RevenueCat is the abstraction layer for in-app subscriptions that mobile devs reach for to avoid implementing StoreKit and Play Billing twice. It also covers web via Stripe integration, so cross-platform subscription products (the increasingly common shape) work with one user record across iOS, Android, and web. Free up to $2,500 MTR, then 1%, generous for bootstrapped and acceptable for funded apps. For any mobile app charging for subscriptions, RevenueCat is the default.
- Cross-platform subscriptions, iOS, Android, web (Stripe) in one user record
- Paywall A/B testing with native iOS / Android sheets, no app review needed
- Subscription analytics dashboard with cohorts, churn, LTV
- Free up to $2,500 MTR, generous for indie / bootstrapped apps
- Massive React Native + Expo + Flutter SDK coverage
- 1% of MTR after free tier, adds up at high subscription volume
- Mobile-first, web is supported via Stripe but isn't the focus
- Lock-in is real, migrating off means rewriting the subscription layer
- Not a fit for one-time purchases or non-subscription billing
- Apple / Google store policies still flow through, RC doesn't escape them
RevenueCat is the in-app subscriptions abstraction layer for mobile and web. Implement subscriptions once with the RevenueCat SDK and the platform handles StoreKit on iOS, Play Billing on Android, and Stripe on web, with a unified user record, cohort analytics, and a paywall A/B testing system that doesn’t require App Store review for variant changes.
Where it fits
RevenueCat is the default for any mobile app selling subscriptions, the alternative is implementing StoreKit, Play Billing, and receipt validation twice, and then re-implementing all of it for the next platform you add. The platform also handles web via Stripe integration, which means cross-platform products (mobile + web, the increasingly common shape) work with one user record.
For paywall optimization specifically, the Paywalls product lets you A/B test designs natively on iOS and Android without shipping a new app version, variant selection happens in the RevenueCat dashboard and renders via the SDK.
For non-mobile, non-subscription products, RevenueCat isn’t the right tool. Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, or Polar fit web-only or one-time-purchase shapes better.
Pricing in practice
Free up to $2,500 MTR (monthly tracked revenue), generous for early-stage apps and bootstrapped products. Above $2,500 MTR it’s 1% of MTR with all features included (paywalls, analytics, charts, A/B testing, experiments). Enterprise pricing is custom with usage discounts at high volume.
The “Growth Tools” path lets you keep your own IAP infrastructure and pay only 1% of MTR on conversions from RevenueCat-specific features (Paywalls, web-to-app funnels, A/B tests), useful when you want the optimization layer but already have working IAP.
How it compares
Stripe, Web-only / general-purpose payments. Pair Stripe + RevenueCat for web-side subscriptions tracked in the RC user record.
Polar, Modern MoR with usage-based billing for AI / dev products. Pick for web-only products with metered pricing.
Lemon Squeezy, Indie-friendly MoR for digital products. Pick for web-only one-time or subscription products without mobile.
Latest news
RevenueCat held its June 2026 Launch Party on 2026-06-12, the largest single release window since the Paywalls relaunch. Headline drops include an AI paywall editor that builds layouts from natural-language prompts, a Funnels Builder for hosted multi-step web onboarding with native A/B testing, Express Checkout with Apple Pay and Google Pay one-tap buttons, and a Stripe-backed managed-payments option that handles tax compliance as merchant of record. Rico, an AI growth advisor accessible from the dashboard and Slack, ships alongside an AI Toolkit aimed at programmatic agent setup, and the Experiments surface gains predicted LTV winners with credible intervals and automated rollout. The day before, RevenueCat shipped a Kotlin Codegen Gradle Plugin (2026-06-11) that fetches dashboard entitlements at build time and emits typed accessors, replacing string lookups with compile-checked properties.
Sources
- RevenueCat Pricing, revenuecat.com
- RevenueCat Docs, revenuecat.com
- RevenueCat Paywalls, revenuecat.com
- RevenueCat SDK, github.com