The App Store subtitle is only 30 characters. That is too small for brand fluff.
If your title already says what the app is, the subtitle should add a new search angle or make the install feel more obvious. Most indie listings do the opposite. They repeat the app name, repeat the category, or use words like "simple" and "powerful" that do not help Apple or the person scanning search results.
The subtitle has two jobs
Apple can use your app name, subtitle, and keyword field for search. Users can also see the subtitle on the product page and often in search results.
So the line has to do two jobs at once:
- add relevant keyword coverage
- help a human understand the app faster
That sounds obvious until you audit real listings. A lot of subtitles are basically decorative.
Weak pattern: "Simple habit tracker"
Better pattern: "Morning routines"
If the title already contains "Habit Tracker," the better subtitle adds a specific use case instead of spending 30 characters on words the title already covered.
Bad subtitle pattern: brand echo
A lot of indie apps write the subtitle like a tiny billboard for the brand.
Bad:
HabitFox: Build habits with HabitFox
Better:
HabitFox Habit Tracker: Morning routines
The better version is still plain. That is fine. Plain usually wins in metadata.
It gives Apple "habit tracker" in the title and "morning routines" in the subtitle. It also gives the user a more specific reason to care. For a new app, the brand usually has no search demand yet, so repeating it is expensive.
Treat the subtitle like rented space in a very expensive airport. Every word needs a job.
Subtitle examples by category
Habit app
Weak: "Simple daily habit builder"
Better: "Morning routines"
Why it works: if the title already says "Habit Tracker," the subtitle can move into a concrete moment instead of repeating daily habit language.
Budget app
Weak: "Track money and expenses"
Better: "Bills and cash flow"
Pair that with a title like "Budget Planner" and you get more useful combinations: budget bills, cash flow planner, money bills, expense planner if expense lives in the keyword field.
Focus timer
Weak: "Powerful focus timer"
Better: "Deep work sessions"
"Powerful" does not tell the user anything. "Deep work sessions" points to a real job the app helps with.
Sleep sounds app
Weak: "Relaxing sleep sounds"
Better: "Rain, fan, white noise"
If "Sleep Sounds" is already in the title, the subtitle can carry sound types users actually search for and recognize instantly.
Language app
Weak: "Learn any language fast"
Better: "Travel phrases first"
The second version is narrower, more believable, and easier to match with screenshot copy.
When to choose keyword coverage over conversion copy
It depends on what the title already covers.
If your title is mostly a brand name, the subtitle probably needs the category.
Example:
Luma: Photo editor
That subtitle is doing necessary category work because "Luma" alone tells Apple and users almost nothing.
If the title already has the category, the subtitle can be more specific.
Luma Photo Editor: Film presets
Now the title handles the broad category, and the subtitle gets to add a sharper reason to click.
Do not make the subtitle carry everything. Thirty characters cannot explain your whole product, keyword strategy, and positioning. Pick the missing piece that matters most.
Quick rule:
- Brand-only title? Use the subtitle to name the category or main job.
- Category title? Use the subtitle to add use case, audience, or outcome.
- Crowded category? Go narrower than the obvious head term.
- Weak screenshots? Make the subtitle and first screenshot tell the same story.
A 10-minute subtitle audit
Put your title, subtitle, and 100-character keyword field in one note. Circle every repeated word.
If the subtitle repeats the title, rewrite the subtitle first. That change is visible to users and can free the keyword field to cover missing pieces instead of patching vague metadata.
Then test the line against a stranger question: would someone understand the app faster after reading this?
If not, it is probably decorative. Decorative copy is expensive in App Store metadata.
A good subtitle is not clever. It is compressed. It adds one useful idea the title did not already say.
Soft CTA: want the title, subtitle, keyword field, and first screenshot reviewed together? Paste your App Store URL into ASO Playbook and start with the free audit: https://asoplaybook.ai
Original source: https://asoplaybook.ai/blog/app-store-subtitle-examples-ios-apps
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