App Store Title & Subtitle: 30-Character Limits Explained

The short answer

Your app name (title) and subtitle are each limited to 30 characters, and both are searchable. Apple lists them, with your keywords and primary category, as the text its search relevance is based on. Use the name for your brand plus your most valuable phrase, and the subtitle for the next best phrases, written so a person wants to read them.

How long can an App Store title and subtitle be?

The app name must be between 2 and 30 characters. The subtitle can be up to 30 characters and appears under the name on your product page. Both are set for each localization.

You can edit the name until you submit the app to App Review. After that, you change it by creating a new version, or when the status of the version allows editing.

Do the title and subtitle affect App Store ranking?

Yes. Apple says App Store search results are based on text relevance, meaning matches for your app's title, subtitle, keywords and primary category, together with user behavior such as downloads and ratings and reviews.

Apple does not publish how much each field weighs. ASO practitioners consistently report that a word in the title counts for more than the same word in the subtitle or keyword field. That is why your single most valuable phrase belongs in the title. Treat the weighting as practice, not as an Apple rule.

How should you write them?

Name: your brand plus the phrase you most want to win. If people already search for your brand, keep it first so you own your own name. If they don't, a descriptive phrase earns more than the brand alone.
Subtitle: the next best phrases, as a readable line. Customers see it under your name, so it has to explain the app as well as carry words.
Don't repeat a word across the name, subtitle and keyword field. Apple says keywords shouldn't repeat words already in the name, subtitle or category.
Say only what is true and specific to each field. App Review guideline 2.3.7 asks for a unique name and keywords that describe the app, bars prices and unrelated terms from names and subtitles, and says subtitles shouldn't reference other apps or make claims that can't be verified.

To see which of your current words Apple can match, and which phrases you are missing, Quick ASO splits your listing into every phrase and checks your rank for each.

What do good titles and subtitles look like?

Three made-up apps, before and after. The lengths are counted from the text shown.

App	Name / subtitle
Streakly	Before: Streakly / Be your best self After: Streakly: Habit Tracker (23) / Daily Goals & Streaks (21)
Snapvault	Before: Snapvault / The best vault After: Snapvault: Private Photo Vault (30) / Hide Videos, Notes & Files (26)
Pocketbook	Before: Pocketbook Pro / Budgeting made easy After: Pocketbook: Budget Planner (26) / Track Spending & Save Money (27)

In each "after", the name carries the brand and the phrase people search for (habit tracker, private photo vault, budget planner). The subtitle adds different words rather than repeating the name, and it still reads like a sentence a person would write.

What mistakes should you avoid?

A brand-only name. If the name is just your brand, you rank for little beyond your brand.
A slogan as the subtitle. The subtitle is searchable, so a line like "Be your best self" spends 30 characters on words nobody types.
Repeating words. A word in the name does not need to be in the subtitle again.
Stuffing. Prices, other apps' names and unrelated terms can get an update rejected under guideline 2.3.7.
Changing everything at once. Then you can't tell which edit moved a rank.
Forgetting localizations. Each language has its own name and subtitle.

How do you know a change worked?

Write down your rank for each target phrase before you submit the new version, then compare once it is live. Rankings can take days to a few weeks to settle, so look at the trend rather than the first day. Quick ASO records the rank of your starred phrases every day, so you can line a movement up with the edit that caused it.

Frequently asked questions

How many characters is an App Store subtitle?

Up to 30 characters. The app name can be 2 to 30 characters, so the two fields together give you at most 60 characters of searchable text that customers can see.

Does the subtitle count for App Store search?

Yes. Apple lists the subtitle, alongside the title, keywords and primary category, as text that search relevance is based on.

Can I change my App Store name at any time?

You can edit it until you submit the app to App Review. After that, you change it when you create a new version, or when the version's status allows editing.

Should my brand name come first in the title?

It depends on whether people already search for it. If they do, put it first so you rank for your own name. If they don't, lead with the phrase that describes the app and keep the brand short.

Is my company name searchable on the App Store?

Yes. Apple's help says an app is searchable by its app name and company name, so there is no reason to spend keyword field characters on it.

Sources

What this guide says about Apple comes from these pages, which Apple can change. Statements marked as practice come from ASO testing, not from Apple.

See where your own app stands

Quick ASO lists every phrase your app ranks for, scores each one and tells you what to change. It is free to look. Open the app →