By hand is enough
With one app, one country and a few keywords, searching the store once a week and writing it down works. Keep in mind that results can change with your device and account.
Compare
By hand, a typical ASO tool, or Uptika?
Uptika reads keyword ranks and rival moves from the stores every day and tells you the next step with your own numbers; for one app and a few keywords, tracking by hand works too.
How do the three ways differ?
A generic comparison: a spreadsheet kept by hand, a typical ASO tool and Uptika. Tools differ from one another; the middle column describes what is common.
| By hand / spreadsheet | Typical ASO tool | Uptika | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Output | A spreadsheet you keep | Charts and tables | Charts, tables and a “do this today” list |
| Rank checks | One search at a time on your phone, personalised | Automatic | Daily: top 200 on the App Store, the first results page (about 30) on Google Play |
| Rival listings | When you remember, with screenshots | Varies by tool | Title, copy, icon, screenshots, version and price read daily, every change logged day by day |
| Category charts | Checking the store by hand | Usually included | Every 3 hours: 100 deep on the App Store, 200 on Google Play |
| Advice | Your own guess | Generic tips | Your keyword, your numbers, a concrete finding |
| Missing data | A skipped day is lost | Often filled with estimates | Unread days stay empty, estimates are labeled |
| Ads | In another dashboard | In a separate tool | Apple Ads spend and organic rank in one table, keyword by keyword |
| Alerts | None; you find out when you look | Varies by tool | Slack, Discord, Telegram, webhook or browser notifications |
| AI | Copy and paste by hand | A separate chat, no context | A ready prompt with real numbers on every page |
| Data access | Your own sheet | Stays in the dashboard | PNG, CSV, Markdown on every card and table; API and MCP |
| Getting started | Free, but it takes time every day | Depends on the plan | A free-forever plan; try Growth for 7 days, no card |
Every number in the Uptika column comes from Uptika's own measurement schedule; details on the Capabilities page.
Which one, when?
The honest answer: not everyone needs a tool.
Free plan
FreeHand the searching to Uptika at the same scale: the free-forever plan reads 1 app, 1 storefront, 10 keywords and 1 competitor every day, with the last 7 days and the ASO score.
MorePaid plan
StarterWhen you need several apps or countries, rival listing changes, alerts, exports and full history. Starter is $29 a month.
MoreWhat should you check when choosing an ASO tool?
Whichever tool you pick, ask these four questions:
- Where are ranks read from, and how deep? The store's real search result or an estimated model; how many results?
- What happens on a day that could not be read? Does it stay empty, or is it filled with an estimate, and is the estimate labeled?
- Are findings written with your numbers? A generic tip like "strengthen your title", or which keyword, which rank, which rival?
- Can you get the data out? CSV, an API, alert channels.
Uptika's answers: the Capabilities page and the methodology guide.
Questions
Why does the rank I see on my phone differ from Uptika?
Store results can change with the device, the account and its history. Uptika reads the same public source every day: the iTunes Search API order on the App Store and the public search page on Google Play, so one day compares with the next.
Does Uptika estimate rivals' downloads?
No. Apple does not publish download counts and Uptika does not make them up: it shows new ratings per day on the App Store and the daily change in the listing's install count on Google Play. Your own downloads come straight from the store when you connect your account.
How long does the free plan last?
Forever. You can also try Growth once for 7 days without a card; the trial never turns into a paid plan on its own.
One app, ten keywords, zero spreadsheets.
Drop your link on the free plan; your first daily reading is ready the next morning.