Looking for an Astro alternative that runs on your iPhone?
Astro is a well-liked Mac ASO tool, and if you do all your ASO at a desk it's a fine choice. Keyword Scout is the other way to do it: native on iPhone & iPad, $9.99 once instead of a subscription, no account of any kind — and a demand signal built on Apple's public autocomplete data rather than the Search Ads popularity index.
Side by side
| Keyword Scout | Astro | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | iPhone & iPad (native) | Mac only (macOS 14+) |
| Pricing | Free + $9.99 once, forever | $9/month billed annually (~$108/yr) |
| Account required | None — no sign-in, nothing to connect | License / app setup |
| Demand data | Apple's App Store autocomplete + live result counts (public signals) | Apple Search Ads popularity index (see below) |
| Keyword scoring | Difficulty + saturation, scored per keyword in seconds | Popularity + difficulty |
| Rank tracking | Tracked keywords with history, alerts & a weekly digest | Daily rank updates, unlimited keywords |
| Competitors | Competitor watch, keyword coverage & gap analysis | Competitor keyword extraction |
| Listing feedback | A–F listing grade + optimizer + release impact ("did my update move rankings?") | ASO scoring |
| Best for | Indies doing ASO from the phone, allergic to subscriptions | Mac-desk workflows, very large keyword lists |
About that demand data
Most ASO tools — Astro included — source keyword popularity from the Apple Search Ads popularity index. It's worth knowing what that number is: a relative score Apple built for paid ad bidding, not organic search volume, and it's only available for 91 of the App Store's 175 storefronts.
In late September 2025 the index visibly degraded industry-wide: the number of US keywords with a popularity score above the floor dropped by roughly 77% in four days, with formerly mid-scoring keywords pinned to the minimum value. Every tool built on it was affected at once.
Keyword Scout anchors demand on Apple's own autocomplete suggestions — the completions Apple actually serves to people typing in the App Store search box — combined with live result counts. These are public signals from the store itself, they work in every storefront, and they kept working in October 2025. (Autocomplete is also the fallback signal ASA-based tools recommend for keywords below the popularity floor.)
We're honest about the limits, too: no tool outside Apple has true search volume. Keyword Scout never invents install estimates or dollar figures — it shows you defensible, public signals and tells you where they come from.
When Astro is the better pick
Fair is fair. If you live at a Mac all day, want unlimited tracking across very large keyword lists, and prefer a desktop dashboard, Astro is a good tool with a deserved reputation — it's genuinely one of the better subscription options for indies. Keyword Scout exists for the other workflow: research on the couch, a rank check in line for coffee, grading your listing the moment an idea hits — with a price you pay once.
Try it free, in the next 60 seconds
Type a keyword, get a difficulty & saturation score. No account, no trial clock.
Download Keyword Scout- Astro — official site (platform, pricing, data source)
- RespectASO — analysis of the Sept/Oct 2025 ASA popularity degradation
- Apple Ads Terms of Service