Guides
Start here: how the charts work
- How App Store Top Charts Rankings WorkWhat decides an app's position on Apple's Top Free, Top Paid and Top Grossing charts, how often they update, and why ranks differ by country.
- How Google Play Top Charts Rankings WorkWhat drives an app's place on Google Play's Top Free, Top Paid and Top Grossing charts, how categories and countries differ, and how often the charts refresh.
- Top Grossing vs Top Free vs Top Paid: What They MeanThe three app store chart types explained: what each one counts, which apps lead them, and which chart matters for your goals.
- How to Check Your App's Ranking in Every CountryA free way to see where your iOS or Android app ranks on the top charts in every country and category, and how that changed since yesterday.
- Why Did My App's Rank Drop? Common CausesThe usual reasons an app falls on the App Store or Google Play charts overnight, how to tell them apart, and what you can do about each.
- App Store vs Google Play Charts: 7 DifferencesHow Apple's and Google's top charts differ: depth, apps vs games, categories, update cadence, ranking signals, countries and prices, and what that means when you compare them.
App Metrics Explained: DAU, Retention, ARPU, LTV, CPI
Plain-English definitions and formulas for DAU, retention, ARPU, LTV and CPI, how App Store Connect and Play Console report them, and the traps to avoid.
App Store Seasonality: When the Charts Move and Why
Christmas Day device spikes, New Year fitness surges, Ramadan, back-to-school, Black Friday and tax season: what moves on the app charts, and when.
App Subscription Benchmarks: Trials, Churn and Pricing
Trial-to-paid rates, year-one retention, median prices and regional gaps from RevenueCat's 2024–2026 reports, and how to read them without being misled.
Apple Search Ads Basics: Placements, Bidding and Costs
Apple Ads Basic vs Advanced, the four App Store placements, 2025 cost-per-tap benchmarks, AdServices attribution and how paid installs touch chart rank.
ASO Tools Compared: AppTweak, Sensor Tower, Appfigures
Honest comparison of AppTweak, Sensor Tower/data.ai, Appfigures, MobileAction, AppFollow and Astro: public pricing (Oct 2026) and what each does best.
Free Trial Length and Conversion: 3, 7 or 14 Days?
Trial-to-paid benchmarks by trial length and plan type (RevenueCat, Adapty 2025–2026), intro and win-back offers on iOS and Android, and how to measure.
Google App Campaigns for Play: Setup, Bidding and Benchmarks
Google App campaigns for Android: install, action and pre-registration types, asset specs, tCPI/tCPA bidding, Play and Firebase measurement, benchmarks.
How Indie Apps Reach $1M ARR: Real Numbers
Documented indie subscription apps that reached $1M ARR (Slopes, Cal AI, Visible, Hevy): models, time to $1M and what the revenue ramp looks like.
How Many Downloads to Reach Top 10 on the App Store?
Published estimates of the daily downloads needed for top 10, top 50 and top 100 on the US App Store and Google Play, by chart, category and country size.
iOS vs Android: Users, Downloads and Revenue by Region
Where iPhone and Android users are, how downloads and consumer spending split between the App Store and Google Play, and which platform to launch on first.
Mobile App Retention Benchmarks by Category (2025–2026)
D1, D7 and D30 retention benchmarks from 2025–2026 reports, split by category, iOS vs Android and games vs apps, plus what good looks like.
What Is a Good App Store Rank? Reading the Charts
What a chart position really means: overall vs category, big vs small countries, free vs paid vs grossing, and how to read an app's rank everywhere.