How long can an App Store subtitle be?

Up to 30 characters, according to Apple.

Is the subtitle indexed for search?

Yes. Apple lists the subtitle alongside the title, keywords and primary category as text-relevance factors.

Is the subtitle the same as the keyword field?

No. The subtitle is public, under your app name, and limited to 30 characters. The keyword field is hidden and holds 100 characters.

Does the subtitle need to be different from the name?

Yes in practice. Repeating a word wastes characters, since each field should carry different searches.

App Store subtitle: limit, examples, and does it rank?

Updated 14 November 2026

The App Store subtitle can be up to 30 characters and appears under your app name. Apple lists it, with the title, keywords and primary category, as a text-relevance factor in search, so yes, it ranks. In our scan it moves your position less than the name but can still help a new app reach the top.

Limit and where it shows

Apple: a subtitle can be up to 30 characters long and appears below your app's name throughout the App Store. App Store Connect states no minimum

Does it rank?

Yes. Apple says search results depend on text relevance, meaning matches for your app's title, subtitle, keywords and primary category, plus user behavior like downloads and ratings

How much weight it has against the name is something we have not measured. What we saw in the scan of 350,712 searches: the name is the strongest place, and the subtitle moves your position less but can still help a new app reach the top. Where the search sits in the name matters a lot more than the subtitle, so decide the name first: what gets a new app to the top

What to write

Each field should carry different real searches. The name gets the search halfway between demand and competition. The subtitle gets the next strongest ones. The weaker ones go in the keyword field

App	Name (30)	Subtitle (30)
Sleep app	Sleep Tracker - Snore Log	Bedtime Reminders
Budget app	Budget Planner - Expenses	Bills and Savings Goals
Habit app	Habit Tracker - Daily Goals	Streaks and Reminders

These are illustrations of the pattern, not measured winners. Every word should be something people type, not a slogan

Mistakes

Repeating words from the name. It wastes characters, and Apple says not to repeat them in the keyword field either
A tagline nobody searches ("Your life, simplified")
Promising a feature the app does not have. One of our subtitles named a feature missing from the first version and got a 2.3.1 rejection in review

Changing it

Apple lets you change the subtitle when the app status allows editing, usually with a new version. Re-indexing is not instant, so ship it with other changes and wait before judging. See what happens when you change your name

Want to test a subtitle against real searches before you upload it? Try Lazy ASO free