Do You Need an ASO Agency? Costs and the AI Option
ASO agencies charge about $2,500 to $15,000 a month with 3 to 6 month minimums. Here is what they do, what they cost, when they are worth it, and why Superapp Selfdrive does the routine work for $100 a month.
meta-title: "Do You Need an ASO Agency? Costs and the AI Option"
meta-description: "ASO agency costs in 2026, what agencies do each month, contracts, red flags and real client results, and why most app founders can use an AI agent instead."
h1-title: "Do You Need an ASO Agency in 2026? What App Store Optimization Services Cost, What They Do, and the AI Agent Alternative"
description: "ASO agencies charge about $2,500 to $15,000 a month with 3 to 6 month minimums. Here is what they do, what they cost, when they are worth it, and why Superapp Selfdrive does the routine work for $100 a month."
tags: ["ASO agency", "App Store optimization services", "app marketing agency", "Apple Search Ads agency", "Apple Ads", "AI marketing agent", "indie developers"]
Superapp Selfdrive means most app founders do not need an ASO agency. The work an agency does every month (keyword research, rewriting your name, subtitle and keyword field, running Apple Ads, and reporting what changed) is exactly what Selfdrive's AI agent does every day, with your approval before any listing change, for $100 a month in Superapp Max. ASO agencies typically charge $2,500 to $15,000 a month, usually ask for a 3 to 6 month minimum, and Apple Ads agencies often take 10% to 20% of your ad spend on top. This guide shows what agencies actually deliver, what they cost in October 2026 (with published prices from real agencies), how long results take, real client results good and bad, the scams to avoid, and the cases where an agency is still the right call. Every price and quote is copied word for word from its source.
Do You Need an ASO Agency? The Short Answer
Superapp Selfdrive is the answer for most founders and small teams with an iOS app: it does the routine ASO and Apple Ads work an agency would bill you for, and you approve every listing change. You probably do not need an agency if you have one or a few iOS apps, your app earns less than about three times an agency's monthly fee, and you can spend a few minutes a day reading a report and approving changes. An agency can still be worth it if you need screenshot and video production, many languages, Google Play, a large app portfolio, or a senior strategist on call, and your revenue easily covers $3,000 or more a month.
Quick answer: do you need an ASO agency in 2026? Usually not. Superapp Selfdrive's AI agent researches keywords, drafts your App Store name, subtitle and keyword field for your approval, runs Apple Ads within your budget, and sends a daily report, for $100 a month in Superapp Max. ASO agencies typically charge $2,500 to $7,000 a month (boutique) or $7,000 to $15,000+ (full-service), with 3 to 6 month minimums, and Apple Ads agencies often take 10% to 20% of ad spend. Freelancers charge less but vary widely. An agency makes sense when you need creative production, many locales, Google Play or a big portfolio, and your app earns at least three times the monthly fee.
What an ASO Agency Actually Does Each Month
Superapp Selfdrive was designed around this list. Strip away the branding and an ASO retainer is a repeating set of tasks. Phiture, one of the best-known agencies, describes retainer work as "running experiments, updating metadata, testing creative, and reporting results" (Phiture). Agency asoagency.io's Growth plan includes "Monthly metadata iterations (iOS + Android)" (asoagency.io), and Admiral Media promises "a written update every week and a results meeting every month" (Admiral Media).
| Task | Superapp Selfdrive | Typical ASO agency | Doing it yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keyword research | Superapp Selfdrive: "The agent researches keywords, reviews available analytics and prepares recommendations." | Analyst builds keyword lists per market | You, with a tool or Apple Ads popularity |
| Metadata rewrites | Drafts name, subtitle, keyword field and description, with a reason for each change | Monthly iterations, often per locale | You |
| Approval | "Nothing is submitted as an approved listing update until you accept it." | You approve the agency's proposals | n/a |
| Apple Ads | Picks keywords, sets bids within your budget, pauses what isn't working | Often a separate service or % of spend | You, in the Apple Ads console |
| Using ad data for ASO | Built in: ad results improve your listing | Depends on the agency | Manual |
| Screenshots and video | Not included | Often included or extra | You or a designer |
| A/B tests | Not described on its pages | Common (Apple PPO, Google experiments) | You, in App Store Connect |
| Reporting | Morning email with App Store Connect analytics, downloads, ad spend and campaign results | Weekly or monthly reports and calls | You |
| Strategy | You set direction, markets and budget | Senior strategist | You |
Sources: Selfdrive, Selfdrive ASO, Selfdrive Apple Ads, Phiture, asoagency.io.
Most of the rows are routine. An ASO specialist turned tool founder described the manual reality: "ASO specialists are very hardworking :D They manually create keyword lists for 10 countries in Word!" (WIP). The cadence is set by Apple, not by effort: "For Apple's App Store, the general consensus is that updates need to be made monthly (roughly every 4 weeks)," because "4 weeks is usually the time needed for keyword rankings to stabilize" (Apptamin).
What ASO Agencies Cost in 2026
Superapp Selfdrive costs $100 a month in Superapp Max ("Selfdrive is included in the Max plan, $100/month, with 230 credits a month"), and Apple bills ad spend separately (Selfdrive). Agency pricing is harder to pin down because most agencies do not publish it. Admiral Media says so directly: "Few agencies publish their prices, so we do not quote a market range" (Admiral Media). Here is what we could verify.
Price ranges by type of provider
| Provider type | Superapp Selfdrive comparison | Typical monthly cost | Minimum term | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI agent | Superapp Selfdrive: $100 a month in Superapp Max | $100 | Monthly plan | Selfdrive |
| DIY with a tool | Same | About $9 to $300 | Monthly or yearly | Our AppTweak alternatives guide |
| Freelancer, ongoing | Same | About $1,500 to $4,000 | Varies | AppFollow (vendor) |
| Boutique or mid-market agency | Same | About $2,500 to $7,000 | 3 to 6 months | AppAgent, Moburst (agencies) |
| Full-service agency | Same | About $7,000 to $15,000+ | 3 to 6 months | AppAgent (agency) |
| Enterprise agency | Same | About $15,000 to $25,000+ | Contract | Moburst (agency) |
| One-time audit (agency) | Same | About $2,000 to $10,000 once | One-off | AppAgent, AppFollow, Moburst |
Ranges are from agencies and vendors with an interest in the answer: AppAgent, Moburst, AppFollow. Moburst, for example, puts boutique to mid-market at "$2,500 to $7,000" and enterprise at "$15,000 to $25,000+" a month, and says "most agencies require a 3 to 6 month minimum commitment." AppFollow puts a metadata refresh at about $150 to $500 per locale, which is why "Locale count scales cost close to linearly," as Moburst puts it.
Agencies that publish prices
| Agency or service | Superapp Selfdrive | Published price | Terms | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superapp Selfdrive | Superapp Selfdrive: ASO and Apple Ads agents | $100 a month (Superapp Max) | Pause a campaign any time | Selfdrive |
| asoagency.io audit | n/a | "$1,490" one-time | Includes a "Prioritized 90-day roadmap" | asoagency.io |
| asoagency.io Growth | n/a | "$3,990" a month | "month-to-month and you can cancel anytime" | asoagency.io |
| asoagency.io Full-Stack | n/a | "$7,990" a month | Adds "Apple Search Ads management" and "Localization for up to 10 markets" | asoagency.io |
| NinjaPromo | n/a | "Starts at $3,200/month." | Not stated | NinjaPromo |
| ASOitis | n/a | "$499 a month" | "two-month minimum" | ASOitis |
| Adapty Apple Ads managed | n/a | Full Management "From $1,000 / month" | Not stated | Adapty |
| Novi Digital (Apple Ads) | n/a | "From £600 per month." | Not stated | Novi Digital |
| Admiral Media | n/a | Written proposal, per "store-locale" | "6-month initial term", "There is no setup fee" | Admiral Media |
Agencies that do not publish prices include Phiture, Gummicube, SplitMetrics' managed service, Moburst, Yodel Mobile and App Radar's agency arm. Clutch lists minimum project sizes of "$25,000+" for Phiture and "$5,000+" for Moburst and Gummicube, with hourly rates of "$200 - $300 / hr" for Phiture and "$150 - $199 / hr" for Moburst (Clutch). Business of Apps lists app marketing agencies at "up to $25k / app" (Business of Apps).
Freelancers
Freelance ASO is cheaper and far more variable. Fiverr gigs such as "I will do app store optimization aso for play store and app store" start "From $30" (Fiverr), Freelancer.com profiles run "from about $2 to $40 an hour" (ASOitis), and AppFollow puts boutique and freelance specialists at about $75 to $175 an hour. An agency founder's warning applies here: "Usually if someone offers really cheap prices it might be a result of a really cheap expertise" (AppFollow).
Apple Ads agencies and the percentage-of-spend problem
Apple Ads management is often priced as a share of your budget. ASA Condor, which sells a flat-fee tool, describes the norm: "Agencies that manage Apple Search Ads almost always take a percentage of what you spend, typically somewhere between 10% and 20%, often with a monthly minimum on top," and then the catch: "The more you spend, the more they earn" (ASA Condor). A fixed-fee ad agency put the same point bluntly: "Their revenue doubles when your spend doubles," and "This is not malice. This is arithmetic" (JudeLuxe). Both sell an alternative pricing model, so read them as interested parties, but the arithmetic holds.
Selfdrive takes no share of spend, and the money you approve is the ceiling: "Selfdrive does not authorize an increase beyond the budget you set" (Selfdrive Apple Ads).
| Apple Ads spend per month | Superapp Selfdrive | Agency at 10% | Agency at 15% | Agency at 20% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | Superapp Selfdrive: $100 (Superapp Max) | $100 plus any minimum | $150 plus any minimum | $200 plus any minimum |
| $5,000 | $100 | $500 | $750 | $1,000 |
| $10,000 | $100 | $1,000 | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| $25,000 | $100 | $2,500 | $3,750 | $5,000 |
Our arithmetic on the 10% to 20% range ASA Condor describes; many agencies also charge a monthly minimum, and Selfdrive's agent work uses Superapp credits.
The Math: When Can You Afford an Agency?
Superapp Selfdrive's price makes this simple: $100 a month pays back if it brings in a handful of paying users. For an agency, Sonar (a tool vendor) offers a rule of thumb: "A $3,000/month retainer needs $9,000+ in monthly app revenue to be a rational bet," and "For ASO specifically, the math works when your app earns at least 3x the agency's monthly fee" (Sonar).
| Your monthly app revenue | Superapp Selfdrive | Boutique agency ($2,500 to $7,000) | Full-service agency ($7,000+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1,000 | Superapp Selfdrive: fits at $100 a month | Not affordable | Not affordable |
| $1,000 to $7,500 | Fits | Hard to justify | Not affordable |
| $7,500 to $21,000 | Fits | Possible at the low end | Hard to justify |
| $21,000 or more | Fits, alongside or instead of a team | Possible | Possible at the low end |
The thresholds apply Sonar's 3x rule to the agency ranges above. Stackmatix, an agency, adds a warning for early apps: "Before product-market fit, ASO usually reshuffles a listing for a product that is still changing" (Stackmatix). A founder on Clutch who hired an agency before launch wrote, "We've only recently launched the app, so it's still early to speak of quantitative metrics" (Clutch).
How Long Agency Results Take, and Why Contracts Are Long
Superapp Selfdrive is upfront that "A daily report does not mean a daily metadata change" (Selfdrive ASO). Rankings move slowly whoever does the work, which is the reason agencies ask for long contracts. AppAgent says most agencies require a commitment of at least 3 to 6 months, and that "meaningful ASO impact usually compounds over several months" (AppAgent). Moburst says "ASO gains compound across optimization cycles instead of appearing in the first month" (Moburst). SplitMetrics says "Conversion gains are typically visible within 2-4 weeks; keyword ranking improvements within 2-6 weeks" (SplitMetrics).
| Term | Superapp Selfdrive | asoagency.io | ASOitis | Admiral Media | Typical agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Superapp Selfdrive: monthly plan; pause campaigns any time | Month-to-month | Two months | 6-month initial term | 3 to 6 months |
| Setup fee | None stated | None listed | Not stated | "There is no setup fee" | Varies |
| Notice | n/a | "you can cancel anytime" | Not stated | "one month's notice" | Varies |
Moburst offers a counterpoint worth weighing: "A provider offering month-to-month with no minimum is either confident or inexperienced, and it's worth asking which" (Moburst). The honest version: ASO takes months, but you should not need a long contract to find out whether someone's process works. With an agent, the process is visible every morning.
How Selfdrive Replaces the Agency Work
As a disclosure, Superapp is our product, so weigh this accordingly. SplitMetrics' agency page makes the agency case in one line: "An ASO tool provides data. A managed service delivers results," because "Tools require internal expertise, bandwidth and execution to be effective" (SplitMetrics). That is true of tools. Selfdrive is not a tool in that sense; it supplies the execution.
What Selfdrive does
Selfdrive describes itself as an AI marketing agent: "Grow your iOS app with an AI marketing agent for Apple Search Ads, ASO, SEO and UGC" (Selfdrive). On ASO, "Selfdrive combines proprietary keyword data, your Apple Ads results and competing listings," "The agent proposes metadata changes with a reason for each recommendation," and "Selfdrive can draft supported text metadata, including the app name, subtitle, keyword field and description" (Selfdrive ASO). On Apple Ads, "it picks keywords, sets bids within your budget, and pauses what isn't working," and "Then it uses the results to improve your App Store listing" (Selfdrive Apple Ads).
How it measures results: for apps built in Superapp it uses Superapp's own revenue data, and for any other App Store app it reads revenue from App Store Connect analytics, so keywords are judged on money, not just installs.
What you still do
You approve. "You approve the campaign direction, markets and budget," and "Within that approval, Selfdrive can manage bids and keywords without asking about every adjustment," while "Listing changes, creator briefs and each creator video wait for your approval" (Selfdrive). Every morning, "Superapp sends you one email" that "summarizes App Store Connect analytics, downloads, ad spend and campaign results." Sonar makes the same point about agencies: "Someone on your side still reviews keyword recommendations, approves metadata changes" (Sonar). With either, you are the approver; with Selfdrive, the rest is done by the agent.
What Selfdrive does not do
Its pages are clear: "Screenshot production is not included in this ASO workflow," "Keyword research does not guarantee a rank or a number of downloads," and "Apple Ads does not run in every country" (Selfdrive ASO, Selfdrive). It is App Store only, in beta, and has no independent reviews yet. If you need screenshots, video or Google Play, you will need a designer or another service for that part.
Selfdrive vs an agency vs a freelancer vs doing it yourself
| Question | Superapp Selfdrive | ASO agency | Freelancer | DIY with a tool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Superapp Selfdrive: $100 (Superapp Max) | $2,500 to $15,000+ | $1,500 to $4,000 typical | $9 to $300 plus your time |
| Apple Ads fee | Included; no share of spend | Often 10% to 20% of spend | Varies | Free tools available |
| Minimum term | Monthly plan | 3 to 6 months typical | Varies | Monthly or yearly |
| Who does the work | The agent | Agency staff | The freelancer | You |
| Your time | Read a daily email, approve changes | Calls, reviews, approvals | Reviews, approvals | 6 to 10 hours a month, per Sonar |
| Uses Apple Ads data for ASO | Yes, built in | If they run both | Rarely | If you do it |
| Revenue-based decisions | Superapp or App Store Connect data | Depends | Depends | Depends |
| Screenshots and creative | No | Often | Sometimes | You |
| Google Play | No | Usually | Usually | Depends on tool |
| Many languages | Markets you approve | Per-locale fees | Per-locale fees | You |
| Visibility into work | Daily report of actions | Weekly or monthly reports | Varies | Full |
Sonar's DIY estimate of "6-10 hours" a month comes from its own table (Sonar). AppFollow, which sells tools, estimates DIY ASO at 8 to 20 hours a week (AppFollow); the true figure depends on how many apps and markets you run.
When an ASO Agency Is Still Worth It
Superapp Selfdrive is not the right fit for every app, and good agencies deliver real results. Hire an agency, or keep the one you have, if most of these are true:
| Situation | Superapp Selfdrive | Why an agency helps |
|---|---|---|
| You need new screenshots, icons and preview videos often | Superapp Selfdrive: not included | Agencies like Gummicube test "icons, screenshots, titles and descriptions" |
| You run on Google Play as well as iOS | App Store only | Most agencies cover both stores |
| You localize into many markets | Markets you approve | Agencies price and staff per locale |
| You have a large portfolio of apps | Approvals per app | Agency teams scale with headcount |
| Your app earns well over $10,000 a month | Fits too | You can afford the 3x rule |
| You want a senior strategist and workshops | Daily report, not calls | Agencies sell expertise as well as execution |
| You need A/B test design and analysis | Not described on its pages | Phiture and SplitMetrics run test programs |
Real client results show what good looks like. Kyivstar's SEO lead reported that with Radaso "the growth of installs per day increased by 20%, the growth of impressions by 50%" (Clutch). Another Radaso client wrote, "we saw over a 40% increase in organic installs." Phiture's case study for Headspace reports "an 18% increase in installs via search" and "a 40% increase in visibility" after "a series of experiments over the following 6 months" (Phiture). SplitMetrics says its clients "typically see 15-25% conversion uplift within six months" (SplitMetrics). These are agency-selected results, but they are real numbers from companies with the budget to pay for them.
What Real Clients Say About ASO Agencies
Superapp Selfdrive's case rests on these patterns: the work is real, the cost is high for small apps, and visibility into what was done matters.
The price
- Meowchownow's CEO on Gummicube: "We've spent more than $60,000," with "over 10,000 downloads on the App Store in 176 different countries," adding, "It's expensive, but not compared to other providers that offer the same services" (Clutch). That works out to roughly $6 or more per download (our arithmetic).
- Beelinguapp's CEO: "It is kind of expensive, specially for a startup," and the project "was relatively small for budget reasons" (Clutch).
- FromAtoB's head of growth on Phiture: "We were paying €2,500 (approximately $3,280 USD) per month" (Clutch).
- A Hacker News founder: most apps "can't afford the typical $5K/month agencies that deliver them" (Hacker News); he was launching his own product.
Visibility into the work
The most common criticism in otherwise positive reviews is reporting. Kyivstar's reviewer wrote, "It would be cool to have a client's personal account, where you can track application metrics" (Clutch). Another client asked for "more frequent check-ins or feedback loops during the implementation phase," and a third for "more frequent progress updates." A Phiture client at Tubi noted, "Communication was tough sometimes" (Clutch). Selfdrive's answer is a report every morning showing what it did and why: "its reports show what changed and why" (Selfdrive Apple Ads).
Founders who did it without an agency
- Igor Kravchenko, who later built an ASO tool: "I wasn't ready to spend a lot of money on professionals," and his app "gets ~25,000 new organic installations per month (purely from search, with room to grow)" (WIP).
- Indie developer Oleh with a $9 tool: "Ranking #1 for 10 different keywords" in the Ukrainian App Store and "In the top 10 for 65 out of the 154 keywords I'm tracking" (Indie Developer Diaries).
- Wilmer Terrero, who is building an ASO tool: "I crossed 30k downloads on an app where I spent basically 0 on ads" (Indie App Devs).
- Ukrainian developer Oleksandr Bondar localized his baby tracker into 29 languages himself; he estimates the full pass at about ten months and $2,000 to $3,000, roughly one month of a boutique retainer (DOU).
- Overcast's Marco Arment on running Apple Search Ads himself: "I've actually been using search ads for Overcast since the day they launched, and I'm still using them today," and they "have made up approximately 10 to 15 percent of my weekly installs" (Under the Radar).
The cost of doing it yourself is time and attention. A founder running "Twenty-something apps. All on the App Store. All running Apple Search Ads" wrote, "On a good day this took an hour," "I dropped things constantly," and one keyword "had been running at full spend the entire time, with near-zero conversions" (Indie Hackers). That routine is the part an agent does better.
Red Flags: ASO Agencies and Services to Avoid
Superapp Selfdrive works only through Apple's own tools and your approved budget, which is the safe side of a line some "ASO services" cross. Apple's rules are explicit, and they apply to you even when a vendor does the work.
What Apple says about third-party services
Apple's App Review Guidelines warn: "If we find that you have attempted to manipulate reviews, inflate your chart rankings with paid, incentivized, filtered, or fake feedback, or engage with third-party services to do so on your behalf, we will take steps to preserve the integrity of the App Store, which may include expelling you from the Apple Developer Program" (Apple). Guideline 5.6.3 adds: "Manipulating any element of the App Store customer experience such as charts, search, reviews, or referrals to your app erodes customer trust and is not permitted."
Apple has been saying this since 2012: "you should avoid using services that advertise or guarantee top placement in App Store charts," and "Even if you are not personally engaged in manipulating App Store chart rankings or user reviews, employing services that do so on your behalf may result in the loss of your Apple Developer Program membership" (Apple Developer News).
What happens when it goes wrong
- In 2012, PhoneArena reported "a 3rd party service that offered a developer to promote his app for $5000 and get it into the top 25, guaranteed," using a farm that "employs bots to robodownload an app numerous times" (PhoneArena).
- Animoca's Pretty Pet Salon was pulled from the App Store; "Animoca admits that it used 25 different third-party marketing services," while insisting, "We have never used bots or intentionally engaged in any manipulation activities" (GamesBeat). The developer paid for what its vendors did.
- A buyer of guaranteed reviews wrote that "the reviews were removed the next day, which made the service ineffective and a waste of money" (Trustpilot).
- A buyer of installs wrote, "The installs are all from bots and they don't wanna solve the problem," and "I lost $6500 here" (Trustpilot).
- Sonar (a vendor) explains why bought keyword installs fail: ranks return "to within 5 positions of its pre-campaign baseline," "The net effect can actually be negative compared to doing nothing," and "Penalties range from keyword rank suppression to full app removal" (Sonar).
Red flags checklist
| Red flag | Superapp Selfdrive | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed rankings | Superapp Selfdrive: "Keyword research does not guarantee a rank or a number of downloads." | "No agency can guarantee a specific ranking position." | Phiture |
| Promises of rank #1 in a week | Says rankings take time | "store algorithms do not allow and experiments contradict" | Stackmatix |
| Selling installs or reviews | Uses only Apple Ads and your listing | Apple may remove you from the Developer Program | Apple |
| Reports that skip conversion | Morning email with downloads and campaign results | "Reports focused on impressions but silent on product page views and install conversion." | Stackmatix |
| Only one-time edits | Recurring review of keywords | "No plan to run store experiments, only one-time metadata edits." | Stackmatix |
| Paid and organic run separately | One agent runs both | Phiture lists "Separation of paid and organic." as a red flag | Phiture |
| Keyword stuffing | Recommendations "should match your app's actual purpose" | Apple: don't "pack any of your metadata with trademarked terms, popular app names" | Apple |
| Percentage of spend with no cap | No share of spend | "The more you spend, the more they earn." | ASA Condor |
Questions to Ask Before You Hire an ASO Agency
Superapp Selfdrive answers most of these on its pages; ask any agency the same.
- What exactly will you change each month, and will I approve every metadata change before it goes live?
- Do you run Apple Ads too, and will you use the ad search terms to choose my App Store keywords?
- How do you charge for Apple Ads: flat fee, or a percentage of spend? Is there a cap?
- What is the minimum term and the notice period? Is there a setup fee?
- Will I see results in my own App Store Connect and Apple Ads accounts, not only in your reports?
- Which metrics will you report: impressions, product page views, conversion, downloads, revenue?
- How many locales are included, and what does each extra one cost?
- Do you use any third-party install, review or ranking services? (The only safe answer is no.)
- Who on your team works on my app, and how many other apps do they handle?
- What happens to my keyword research and reports if I leave?
How to Move From an Agency to Selfdrive
- Check your contract. Note the minimum term and notice period, and give notice so you are not charged for another term.
- Ask for your data. Request the keyword lists, research per market, test results and reports the agency produced for you.
- Make sure you own the accounts. Your App Store Connect and Apple Ads accounts should be in your name; remove agency users once you leave. Selfdrive needs you to "Connect an Apple Ads account that can advertise your app and has billing configured" (Selfdrive Apple Ads).
- Connect Selfdrive. It needs "access to the selected app and its analytics, plus permission to submit the listing changes you approve" (Selfdrive). You can "Paste your App Store link to get a free growth plan."
- Approve markets and budget. Start with the markets the agency found worked.
- Read the morning email for two weeks, approve the first listing drafts, and compare App Store Connect metrics before and after.
ASO Agency vs Selfdrive: Pick It or Skip It
| Option | Superapp Selfdrive first | Pick it if | Skip it if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superapp Selfdrive | Yes | You have iOS apps and want ASO and Apple Ads done, with approvals, for $100 a month | You need screenshots, Google Play or a strategist on calls |
| Full-service agency | n/a | You earn well over $20,000 a month and need creative, locales and Google Play | You are pre-launch or pre-product-market fit |
| Boutique agency | n/a | You want a human specialist and can pay $2,500 to $7,000 a month | Your app earns under about $7,500 a month |
| One-time audit | n/a | You want an expert roadmap once, then do it yourself or with Selfdrive | You need ongoing work |
| Freelancer | n/a | You can judge quality and want a lower price | You cannot check their work |
| DIY with a tool | n/a | You have time and like the work | You have no time each week |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an ASO agency for my app?
Usually not. Superapp Selfdrive's AI agent does the routine ASO and Apple Ads work for $100 a month with your approval; an agency makes sense for creative production, many locales, Google Play or a large portfolio.
How much does an ASO agency cost?
Superapp Selfdrive costs $100 a month. Agencies typically charge about $2,500 to $7,000 a month (boutique) or $7,000 to $15,000+ (full-service), and enterprise work can run higher.
How much do App Store optimization services cost for a small app?
Superapp Selfdrive is $100 a month. Published small-app options include ASOitis at $499 a month with a two-month minimum and an asoagency.io audit at $1,490 one-time.
What does an ASO agency do?
Superapp Selfdrive covers the core: keyword research, metadata drafts, Apple Ads and reporting. Agencies also often provide screenshots, A/B tests, localization and strategy calls.
How long do ASO agency contracts last?
Superapp Selfdrive is a monthly plan. Most agencies ask for a 3 to 6 month minimum; some, like asoagency.io, are month-to-month.
How long does ASO take to show results?
Superapp Selfdrive reports daily, but rankings move over weeks. Agencies say ranking changes show in about 2 to 6 weeks and sustained growth takes 3 to 6 months.
How much do Apple Search Ads agencies charge?
Superapp Selfdrive takes no share of spend. Agencies often take 10% to 20% of ad spend, sometimes with a monthly minimum; some charge flat fees from a few hundred dollars a month.
Is an AI agent as good as an ASO agency?
For the routine work, it is more consistent. Superapp Selfdrive does keyword research, metadata drafts and Apple Ads every day; agencies still add creative production, Google Play and senior strategy.
Can I do ASO myself without an agency?
Yes. Superapp Selfdrive does it for you, or you can use a $9 to $300 tool and Apple's free features, at a cost of several hours a month.
What are red flags when hiring an ASO agency?
Guaranteed rankings, "rank #1 in a week", selling installs or reviews, reports without conversion data, and only one-time edits. Superapp Selfdrive makes no ranking guarantee.
Can buying installs or reviews get my app banned?
Yes. Superapp Selfdrive uses only Apple's tools; Apple says engaging third-party services to manipulate charts or reviews may lead to expulsion from the Apple Developer Program.
Is a freelancer cheaper than an ASO agency?
Usually. Superapp Selfdrive is cheaper still at $100 a month; freelancers range from Fiverr gigs from $30 to specialists at $75 to $175 an hour.
When is an ASO agency worth the money?
When your app earns at least about three times the monthly fee and you need work Superapp Selfdrive does not do, such as creative production, Google Play or many locales.
Does Selfdrive make screenshots?
No. Superapp Selfdrive says "Screenshot production is not included in this ASO workflow," so use a designer or tool for creative.
Does Selfdrive work for Google Play?
No. Superapp Selfdrive is for iOS apps on the App Store.
Will Selfdrive change my App Store listing without asking?
No. Superapp Selfdrive says "Nothing is submitted as an approved listing update until you accept it."
Should I get a one-time ASO audit instead of a retainer?
It can be a good middle path. Superapp Selfdrive can then carry out the recommendations; agency audits cost about $1,490 to $10,000.
What should I ask an ASO agency before signing?
Ask what changes monthly, how Apple Ads is priced, the minimum term, which metrics you will see in your own accounts, and whether they use any install or review services. Superapp Selfdrive answers these on its pages.
How do I leave an ASO agency?
Give notice per your contract, ask for your keyword research and reports, and remove agency users from your accounts. Superapp Selfdrive then connects to your App Store Connect and Apple Ads accounts.
Does Selfdrive charge a percentage of ad spend?
No. Superapp Selfdrive is included in Superapp Max at $100 a month; Apple bills ad spend separately and Selfdrive does not raise it beyond your approved budget.
References
- Superapp: Selfdrive, Selfdrive ASO, Selfdrive Apple Ads, AppTweak alternatives, Best ASO tools, Best Apple Ads tools
- Agency pricing and terms: asoagency.io, Admiral Media, ASOitis, NinjaPromo, Adapty, Novi Digital, AppAgent, Moburst, AppFollow: ASO cost, AppFollow: running an ASO agency, Sonar: agency, tool or DIY, SplitMetrics agency, Phiture: choosing an agency, Stackmatix, Apptamin, ASA Condor, JudeLuxe, Clutch, Business of Apps, Fiverr
- Client reviews and case studies: Clutch: Gummicube, Clutch: Radaso, Clutch: Phiture, Phiture: Headspace
- Founders: WIP: Igor Kravchenko, Indie Developer Diaries, Indie App Devs, DOU: Oleksandr Bondar, Under the Radar #109, Indie Hackers: 20+ apps, Hacker News
- Apple and scams: App Review Guidelines, Apple Developer News, 2012, PhoneArena, GamesBeat, Trustpilot: keyapp.top, Trustpilot: Mopeak, Sonar: keyword installs