Pricing
Last updated 2 August 2026
App Store Operator is free. It costs $0.00, is open source under the MIT licence, and has no paid tier, no subscription, no trial, and no usage cap. All four tools are included for everyone.
The one thing worth knowing before you install: the two analytics tools read their data from SensorTower, so they open a browser window once and ask you to sign in to a free SensorTower account. A paid SensorTower plan is not required.
What is included
There is one plan and everyone is on it. The table below lists what each of the four tools returns and what, if anything, it asks you to sign in to.
| Tool | Price | Account | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
search_app_store | Free | None | Keyword search in any App Store region. Up to 25 ranked results with app name, app ID, and position. |
research_rivals | Free | Free SensorTower account | App Store search plus analytics in one call. 16 data fields for the top 3 ranked apps, cached locally for 24 hours. |
get_app_details | Free | Free SensorTower account | The same 16-field dataset for specific app IDs you already have, skipping the keyword-search step. |
prepare_iae | Free | None | iOS In-App Event copy in 14 locales. 3 variations per run with App Store Connect character limits enforced. No external API calls. |
What “free” does and does not mean
Free here means no money changes hands and no plan gates any feature. It does not mean nothing to sign in to. search_app_store and prepare_iae need no account of any kind and work the moment the server starts. research_rivals and get_app_details pull download and revenue estimates from SensorTower, and SensorTower requires an account to read them.
On the first call to either of those two tools, App Store Operator opens a real browser window on SensorTower's own sign-in page. You sign in there with a free SensorTower account — the server never reads or stores your password — and the session is saved to a local profile and reused from then on. You do this once.
The full data-flow detail is in the privacy policy, and the alternatives comparison covers where a paid ASO subscription still earns its keep.
What you need to run it
- Node.js 18 or higher
- Claude Code (any plan) or Claude Desktop (Pro and above)
- A free SensorTower account, for
research_rivalsandget_app_detailsonly
The server runs locally on your own machine and calls no paid API, so there is no hosting or usage cost on your side either.
Install
Run it without installing:
npx -y app-store-operator@latestOr add it to Claude Code or Claude Desktop:
claude mcp add --transport stdio app-store-operator -- npx -y app-store-operator@latestThe use cases page shows the exact prompt for each tool once it is connected.
Frequently asked questions
Is App Store Operator free?
Yes. App Store Operator costs $0.00. It is open source under the MIT licence, with no paid tier, no subscription, no trial period, and no usage cap.
Do I need a paid SensorTower plan?
No. Two of the four tools — research_rivals and get_app_details — read SensorTower analytics through a browser window you sign in to once on first run. A free SensorTower account is enough. The other two tools, search_app_store and prepare_iae, need no account at all.
Do I need an API key?
No. There is no API key to obtain, no licence key, and no App Store Operator account to create. App Store data comes from Apple's public iTunes Search API, which needs no authentication.
Is there a usage limit?
No quota is imposed by App Store Operator. Results are cached locally for 24 hours, so repeated queries on the same keyword and country return instantly without re-fetching.
Will it stay free?
The MIT licence is irrevocable for every version already published, so the code you install today remains free to use, modify, and redistribute regardless of what happens later.
What does it cost to run?
Nothing beyond what you already pay. The server runs locally on your own machine and calls no paid API. You need Node.js 18 or higher and access to Claude through Claude Code (any plan) or Claude Desktop (Pro and above).
Machine-readable pricing
The same pricing and per-tool feature list is published as plain markdown at /pricing.md for scripts and AI agents.