App Store Subtitle: The 30-Character Limit, 20 Examples, and How to Write Yours

Quick answer: The App Store subtitle is limited to 30 characters, spaces and punctuation included, and it appears under your app name in search results and on your product page. It is indexed for search with weight second only to the app name, so the best subtitles do two jobs at once: they contain the keyword people actually type, and they read as a promise to the person scanning results. The reliable formula is primary keyword first, benefit or audience second, for example "Habit Tracker: Build Streaks" (28 characters). You can change it with every release, per language.

Thirty characters is roughly five words. Most developers either fill them with a slogan that ranks for nothing ("Your life, organized") or pack them with keywords that a human won't read ("Habit Tracker Planner Goals"). Both waste the single most valuable line of metadata Apple gives you. This post is the practical version: what fits, what works, and how to check a subtitle before you commit a release to it.

The rules, briefly

• 30 characters including spaces and punctuation. Apple counts characters, not bytes, so accented letters count as one.
• Per language. Each localization has its own subtitle. A German listing with the English subtitle is a wasted field.
• Changeable with any release. Metadata-only releases work; you don't need a new build.
• Indexed. Words in the subtitle rank you for searches. Don't repeat words already in your app name, Apple indexes each word once and the duplicate is dead space.
• Reviewed. Apple rejects subtitles that are pure keyword lists, that claim rankings or awards, that mention competitors by name, or that reference price or a promotion. "Free" is a common rejection.

If you want the short-form definition, the App Store subtitle glossary entry has it. This post is about writing one.

Three formulas that fit

Almost every strong subtitle is one of these.

1. Keyword + outcome. The search term, then what the user gets. "Sleep Sounds: Fall Asleep Fast" (30)

2. Keyword + audience. Who it's for, which doubles as a filter. "Invoices for Small Business" (27)

3. Two keywords that share a user. Two intents one person has. "Meal Planner & Grocery List" (27)

The colon, ampersand and comma are your friends. They cost one character each and make a keyword pair read as a sentence instead of a list.

20 App Store subtitle examples by app type

Every example is within the limit, with the character count. None of these is a real app's subtitle; they're patterns to adapt.

Notice what's missing: no "best", no "#1", no "free", no app name repeated, no "app". Every one of those costs characters and either ranks for nothing or gets rejected.

How to choose the keyword that goes first

The first word or two carry the most weight, both for Apple's index and for the human eye, so the choice of lead keyword matters more than anything else in the field.

The wrong way is to guess. The right way is to look up the candidates and compare what you'd actually get. For each term you're considering, you want to know roughly how many people search it, how hard it is to rank for given who already does, and whether your app has a realistic shot.

This is what the Keyword Explorer is for. Type a term and you get its popularity and difficulty scores, the apps currently ranking for it, and related terms you might not have considered. Running your app through the ASO report does the same across every keyword your listing could plausibly win and sorts them by opportunity, which usually surfaces one or two terms you'd never have picked by instinct.

A rule I use: the lead keyword should be one you can get into the top 10 for within a release or two. A subtitle that leads with a term ranked #140 is a wish, not a strategy. Put the reachable term first, the aspirational one in the keyword field, and swap them when the rank data says you've earned it.

Check it before you ship it

Three checks, thirty seconds each:

1. Search it. Open the App Store, type your lead keyword, and look at the subtitles of the top five. If yours reads like theirs, you've written a subtitle that competes on ratings alone. Find the angle they don't have.
2. Read it in the result card. Your subtitle appears in one line under your name, next to your first screenshots. Does it tell the person scanning why to tap you instead of the app above? If it only makes sense after reading your description, rewrite it.
3. Count it. App Store Connect will stop you at 30, but "stopped at 30" and "designed for 30" are different things. A 29-character subtitle that ends mid-thought is worse than a 22-character one that lands.

After you ship it

A subtitle change is a metadata release, so Apple's search reflects it once the release is approved, usually within a day or two. The only way to know whether it worked is to watch the rank for the terms you led with over the next two weeks. If you track those keywords, the change date on the chart tells the story on its own. The rank tracking post covers how to read that line and what to do if it goes the wrong way.

And keep the subtitle and your first screenshot saying the same thing. If the subtitle promises "Fall Asleep Fast" and screenshot one is a settings screen, the tap you earned with the subtitle dies on the product page. When you paste your App Store link into the composer it reads your listing, so the captions it writes can echo the metadata; whatever tool you use, do that check by hand.

FAQ

What is the App Store subtitle character limit? 30 characters, including spaces and punctuation. Apple counts characters rather than bytes, so accented letters count as one. The limit applies separately to each localized subtitle.

Does the App Store subtitle affect search ranking? Yes. Apple indexes the words in your subtitle for search with weight second only to the app name. Words already in your app name are not counted twice, so the subtitle should add new keywords rather than repeat the name.

Can I change my App Store subtitle without a new app version? You need a release, but a metadata-only release is enough; no new build is required. The change takes effect when Apple approves that release.

What should I avoid in an App Store subtitle? Keyword lists without meaning, price or promotion words such as "free", ranking or award claims, competitor names, repeating your app name, and the word "app". Each of these either wastes characters, ranks for nothing, or risks rejection in review.

What is a good App Store subtitle formula? Primary keyword first, then a benefit or audience: "Habit Tracker: Build Streaks" (28 characters). Alternatives are keyword plus audience ("Invoices for Small Business") or two related keywords one person searches ("Meal Planner & Grocery List").

How do I know which keyword to lead my subtitle with? Compare candidates on how many people search them and how hard they are to rank for. A keyword explorer shows popularity, difficulty and who currently ranks; an ASO report on your own app sorts every viable term by opportunity. Lead with the term you can realistically reach the top 10 for.

Related reading

• Title vs subtitle vs keyword field: which term belongs in which field
• ASO keyword research in 5 minutes: finding the candidates
• App Store rank tracking: measuring whether the new subtitle worked
• App Store subtitle glossary entry: the short definition
• The ASO checklist: the full listing audit