App intelligence sizes an app you can already name, and niche research names the space before there is an app. Appaloma holds 4,000+ named niches with an app count and a revenue band on each, and the other eight tools on this page rank a category, score a keyword or plot a trend.
What a niche research tool has to answer
A niche tool has to name the space, count the apps in it and how many launched in the last 18 months, say who leads and what they earn, and show what those apps promise and what their users complain about. A category answers the first with a name too wide to build against, a keyword tool answers none of the four, and a trend tool answers demand for a phrase with nothing about the apps.
At a glance
| Tool | Names niches | Unit | Free | Price | Answers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appaloma | 4,000+ | Niche | The lookup, three a day | $59 a month | All four |
| AppMagic | Genre tags, paid | Category and app | Top charts, a rough estimate | Quote only | Who leads, roughly |
| Sensor Tower | No | Category and publisher | No | $30k to $150k a year | Who leads and their ad spend |
| Appfigures | No | App and category | A monthly snapshot | $9.99 to $599.99 a month | Who leads, monthly |
| Apple Ads search popularity | No | Keyword | Yes | Free | Demand for a phrase |
| App Store top charts | No | Category | Yes | Free | Who leads a category today |
| Google Trends | No | Search phrase | Yes | Free | Demand over time |
| Exploding Topics | No | Topic | The library | $39 a month billed annually | Demand over time |
| No | Thread | Yes | Free | What people want, in their words |
Appaloma
Appaloma files 50,000 apps over $5k a month into 4,000+ named niches three levels deep, Home fitness into Home workouts into Seven-minute workout. Every niche carries its app count, how many launched in the last 18 months, the share of review pace they hold and the leader's revenue band. One and two star reviews of the top twelve pool into a complaint count, and 30,000+ USPs sit across those niches, "scan a collectible, get a resale price" in 161 of them. The free lookup names the niche for any idea three times a day, and the full catalog is $59 a month or $499 a year.
AppMagic
AppMagic's genre taxonomy is the closest a category tool gets to a niche, with tags narrower than Apple's categories, and it moved behind the paywall in January 2026 together with the trending chart. The free tier keeps top charts and a rough estimate per app. Sensor Tower bought the company in May 2026 and the paid plans answer with a quote. AppMagic alternatives covers the replacements feature by feature.
Sensor Tower
Sensor Tower sells competitor ad spend across channels from $30k to $150k a year, median $75k on Vendr, with the API billed separately. Its unit is the category and the publisher, three levels above a named niche. Sensor Tower alternatives for indie developers compares the field.
Appfigures
Appfigures answers who leads for an app you can already name: a free monthly snapshot of downloads and revenue for any app, daily competitor data on Boost at $599.99 a month, and your own numbers from $9.99. Explore browses categories and charts, and neither names a space narrower than Apple's.
Apple's own signals
Apple Ads scores search popularity for any keyword from 1 to 5, and the top charts show who leads each category today. "Sleep sounds" is a keyword score, and Baby white noise is 12 apps with a leader in the $20–50k a month band.
Google Trends and Exploding Topics
Google Trends plots demand for a phrase over time at no cost, and Exploding Topics does the same for topics it has found early, free in the public library and $39 a month billed annually on Pro. Both say nothing about the apps in a niche until the niche has a name.
Search reddit.com for "is there an app that" and every thread is demand with no product attached: live alerts when screen time burns on one app, flashcards that push on a schedule, friends who learn you are in town. Free app research tools lists the other free tiers, and how to pick a niche sets out the five readings once the space has a name.
What a niche read looks like
Appaloma readings · TCG card scanners & trading · 2026-09-01
- OpeningOpenOpen when a quarter or more of the niche launched in the last 18 months
- Demand86Revealed by rating velocity across the niche, 0–100
- Crowding23How much of the niche the top apps already hold, 0–100
- Apps10023 researched over $20k a month
- New63launched in the last 18 months, holding 64% of the niche's review pace
- Floor$1.9M+a month, adding the band floors of 100 researched apps
TCG card scanners read this way as of September 2026: 100 apps, Open, 63 launched in the last 18 months holding 64% of the review pace, 23 researched over $20k a month, and the same three complaints across all twelve leaders: wrong prices, a trial that charged and a scan cap on the first session. How to pick a niche sets out the five readings and the full read is the page.
FAQ
What is the best tool to find app niches?
Appaloma holds 4,000+ named niches with an app count, an opening reading, a revenue band and pooled complaints on each at $59 a month, and its free lookup names the niche for any idea. Every other tool on this page ranks a category, scores a keyword or plots a trend.
Is there a free app niche finder?
Appaloma's free app concept explorer at /is-there-an-app returns the nearest named niche for an idea typed in a few words, with the app count, the leader's revenue band and the USPs apps there run, three times a day.
Does Sensor Tower show app niches?
Sensor Tower's unit is Apple's category and the publisher. AppMagic, its small-business plan, moved narrower genre tags behind a paywall in January 2026, and both paid products price by quote.
How do I know if an app niche is profitable?
Read the leader's revenue band, the count of apps over $20k a month, and how much of the review pace the last 18 months of launches hold. TCG card scanners read 23 apps over $20k a month with newcomers holding 64% of the review pace as of September 2026. How to pick a niche walks through the five readings.
How many app niches are there?
Appaloma names 4,000+ across three levels, built from 50,000 apps over $5k a month as of September 2026.