Sectors & IndustriesTechnologySoftware - Application

Best App Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top app stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +28.50% per year, and are the best app stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best software stocks to buy right now are:

8x8 (NASDAQ:EGHT) is the #1 top app stock out of 222 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for 8x8 (NASDAQ:EGHT) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

8x8 (NASDAQ:EGHT) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 7 points higher than the app industry average of 31.

EGHT passed 12 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. 8x8 has seen its stock return 17.26% over the past year, overperforming other app stocks by 94 percentage points.

8x8 has an average 1 year price target of $3.13, an upside of 35.28% from 8x8's current stock price of $2.31.

8x8 stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering 8x8, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Audioeye (NASDAQ:AEYE) is the #2 top app stock out of 222 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Audioeye (NASDAQ:AEYE) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Audioeye (NASDAQ:AEYE) has a Due Diligence Score of 29, which is -2 points lower than the app industry average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates AEYE as a "A".

AEYE passed 9 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Audioeye has seen its stock return 14.15% over the past year, overperforming other app stocks by 91 percentage points.

Riskified (NYSE:RSKD) is the #3 top app stock out of 222 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Riskified (NYSE:RSKD) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Riskified (NYSE:RSKD) has a Due Diligence Score of 26, which is -5 points lower than the app industry average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates RSKD as a "A".

RSKD passed 8 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Riskified has seen its stock return 85.77% over the past year, overperforming other app stocks by 162 percentage points.

Riskified has an average 1 year price target of $9.35, an upside of 0.86% from Riskified's current stock price of $9.27.

Riskified stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 5 analysts covering Riskified, 40% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 40% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 20% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 20 app stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 app stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Yuanbao (NASDAQ:YB) has an annual dividend yield of 10.73%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the app industry average of 2.76%.

Yuanbao's dividend payout ratio of 27.2% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Marketwise (NASDAQ:MKTW) has an annual dividend yield of 8.8%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the app industry average of 2.76%.

Marketwise's dividend payout ratio of 198.9% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) has an annual dividend yield of 6.22%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the app industry average of 2.76%. Upbound Group's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Upbound Group's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio of 80.8% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

App stocks were up 0.19% in the last day, and up 1.58% over the last week. Virtra was the among the top gainers in the software - application industry, gaining 61.83% yesterday.

VirTra shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 financial results.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued app stocks right now are:

Open Text (NASDAQ:OTEX) is the most undervalued app stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Open Text has a valuation score of 86, which is 61 points higher than the app industry average of 25. It passed 6 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Open Text's stock has dropped -27.48% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the app industry by 49 percentage points.

Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) is the second most undervalued app stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Progress Software has a valuation score of 71, which is 46 points higher than the app industry average of 25. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Progress Software's stock has gained 3.5% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the app industry by 80 percentage points.

Yuanbao (NASDAQ:YB) is the third most undervalued app stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Yuanbao has a valuation score of 71, which is 46 points higher than the app industry average of 25. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Yuanbao's stock has dropped -43.2% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the app industry by 33 percentage points.

47.62% of app stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect app stocks to rise by 23.03% over the next year.

4.97% of app stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 28.57% of app stocks are rated B (Buy), 57.14% are rated C (Hold), 5.59% are rated D (Sell), and 3.73% are rated F (Strong Sell).