Buying app installs in 2026: a buyer's guide for iOS and Google Play

Overview

This guide is for developers and marketers deciding whether to buy installs and from whom. It covers how install campaigns work, what drives the price, red flags, and how to tell whether your money did anything.

Why teams buy installs at all

Installs don't help much on their own. What teams are really buying is visibility. Store algorithms weigh recent downloads and user behavior when they rank apps in search and charts (Apple, App Store search). A well-aimed burst of installs can lift an app into positions where real users discover it, and those organic installs are the actual payoff.

That's also why buying installs without a ranking goal tends to disappoint. Before you spend, decide what you want to move: a set of keywords, a category chart in a specific country, or launch momentum.

The main campaign types

Keyword installs. Users search a chosen term and install from the results. This supports your rank for that keyword. It's the core ASO campaign. See keyword installs explained.

Direct installs. Installs without a search, from a link. These add overall download velocity, which helps with category charts and launches, but they carry no keyword signal.

Auto-suggest installs (App Store). These target the suggestions the store shows as people type, which can capture high-intent searchers early.

Smart or planned campaigns. These are pre-built plans that spread installs across the keywords most likely to move, sized per day. ASOSurge's smart campaigns come from its advisor's keyword scores.

What drives the price

• Store. iOS installs usually cost more than Google Play installs.
• Country. Premium storefronts (US, UK, DE, JP) cost more than emerging markets.
• Campaign type. Keyword and auto-suggest installs cost more than direct installs.
• Delivery tier. Premium delivery tiers cost more.
• Volume and plan. Higher plans and larger orders usually lower the unit price.

See the pricing page for ASOSurge plans and rates. Other vendors advertise different "from" prices, often for their cheapest store, country and volume tier, so compare like with like.

Red flags when choosing a seller

• Bundled ratings and reviews. Google Play prohibits fraudulent or incentivized reviews and ratings (policy). Apple bars review manipulation (guideline 5.6). The FTC's rule on consumer reviews, effective October 21, 2024, bans buying or selling fake reviews and paying for reviews conditioned on a positive sentiment, with civil penalties for knowing violations (FTC). A seller offering "5-star reviews" is selling risk.
• Overnight spikes. Google says it detects and filters installs meant to manipulate placement (Android Developers Blog). Ask how delivery is ramped and spread.
• No quote before you pay. You should see the exact price for the exact volume before anything starts.
• No measurement. If the seller can't show daily rank per keyword, you can't tell whether the campaign worked.
• Ranking guarantees that sound unconditional. Genuine guaranteed-rank offers are scoped and priced per keyword, with clear terms if the target isn't reached.

How to measure whether it worked

Make a plan before you buy:

• Baseline. Record 7–14 days of daily rank for each target keyword, plus organic installs.
• During. Track rank daily while installs ramp.
• After. Keep tracking for 2–3 weeks. Did the rank hold? Did organic installs from search rise?
• Attribution. App Store Connect and Play Console both break installs down by source, so compare search installs before and after.

ASOSurge charts daily rank snapshots and campaign installs on the same timeline, so the lift (or the lack of it) is visible per keyword and per country.

How to get more from every install

• Fix conversion first. Better icon, screenshots and a clear subtitle mean more of the users who see your new rank will install.
• Choose reachable keywords. Starting from #25 needs far less than starting from #150.
• Retain users. Strong day-1 and day-7 retention makes the gains last and the economics work.
• Iterate. Keep winning keywords and drop the ones that don't respond.

Packs vs. à la carte

If you know you'll run campaigns across both stores, a fixed-price pack can be simpler than many small orders. You get one quote covering installs per store, a set of keywords, duration and reporting. Compare the pack price against the per-install prices above to see the real discount.