Guide
Apple Search Ads tools compared: free tiers, percentage pricing, and who does the work
Most Apple Search Ads tools are priced one of two ways: a free tier capped by how much you spend, with a sales call above the cap, or a share of the spend the tool manages. Which one is cheaper depends less on the tool than on your spend and on who does the work each week.
Below is what each vendor's own pricing page says (read on 2026-11-12), where the free tiers stop, and when it is worth paying a percentage instead. We sell one of these tools, so we have tried to say plainly where ours is the more expensive choice.
The two pricing models
Spend-capped free tier, custom quote above it. You get the dashboard, bulk editing and rule-based automations for free until your monthly Apple Ads spend passes a cap. Above the cap the price is a custom plan agreed with sales. Someone on your team still decides what to change and writes the rules.
Share of managed spend. You pay a percentage of the ad spend the tool runs, usually with a monthly minimum. The price is on the page, and it moves with your spend instead of jumping at a cap.
What the pricing pages say
As published on each vendor's pricing page on 2026-11-12. Prices change; follow the link before you decide.
| Tool | Free | Paid | Who decides the changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SplitMetrics Acquire | Starter: free, up to $25,000 monthly ad spend, 1 user, 8 active automations. | Enterprise: custom plan, unlimited ad spend (contact sales). | Your team, through rules and the ads manager. |
| MobileAction (SearchAds.com) | Free: up to $10,000 monthly ad spend. | Enterprise: contact sales, unlimited ad spend. Managed services: custom. | Your team, or their managed-service team on a custom plan. |
| Loop Marketing | 14-day trial, no card to create a workspace. | 5% of the first $20,000 of managed spend a month, lower above that; minimum $200/month. | Loop proposes each change from the numbers; it runs only after you approve it. |
searchads.com now redirects to MobileAction's Apple Ads page, so the two are listed together.
When a free tier is the right answer
If Apple Ads is your only paid channel, your spend is under the cap, and someone already looks at the campaigns every week, a free tier costs nothing and covers the dashboard and rules you need. At under $4,000 a month of spend, our minimum of $200 is more than a free tier, and we would not argue otherwise.
When paying a share of spend is worth it
Nobody has the hours. A free tier gives you the controls, not the person to use them. Loop reads the numbers every day, writes the proposal (cut this budget, pause this keyword, add these negatives) with the figures behind it, and waits for one approval.
Apple Ads is one of several channels. Loop connects to Apple Ads and Google Ads and judges every campaign against the same cost per result, so a budget can move to where it is cheapest.
You want the price on the page. A percentage of managed spend with a stated minimum is known before the first call; there is no tier to outgrow at a spend cap.
What the percentage costs, worked out
Up to $4,000 a month of managed spend, Loop costs the $200 minimum. At $10,000 it is $500. At $20,000 it is $1,000. The rate drops above $20,000, and the full card is on the pricing page.
Compare that with a few hours of a media buyer's week. If the proposals save a few hours, or stop one campaign that spent for nothing, the percentage has paid for itself; if they do neither, the trial shows that before you pay.
Try it on your own account
Connect your Apple Ads account and Loop shows the proposals it would make from your own numbers. Nothing changes until you approve it.
14 days free. No card to create a workspace.