What happened to data.ai?
App Annie was the default app-market dataset for more than a decade. It rebranded as data.ai in 2022, and on March 18, 2024, Sensor Tower announced that it had acquired data.ai.
Today data.ai is a login page with a "We've Been Acquired by Sensor Tower" banner, and its public pages, such as the top charts, no longer load. Existing customers were pointed to their Sensor Tower account directors. There is no public data.ai product left to sign up for, so the free access many small developers relied on is gone too.
Sensor Tower has kept buying since: Video Game Insights and Playliner in 2025, and AppMagic in May 2026. So the question former data.ai users face is not only which tool has the right data, but whether they want every option to share one owner.
Replace the job, not the logo
data.ai did several different jobs, and few small teams used all of them. Before picking a replacement, list what you actually opened it for. The table below maps each job to the tools that do it today.
| What you used data.ai for | Where to go now |
|---|---|
| Market estimates, top charts, and competitor tracking | AppBird, Sensor Tower, or Appfigures on its higher tiers |
| New app and game discovery | AppBird daily release feeds with genre and tag filters |
| Your own apps' downloads and revenue | App Store Connect and Google Play Console (free), Appfigures for one dashboard |
| ASO keywords and rankings | AppTweak, MobileAction, or Sonar |
| Ratings and reviews | AppFollow for review workflows; AppBird for rating history |
| Ad intelligence | AppBird ad creatives, MobileAction, or Sensor Tower |
Most teams used data.ai for two or three of these jobs, not all six. Replace the jobs you actually did.
Quick comparison (October 2026)
| Tool | Starting price | Free tier / trial | Replaces this part of data.ai |
|---|---|---|---|
| AppBird | $199/mo (Pro) | See current access options | Market tracking, new releases, Google Play downloads, ad creatives |
| Sensor Tower | Custom quote | Free sign-up; paid plans through sales | The data.ai dataset and its customers |
| Appfigures | $9.99/mo own-app (Connect); competitor estimates from $599.99/mo | Free Starter plan; free trial, no card | Own-app analytics, with market estimates on higher tiers |
| AppTweak | From €79/mo (Essential) | 7-day free trial | ASO keywords and metadata |
| MobileAction | $15/mo (ASO Lite) | 7-day trial on ASO plans | ASO plus ad intelligence |
| Sonar | $29/mo (Indie) | 7-day free trial (card required) | Keyword research and daily rank tracking on both stores |
| AppFollow | Free plan; paid prices not listed | Free plan for 2 apps | Ratings, reviews, and reply workflows |
| AppMagic (Sensor Tower-owned) | No public prices | Free plan for charts and rankings | Games-market estimates |
Checked October 21, 2026. Prices are list prices with monthly billing; AppTweak lists prices in euros. Entry plans cover different products: own-app analytics and ASO are not equivalent to market-wide intelligence. Follow the pricing links for current features, limits, and evaluation terms.
The alternatives in detail
1. AppBird - independent market intelligence at self-serve pricing
AppBird covers the market-tracking side of data.ai for more than 8 million apps and games across the App Store and Google Play: new releases every day with genre and tag filters, Google Play download data, top charts, rating history, update timelines, ad creatives, ownership transfers, and X-Ray technical teardowns that show the SDKs and engine inside a build.
- Pros: self-serve Pro at $199/month; both stores; Google Play download data; daily discovery; ad creatives; update timelines; X-Ray teardowns of SDKs, engines, and publisher fingerprints; independent ownership.
- Considerations: iOS coverage is ranking and trend signals rather than iOS download or revenue estimates. It does not replace analytics for your own apps; use the store consoles for that. API access is a paid add-on for eligible Elite and Team plans.
Full disclosure: this is our platform.
2. Sensor Tower - the direct successor
If you need data.ai's historical estimates, revenue models, and enterprise reporting, Sensor Tower is where they went. It customizes pricing for each customer and is priced for publishers, agencies, and investors, so get a quote for the datasets and seats you need.
3. Appfigures - the closest thing to free own-app analytics
Many indie developers used App Annie to see all their apps in one dashboard. Appfigures does that well, with downloads, revenue, reviews, and rankings across stores, plus market estimates on its higher tiers.
- Pros: strong portfolio reporting; a free Starter plan; Connect at $9.99/month; a free trial with no card required.
- Considerations: plans up to Optimize include no competitor estimates. Competitor download and revenue estimates start with Boost at $599.99/month.
4. AppTweak - ASO specialist
If you used data.ai for keyword rankings, AppTweak is the most established ASO specialist here: search volume, keyword rankings, metadata testing, and competitor keyword gaps, with market intelligence sold separately. Essential starts at €79/month with a 7-day free trial.
5. MobileAction - ASO plus ad intelligence
MobileAction combines keyword tools with an ad creative library and Apple Search Ads features. ASO Lite starts at $15/month, with a 7-day trial on its ASO plans.
6. Sonar - independent, self-serve keyword tracking
Sonar is a focused ASO tool for keyword popularity and difficulty, daily keyword rank tracking, and competitor keyword gaps on both the App Store and Google Play. The Indie plan is $29/month for 10 apps and 2,500 keywords, with a 7-day free trial (card required). Sonar is bootstrapped and independent, and it is the budget pick if keywords were the main thing you used data.ai for.
7. AppFollow - ratings and reviews
AppFollow covers review monitoring, replies, and sentiment across stores, with a free plan for two apps. It replaces the reviews side of data.ai, not the market data.
8. AppMagic - games estimates, now Sensor Tower-owned
AppMagic offers games-focused download and revenue estimates, and a free plan for top charts and rankings. It no longer publishes prices, and since May 2026 it belongs to Sensor Tower, so it is not an independent second source. See our AppMagic alternatives guide.
Free data you might be underusing
For your own apps, the most accurate numbers are free. App Store Connect and Google Play Console report your real downloads, revenue, conversion, and retention. Third-party tools exist for everyone else's apps. Use the consoles for your portfolio and spend your budget on market data.
How to move off data.ai workflows
- Keep your old exports. Historical estimates from a discontinued model are hard to reproduce. Keep any data.ai reports you still have, with a note on what each number measured.
- Rebuild your watchlists. Add the competitors you tracked. In AppBird that means bookmarks and saved searches with alerts.
- Calibrate before you compare. Every provider models downloads differently. Benchmark a new tool against your own apps before comparing its numbers with old data.ai figures.
- Split the jobs. One market tool, one ASO tool if search matters, and the free consoles for your own apps usually cost far less than one enterprise contract.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best data.ai alternative?
It depends on the job. Sensor Tower is the direct successor to the data.ai dataset. For independent market intelligence at self-serve pricing, AppBird offers daily discovery, Google Play download data, rankings, ad creatives, and X-Ray technical teardowns, with Pro at $199/month. For ASO keywords, compare AppTweak, MobileAction, and Sonar.
What happened to data.ai?
App Annie rebranded as data.ai in 2022, and Sensor Tower announced that it had acquired data.ai on March 18, 2024. The data.ai site is now a login page marked as a Sensor Tower company, and its public pages no longer load, so there is no data.ai product left to sign up for.
Is there a free data.ai alternative?
For your own apps, App Store Connect and Google Play Console are free and more accurate than any estimate. For market data, several vendors offer limited free access: Appfigures has a free Starter plan, AppMagic a free plan for top charts and rankings, and AppTweak a free Market Intelligence plan with last-month estimates. Sonar offers a 7-day free trial for keyword tracking. Free tiers suit spot checks; for daily tracking, compare paid plans such as AppBird Pro at $199/month.
What is the best App Annie alternative for indie developers?
Most indie developers used App Annie for two things: their own app stats and keeping an eye on competitors. Use the store consoles or Appfigures for the first, and an independent market tool such as AppBird for the second.
Which data.ai alternative is best for ASO?
AppTweak is the most established ASO specialist, MobileAction adds ad intelligence, and Sonar is the independent budget option at $29/month for keyword research and daily rank tracking on both stores.
Is AppMagic an independent alternative to data.ai?
Not anymore. Sensor Tower acquired AppMagic in May 2026, so it shares an owner with data.ai, and AppMagic no longer publishes prices. AppBird, Appfigures, AppTweak, MobileAction, Sonar, and AppFollow are not owned by Sensor Tower.
The bottom line
data.ai lives on inside Sensor Tower. If you want an independent replacement for its market-tracking side, AppBird offers daily discovery, Google Play download data, ad creatives, and technical teardowns with Pro at $199/month. Use the store consoles or Appfigures for your own apps, and Sonar, AppTweak, or MobileAction for keywords.