat mockups, but the free tier limits your export options.

Screenshots.pro and similar tools offer batch device frame generation. Upload multiple screenshots and get them all wrapped in device frames at once.

The limitation of all frame generators: They wrap your screenshot in a device frame but do not add captions, backgrounds, or any design context. For App Store screenshots, you almost always want caption text explaining what the screen shows. Frame generators alone produce screenshots that look like documentation, not marketing material.

Category 5: Free Review Management

Reviews affect both your ranking algorithm and your conversion rate. Responding to reviews -- especially negative ones -- also signals to potential users that the developer is active and responsive.

AppFollow Free Tier

AppFollow's free tier monitors reviews for one to two apps across both the App Store and Play Store. You get notifications for new reviews and can respond directly from the AppFollow dashboard without switching between App Store Connect and Google Play Console.

Setup: Create an AppFollow account, add your app by searching for it, and configure email notifications for new reviews. Set up filters so you are notified immediately for one-star and two-star reviews (which need the fastest response) and get daily digests for three-star and above.

The free tier is limited to one or two apps and basic monitoring. Paid tiers add sentiment analysis, auto-tags, and team collaboration features. But for a solo developer with one or two apps, the free tier covers the essential workflow: know when you get a review, respond quickly.

Manual Review Monitoring

If you prefer not to add another tool, manual monitoring works fine for one to two apps. The key is making it a habit rather than checking sporadically.

Weekly routine (15 minutes): Open App Store Connect, go to Ratings and Reviews, sort by most recent, and read everything from the past week. Respond to negative reviews within 24-48 hours. Do the same in Google Play Console.

Response templates for common themes:

For crash reports: "Thank you for reporting this. We take stability seriously. Could you email us at [support email] with your device model and iOS version? We want to fix this for you."

For pricing complaints: "We understand [app name] might not be the right fit for everyone's budget. The [specific feature] requires ongoing server costs, which is why we offer [pricing model]. Thank you for trying the app."

For feature requests: "Great suggestion. We have added this to our feature backlog. We prioritize based on user demand, so knowing this matters to you helps us plan."

Short, specific, and empathetic. Never defensive, never dismissive.

The Free Stack Assembled: Complete Workflow

Individual tools are useful. A structured workflow that combines them is powerful. Here is how to assemble the free tools into a systematic ASO practice.

Research Workflow (Weekly, 30 Minutes)

Minutes 1-10: Keyword discovery. Open the App Store or Play Store search bar. Run autocomplete probes for two to three new seed terms you have not explored before. Add any relevant suggestions to your keyword spreadsheet. Mark which ones you are already targeting and which are new opportunities.

Minutes 11-20: Competitor check. Search your top three target keywords. Have any of the top five results changed their title, screenshots, or subtitle since last week? If a competitor just added a keyword you are targeting, note it -- they are validating that keyword's value. If a new app has entered the top five, analyze why.

Minutes 21-30: Analytics review. Check App Store Connect or Play Console. How are impressions trending? Has conversion rate changed? Any notable shifts in download sources? Compare to the previous week. If something changed, note it for your monthly optimization session.

This 30-minute weekly habit takes almost no effort and keeps you informed about your listing's performance, competitor movements, and keyword opportunities.

Optimization Workflow (Monthly, 2 Hours)

Hour 1: Keyword audit. Review your keyword spreadsheet against your analytics data. Which keywords are driving impressions? Which are not? Cross-reference with the Apple Search Ads popularity tool to validate volume assumptions. Draft any metadata changes: updated title, subtitle, keyword field (iOS), or description (Android).

Hour 1.5: Visual check. Is your conversion rate healthy? If it has declined or stagnated, compare your screenshots to the top five competitors in your category. Are their screenshots better? Do they have captions you lack? If a visual refresh is warranted, block time to update one to two screenshots using Figma, Canva, or your preferred tool.

Hour 2: Reviews and submission. Read and respond to any unaddressed reviews. Submit your metadata changes (remember that iOS changes require a new version submission or can be changed independently of app updates using App Store Connect's metadata editing). Document what you changed and why, so you can measure the impact in next month's analytics review.

The Complete Free Toolkit Summary

Limitations of the All-Free Approach

Let us be honest about what free tools cannot do.

What You Cannot Do for Free

Automated keyword rank tracking. No free tool tracks your keyword rankings over time. You can manually search the App Store for your target keywords and note your position, but this is tedious, imprecise (rankings vary by location and device), and does not scale. Paid tools track hundreds of keywords daily across dozens of countries.

Search volume estimates. Apple's Search Ads tool provides relative popularity scores, but no free tool gives you estimated monthly search volume for app store keywords. You know "budget tracker" is popular, but not whether it gets 10,000 or 100,000 searches per month.

Historical competitive data. Free tools show you what competitors look like today. They do not show you what changed last month, which keywords they added or removed, or how their ratings trended over time. Spotting competitive movements in real time requires paid monitoring.

Batch screenshot generation. Free design tools require manual work for each screenshot. If you need screenshots in ten languages across three device sizes, you are looking at 30 individual exports manually. Dedicated screenshot tools with batch capabilities handle this in minutes.

The Time Cost of Free

Free tools shift the cost from money to time. A complete manual ASO workflow -- weekly research (30 minutes) plus monthly optimization (2 hours) plus quarterly competitor deep-dives (90 minutes) -- adds up to roughly four to six hours per month.

A paid tool like AppTweak at $69 per month reduces this to roughly one to two hours per month by automating keyword tracking, surfacing competitor changes, and providing structured recommendations. We break down exactly how these paid tools compare in our Sensor Tower vs AppTweak analysis.

For developers whose time has a high opportunity cost -- you could be building features, fixing bugs, or freelancing instead -- the time overhead of free tools is a real consideration. For developers who are in the early days, have flexible schedules, and need to preserve cash, the time investment is a reasonable trade.

When to Invest in a Paid Tool: The ROI Threshold

The Break-Even Calculation

A paid tool is worth its cost when the time it saves or the additional downloads it drives exceed the subscription price.

The formula: (hours saved per month x your hourly value) + (additional downloads x revenue per download) = monthly value of the tool.

If a $10 per month tool (like periodic StoreLit audits) saves you three hours of manual research per month and your time is worth $50 per hour, the tool delivers $150 of value for $10 of cost. That is a 15x return.

If a $69 per month tool saves you four hours per month and helps you capture 100 additional downloads worth $0.50 each, the tool delivers $250 of value for $69 of cost. Still a solid return.

If a $400 per month tool saves you five hours per month and helps you capture 200 additional downloads worth $0.50 each, the tool delivers $350 of value for $400 of cost. That is a negative return. You need more download volume before this tier makes sense.

Calculate your own numbers. The math is specific to your situation.

Signals You Have Outgrown Free Tools

You are managing three or more apps. Manual research across three apps triples the time investment. Paid tools handle multiple apps without proportional time increases.

You are expanding to five or more locales. Keyword research in languages you do not speak is nearly impossible manually. Paid tools provide keyword data for any market.

You cannot tell whether your changes are working. If you updated your keywords two weeks ago and have no way to measure the impact beyond staring at aggregate impressions, you need rank tracking.

You are spending more time collecting ASO data than acting on it. If your weekly 30-minute research session has become a two-hour data collection marathon, the manual approach is not scaling. A paid tool that automates data collection lets you spend your time on optimization decisions instead.

Your app revenue comfortably exceeds the tool's cost. This is the simplest test. If your app makes $500 per month and a tool costs $69, that is 14% of revenue -- steep but potentially justified. If your app makes $3,000 per month, 2% of revenue for better ASO data is an easy decision.

The free tools in this guide are not stepping stones to paid tools. They are genuinely capable of handling ASO for apps at the early and mid stages of their lifecycle. For a practical example of how to combine these tools into a complete workflow, read our guide to building an indie ASO stack for under $20 a month. Upgrade when the math demands it, not when marketing emails pressure you into it.