RevenueCat review (2026): what it really costs an indie iOS app, and when to skip it

Two details decide the real bill. First, MTR — monthly tracked revenue — covers "all purchases and renewals including non-subscription products". Second, it "is measured before store commission and taxes". So the 1% is charged on the gross amount customers pay, including the share Apple keeps.

Two things the table doesn't show. New accounts that cross $2,500 in their first month get a 30-day grace period before billing starts. And if you sell on the web through RevenueCat Billing, Stripe's own processing fees (quoted by RevenueCat as 2.9% + 30¢ in the US) apply on top — RevenueCat itself charges nothing extra for web.

• Purchase backend. StoreKit purchases, server-side receipt validation, renewals, refunds and cancellations, reduced to one question in your code: is this entitlement active?
• Paywalls v2. A native, component-based paywall editor with templates, generally available since June 2025, configurable remotely without an app update. In June 2026 RevenueCat added an AI paywall editor and Paywall Rules.
• Experiments. A/B tests on offerings and paywalls with audience and placement targeting.
• Charts. 40+ subscription metrics — MRR, churn, trial conversion, cohorts — without building a warehouse.
• Customer Center. An in-app, no-code screen for cancellations, refunds and restores, which cuts support email.
• Web. Web Billing, Web Purchase Links, Web Paywalls and, in public beta since March 2026, web-to-app Funnels, with Stripe or Paddle as the processor.
• Integrations and webhooks. Revenue events sent to analytics, attribution and messaging tools.

The honest framing: you're paying 1% to not own a billing system. Building the backend alone — validation, renewal state, webhooks, grace periods, family sharing, refunds — is weeks of work plus permanent maintenance every time Apple changes StoreKit.

1. 01

   Create products in App Store Connect

   Subscriptions in a group, with prices, and the Paid Apps agreement active. RevenueCat can't sell what App Store Connect hasn't approved.

2. 02

   Mirror them in RevenueCat

   Import products, attach them to an entitlement (for example pro), and group them into an offering the paywall will show.

3. 03

   Add the SDK and configure at launch

   Install with Swift Package Manager and configure once with your public Apple API key.

4. 04

   Gate features on the entitlement

   Check the entitlement rather than product IDs, so pricing experiments never break access logic.

5. 05

   Test in sandbox

   Buy, cancel, restore and reinstall with a sandbox account before submitting — the same path App Review follows.

import RevenueCat
import RevenueCatUI

// At launch
Purchases.configure(withAPIKey: "appl_your_public_key")

// Anywhere you need to know
let info = try await Purchases.shared.customerInfo()
let isPro = info.entitlements["pro"]?.isActive == true

// SwiftUI: present the remotely configured paywall if the user lacks "pro"
ContentView()
    .presentPaywallIfNeeded(requiredEntitlementIdentifier: "pro")

• The fee counts one-time purchases too. Consumables and lifetime unlocks count toward MTR, not just subscriptions.
• It's gross, not net. Budget for roughly 1.18–1.43% of proceeds, not 1%.
• Entitlement logic is the lock-in. Leaving means re-plumbing access checks and migrating subscriber history. Superwall and Adapty both publish migration guides from RevenueCat, which lowers the cost, but it's not zero.
• App Review still judges your purchase flow. RevenueCat doesn't submit products or fix an empty paywall caused by unsigned agreements — the 2.1(b) checklist still applies.
• New money products are optional extras. Early Payouts (beta since June 2026) advances 80% of store proceeds for a 2.5% fee on the amount advanced. Useful for cash flow, expensive as a habit.