RevenueCat and Stripe aren't really rivals. RevenueCat manages in-app subscriptions bought through Apple and Google, plus web purchases.
Stripe processes card payments and bills subscriptions on the web, but it can't handle App Store or Google Play purchases.
Most subscription apps start with RevenueCat, and the ones that add a web checkout usually run Stripe underneath it.
The real question is how much of your revenue should move from in-app purchase to web checkout.
That's where our test database helps: several apps have A/B tested exactly that, and the results are mixed.
In-app purchase vs web payments: what each tool actually does
RevenueCat wraps StoreKit and Google Play Billing in one SDK.
It validates receipts, tracks which users have access, and reports subscription metrics across iOS, Android and web.
It also sells paywalls, A/B testing and web funnels on top.
Our RevenueCat review covers those features in more depth.
Stripe is a payment processor. With Stripe Billing it runs recurring charges, invoices and a customer portal for anything sold on a website.
It has no part in an App Store or Google Play transaction.
Those always go through the store's own billing, which is covered in our guide to in-app purchases.
So the choice isn't really between two tools. You're choosing between two payment rails:
- In-app purchase (IAP): one tap with Face ID or a saved Google account, store-managed refunds and cancellations, and a store commission on every sale.
- Web checkout: a browser or in-app sheet where the user types or autofills a card (or uses Apple Pay or Google Pay where supported). You pay processor fees instead of a store commission, but you take on more friction and more support work.
Web checkout became much more practical on iOS in May 2025. After a US court ruling in Epic's case, Apple changed its US App Review Guidelines to allow buttons and links to outside purchases.
In December 2025 the Ninth Circuit upheld the contempt finding but sent the commission question back to the district court.
Under that decision Apple can't charge a commission on linked-out US purchases until the court approves a rate (Fenwick summary).
Rules differ by storefront, and RevenueCat's docs tell developers to check each store and region before they show web links.
| RevenueCat | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Subscription infrastructure and growth tools for apps | Payment processor and web billing engine |
| Handles App Store / Google Play purchases | Yes | No |
| Handles web subscriptions | Yes, via RevenueCat Billing (Stripe as gateway), Stripe Billing or Paddle Billing | Yes, via Stripe Billing or Checkout |
| Cross-platform entitlements | Yes, one customer record across iOS, Android and web | No, you'd build access syncing yourself |
| Paywall builder and A/B tests | Yes | No app paywalls |
| Pricing model (as of November 2026) | Free up to $2,500 monthly tracked revenue, then 1% | 2.9% + 30¢ per US card charge; Stripe Billing 0.7% of volume |
| Not for | Web-only products with no mobile app | Apps that only sell through IAP |
Fees: store commission vs processor fees
Here's what each layer charges. Check the linked pages before you budget, because these numbers change.
Apple and Google
Apple's standard subscription terms pay you 70% of the price in a subscriber's first year and 85% after one year of paid service.
Members of the Small Business Program get 85% from day one (Apple subscriptions page).
The program is open to developers with under $1 million in proceeds in the prior calendar year (Apple).
Google Play is in the middle of changing its fees.
For the US, UK and EEA from June 30, 2026, Google lists auto-renewing subscriptions on the first $1M of annual earnings at 10% plus a 5% billing fee.
Markets not yet in the rollout stay at 15% (Google Play Console Help).
RevenueCat
As of November 2026, RevenueCat's pricing page lists the Pro plan as free up to $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue (MTR), then 1% of tracked revenue.
Enterprise pricing is custom. RevenueCat counts web revenue as tracked revenue too.
Its web docs say there are no additional RevenueCat fees for web purchases.
The downside: the 1% covers all tracked revenue, including store revenue.
At scale this becomes a real line item, and it's a common reason teams look at RevenueCat alternatives or compare Adapty vs RevenueCat.
Stripe
As of November 2026, Stripe's pricing page lists 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card charge.
International cards add 1.5%, and currency conversion adds 1%.
Stripe Billing costs 0.7% of billing volume on pay-as-you-go.
Stripe Tax, if you use it, is $0.50 per transaction where you're registered.
The fixed 30¢ matters for apps. On a $4.99 weekly plan it's about 6% of the price before the percentage fee.
On a $59.99 annual plan it barely registers, so web checkout saves the most on higher-priced plans.
Plan mix matters here, as our subscription pricing guide explains.
A worked example
Take a $59.99 annual plan bought by a US customer with a US card:
- IAP, first year, standard Apple terms: Apple keeps 30%, about $18.00, so you receive about $41.99 before taxes.
- IAP, Small Business Program: Apple keeps 15%, about $9.00, so you receive about $50.99.
- Web checkout via RevenueCat Billing: Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ is about $2.04, so you receive about $57.95. RevenueCat's docs say Stripe Billing fees don't apply on this path (source).
- Web checkout via Stripe Billing integration: add Stripe Billing's 0.7%, about $0.42, so you receive about $57.53.
RevenueCat's 1% applies to all of these once you're past $2,500 MTR.
On a per-sale basis, web checkout clearly keeps more money.
The open question is whether fewer people buy, and that's what the tests below measure.
Using them together: RevenueCat web billing on Stripe
Using both is the most common setup. According to RevenueCat's web docs, you pick one of three billing engines:
- RevenueCat Billing: RevenueCat's own engine, with Stripe as the payment gateway. RevenueCat manages products, renewals, the customer portal and emails. You still need a Stripe account. RevenueCat recommends this path if you're new to web billing.
- Stripe Billing: products and subscriptions live in Stripe, and RevenueCat imports them and grants access in the app. This suits teams with an existing Stripe setup. You'll pay Stripe Billing's fee, and RevenueCat's own portal and tax settings don't apply.
- Paddle Billing: Paddle acts as merchant of record and handles sales tax. It's listed here as the non-Stripe option.
On top of the billing engine, RevenueCat offers web purchase links, a Web SDK, web paywalls, funnels, and paywall buttons that send iOS users to a web checkout.
Our web-to-app guide covers the funnel side, and Superwall vs RevenueCat compares the paywall layer.
Can you skip RevenueCat and use only Stripe?
Only if you build receipt validation, entitlement syncing and store webhooks yourself, or if you sell only on the web.
For most small app teams, that engineering work costs more than the 1%.
What the tests say about moving payments to the web
These are the A/B tests in our database that measure IAP against web checkout.
Read them as a set, because they don't all agree.
- Dipsea tested a web-only checkout against in-app purchase, reported by RevenueCat. Initial conversion fell from 27.0% to 18.1%. Removing IAP entirely lost.
- Dipsea also kept IAP and added a discounted web option. Conversion to paying went from 6.3% to 5.9%, so the extra choice didn't help.
- Zumba added a paywall button that opened a web checkout. Immediate conversions dropped 25%, but LTV rose 17%, and Zumba counted it as a win.
- Superwall pooled early app-to-web checkout tests after the US ruling. Initial conversion fell 11.9%, but net proceeds rose about 19.85%. These figures are vendor-reported.
- An indie developer, Sebastian Szturo, tested Stripe web checkout on utility apps. The small conversion dip cost more than the fees it saved, so they went back. This is from a Superwall case study, so it's vendor-reported.
- Teaching.com moved onboarding to the web before download and saw about +50% conversion to trial and about +30% conversion to paid. That's a web funnel, not a paywall link-out, so it answers a different question.
Superwall
RevenueCatRevenueCatThe pattern so far: web checkout almost always lowers initial conversion.
Whether it pays off depends on the fee you avoid and the plan you sell.
A 15% Small Business Program commission on a cheap weekly plan leaves little to save.
A 30% first-year commission on an annual plan leaves much more.
Measure net revenue and LTV, not just conversion.
Our subscription LTV calculator and price testing guide can help set that up.
More results are in our paywall test library.
Verdict
Use RevenueCat alone if you sell only through the App Store and Google Play, you're on the 15% Small Business rate, or your plans are mostly low-priced weeklies.
It handles store billing, and Stripe would add nothing.
Use RevenueCat with Stripe if you want web checkout for US iOS users, web funnels, or one subscription that works across web and mobile.
Start with RevenueCat Billing unless you already run Stripe Billing.
Keep IAP as an option, and A/B test the web button on net revenue before you roll it out.
Use Stripe alone only if your product is mainly web-based and the app is a companion that users sign into.
It isn't a good fit for apps whose customers find and buy them inside the App Store.
RevenueCat isn't the only option for the store side.
Other subscription and paywall tools also connect to Stripe, so compare them in our paywall tools roundup before you commit.
We haven't used these products ourselves. This comparison is based on their public docs, pricing pages, and the tests above.