An Astro alternative you pay for once
Culmen is a native Mac app for App Store keyword tracking, like Astro. The main difference is the price model: Astro costs $108 a year for one Mac, and Culmen costs $19 once, with a 14-day free trial.
Astro has real strengths: its popularity scores come from Apple Search Ads, and it covers more countries. This page lists the differences so you can choose.
Culmen and Astro side by side
Astro facts checked on November 11, 2026. Source: tryastro.app
| Culmen | Astro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19, one payment | $108 per year ($9 a month, billed annually) |
| License | One Mac, lifetime | One Mac, while you subscribe |
| Free trial | 14 days, every feature, no card | Free download; trial terms are not stated on tryastro.app |
| Refund | 14 days | 14 days |
| Runs on | macOS 14 or later | macOS 14 or later |
| Keyword limit | None | None |
| Rank updates | Daily, top 200 | Daily |
| Countries | 52 | More than 60 |
| Popularity score | Estimate from Apple search suggestions | From Apple Search Ads |
| Difficulty score | Estimate | Yes |
| Keyword suggestions | Yes | Yes |
| Competitors | Apps ahead of you on a keyword: rating, review count, rank gap | Extracts competitor keywords |
| Reviews and ratings | Reviews by country; reply through App Store Connect | Tracks new reviews; rating analysis |
| Keyword translation | No | Yes (DeepL) |
| Listing audit | ASO score with 12 checks | Not mentioned on tryastro.app |
| Metadata history | Saved daily; shows rank change 7 days after an edit | Not mentioned on tryastro.app |
| Claude assistant and MCP server | Yes, with your own Claude API key | Not mentioned on tryastro.app |
| Export | CSV and weekly PDF report | Not mentioned on tryastro.app |
| Account | None | Lemon Squeezy account to manage the subscription |
Choose Astro if
- You want popularity scores taken directly from Apple Search Ads.
- You track a country that is in Astro's list of more than 60 but not in Culmen's 52.
- You work across many languages and want each keyword translated in the app.
Choose Culmen if
- You want to pay once. At today's prices, after the first year Culmen has cost $19 and Astro $108; after three years, $19 and $324.
- You want to try every feature for 14 days before you pay.
- You want to see what a metadata change did to your ranks, 7 days later.
- You want an audit of your title, subtitle and keyword field.
- You use Claude and want to ask questions about your own rank data, in the app or through MCP.
What both apps do
- Native Mac app, macOS 14 or later
- Daily keyword rank tracking with history
- No limit on keywords
- Popularity and difficulty for each keyword
- Keyword suggestions
- App Store reviews
- 14-day refund
How to move from Astro to Culmen
- Download Culmen and open it. The trial starts without a card.
- Add your app with the + button.
- Paste your keyword list. Keywords can be separated by commas or by new lines.
- Culmen records your ranks from that day on. Rank history from Astro cannot be imported.
Questions
- Is Culmen a subscription?
- No. Culmen is $19 once, for one Mac, with no renewal.
- Can I import my Astro history?
- No. Culmen starts its own history on the day you add your keywords.
- Where do Culmen's popularity numbers come from?
- They are estimates built from Apple's search suggestions. They are not Apple Search Ads values.
- Does Culmen track Google Play?
- No. Like Astro, it is for the App Store.