Fledly

Sensor Tower alternatives for indie app developers

Most indie developers who search for a Sensor Tower alternative want one of three things: rough revenue numbers for other apps, a list of ideas that are working, or keyword data. No single cheap tool replaces Sensor Tower, but each of those needs has an affordable answer.

Disclosure: we make Fledly. Prices are from each vendor's public pages or third-party listings, checked on October 28, 2026, and change often. Where we couldn't find a published price, we say so.

First, what do you actually need?

Sensor Tower covers a lot: market-wide downloads and revenue for both stores, years of history, ad intelligence and audience data. An indie developer rarely needs all of it. Pick the question first:

  1. "How much do other apps make?" You need revenue estimates for apps you don't own.
  2. "What should I build?" You need evidence that an idea works for newcomers, not just for incumbents.
  3. "How do I rank my own app?" You need keyword research and rank tracking.

The alternatives

ToolBest forStoresPrice (Oct 2026)
FledlyApp idea research and young apps already earning; keyword trackingiOSFree; Pro $9/month or $79/year; Studio $24/month
AppfiguresYour own sales and downloads, plus keywords; market estimates on top plansiOS, Google PlayFree Starter; Connect $9.99/month; Grow $599.99/month for download estimates
SonarKeyword tracking with API and MCP across two storesiOS, Google PlayIndie $29/month or $290/year
AstroSimple keyword tracking on a MaciOS$108/year
AppTweakAgencies and teams: history, keywords, market add-onsiOS, Google PlayEssential from $79/month billed yearly
Mobile ActionApple Ads management with ASOiOS, Google PlayFrom $15/month
Appark, GetAppNiche, AppKittieBrowsing other apps' revenue and downloadsiOS, Google PlayAppark describes itself as free; the others didn't publish prices on the pages we checked

For revenue of other apps

Fledly estimates monthly revenue for every app on the US Top Grossing charts, overall and in every category, from chart rank with a published model. Each figure is a range from a third to three times the middle value. It's rough, but it's on the free plan, and it's good enough to tell a $50,000-a-month app from a $2-million-a-month one.

Appark describes itself as a free app data platform with top charts, filters by download and revenue range, and competitor tracking. GetAppNiche and AppKittie sell app revenue and download data with search filters; AppKittie also tracks ads and creators. We couldn't find published prices for these two on the pages we checked.

Appfigures includes global download estimates on its Grow plan ($599.99 a month), and revenue and download estimates inside its Keyword Inspector on Boost ($299.99 a month).

None of these match Sensor Tower's accuracy or history. Use them to compare and shortlist.

For app idea research

This is the gap Sensor Tower leaves for indie developers: it tells you who is big, not what a newcomer can still win.

Fledly looks only at apps under 24 months old that aren't from big publishers and already appear on the US Top Grossing charts, groups them into concepts, and scores each concept from 0 to 100 on proof (revenue), repeat (how many unrelated developers made it work), pull (new ratings per month) and window (how recently the newest one launched). It then discounts ideas that look ad-driven or are hard to build alone. See this month's 22 proven ideas for an example.

For your own apps and keywords

  • Appfigures if you want your own sales, downloads and reviews next to your ranks. See Fledly vs Appfigures.
  • Astro if you want a Mac app with unlimited keywords. See Fledly vs Astro.
  • Sonar if you need Google Play, all countries and an API. See Fledly vs Sonar.
  • Fledly if you are iOS only, want a free plan, and want the idea research too.

When Sensor Tower is still worth it

If you need numbers you can defend to investors or a board, Google Play download estimates, ad creatives or years of history, no indie tool replaces it. We compare the two directly in Fledly vs Sensor Tower.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free alternative to Sensor Tower?

For some uses. Fledly's Free plan shows young apps earning on the US Top Grossing charts with revenue ranges and 3 scored app ideas a week. Appark describes itself as free. Appfigures' free plan covers your own apps. None has Sensor Tower's coverage or accuracy.

What is the cheapest way to estimate another app's revenue?

Look up its Top Grossing rank and apply a rank-to-revenue model. Fledly does this daily for every app on the US charts and shows a range. You can try the model yourself in the calculator in How much do iPhone apps make at each Top Grossing rank?.

How much does Sensor Tower cost?

Sensor Tower doesn't publish prices. Vendr's buyer data, as cited in a competitor's review in October 2026, puts the median contract at about $75,000 a year.

Sources

About the author

Mika Heinonen, Indie iOS developer and maker of Fledly. Mika ships iPhone apps as a solo developer from Finland and built Fledly to answer two questions that kept coming back: which keywords can a small app win, and which app ideas are already proven by newcomers?