# 7 Best RevenueCat Alternatives for App Subscriptions in 2026

> Compare the best RevenueCat alternatives for mobile subscription management. Verified 2026 pricing, web checkout options, and how to cut app store fees.
- **Author**: Deepak Jangir
- **Published**: 2026-09-01
- **Category**: Alternatives, Payments, Billing
- **URL**: https://dodopayments.com/blogs/revenuecat-alternatives

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If you are looking at RevenueCat alternatives, the reason is usually arithmetic. RevenueCat is free below $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue and charges 1% of tracked revenue once you cross that threshold, applied to the whole figure rather than only the amount above it, and that 1% sits on top of the Apple or Google platform commission, because for in-app purchases the app stores are the merchant of record, not RevenueCat. Two different questions hide inside "what should I use instead of RevenueCat": which in-app subscription infrastructure layer do I want, and should some revenue move to web checkout entirely. The first has several good answers. The second changes your economics rather than your vendor.

Here is the landscape, as of September 2026.

| Platform | What it is | Merchant of record? | Pricing model |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| RevenueCat | In-app subscription infrastructure and analytics | No (Apple/Google are) | Free below $2,500 MTR, then 1% of all tracked revenue |
| Dodo Payments | Merchant of record for web checkout and subscriptions | Yes | Per-transaction, published rates |
| Adapty | In-app subscriptions plus paywall experimentation | No | Quote-based, check published rates |
| Superwall | Paywall delivery and experimentation layer | No | Quote-based, check published rates |
| Glassfy | In-app purchase infrastructure and SDKs | No | Quote-based, check published rates |
| Qonversion | In-app subscription management and analytics | No | Quote-based, check published rates |
| Purchasely | Paywall and subscription lifecycle platform | No | Quote-based, check published rates |

Only one row changes who is legally selling your product. That distinction is the point of this article.

## Why teams start evaluating RevenueCat alternatives

RevenueCat is the category leader in in-app subscription infrastructure, and its free tier up to $2,500 monthly tracked revenue is genuinely generous. Teams rarely leave because the product is bad. They leave, or add a second channel, for three specific reasons.

### Reason 1: fee stacking

For in-app purchases, Apple and Google act as the merchant of record and take their platform commission first. RevenueCat's 1% of tracked revenue is calculated on pre-platform-cut revenue and sits on top of that commission. At small scale this is invisible. At $200,000 in monthly tracked revenue, 1% is $2,000 a month for a layer that is not taking the largest cut.

That does not make the 1% bad value. Rebuilding receipt validation, entitlement state, cross-platform restore logic and subscription analytics in-house is expensive and stays expensive. It just means the number is worth examining once you are past the free tier.

### Reason 2: wanting a web checkout channel

The bigger structural lever is selling outside the app store where the rules allow it. Many app businesses now run a web checkout for new subscriptions, upgrades, credit packs or annual plans, then unlock entitlements in the app. The mechanics are covered in [how to bypass app store fees legally](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/bypass-app-store-fees-legally) and [selling software without the app store](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/sell-software-without-app-store).

The economics differ in kind, not degree. A web subscription pays no platform commission. It pays a payment processing fee and, if you want someone else to own tax and liability, a merchant of record fee.

### Reason 3: not wanting to own tax and chargebacks

Once you sell on the web, you own what the app stores were quietly handling: sales tax, VAT and GST registration in every jurisdiction where you have obligations, filing and remittance, chargeback disputes, fraud liability and refunds.

This is where a [merchant of record](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/what-is-a-merchant-of-record) becomes relevant. It becomes the legal seller of your product, which moves those obligations off your entity. If you are weighing that model, [the best merchant of record platforms](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/best-merchant-of-record-platforms) and [merchant of record for SaaS](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/merchant-of-record-for-saas) cover the trade-offs.

## The 7 best RevenueCat alternatives in 2026

### 1. Dodo Payments

Dodo Payments is a merchant of record built for digital products and subscriptions sold over the web. It is not a drop-in replacement for RevenueCat's in-app SDK layer. It answers the second question: what do I use for revenue that does not pass through the app store at all.

As the merchant of record, Dodo becomes the legal seller. Global sales tax, VAT and GST registration, calculation, filing and remittance across 190+ countries are handled on Dodo's side, along with chargeback and fraud liability. You do not register for VAT in the EU because you sold three subscriptions there.

Published rates as of September 2026:

- US domestic cards and wallets: 4% + 40c
- International payments: +1.5%
- India domestic (INR): 4% + 15c
- BNPL: +3%. PayPal: +3%
- ACH Direct Debit (US): 1.5%, capped at $15
- SEPA Direct Debit: 1.5%, capped at 15 EUR
- Subscriptions: +0.5%
- Bring your own processor (BYOP): 0.5%

Invoicing, tax management, analytics, [usage-based billing](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/usage-based-billing-saas), storefront, license keys and digital product delivery are included rather than priced separately. Refunds are $1 each and disputes are $30 each. Payouts are free, with a $5 fee if a payout is under $1,000, and USD SWIFT payouts are $25. Adaptive currency charges the merchant 0%, with the 2-4% FX fee passed to the customer.

Recovery is priced on outcome: abandoned cart recovery, [subscription dunning](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/dunning-management) and payment retries are free to enable, and 5% is charged only on revenue actually recovered. If you have been fighting [involuntary churn from failed payments](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/involuntary-churn-failed-payments), that model is worth comparing against flat-fee recovery tools, and [building a subscription dunning recovery sequence](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/subscription-dunning-recovery-sequence) covers the tactical side.

Best for: app teams that want a compliant web checkout channel without building a tax and compliance function. Start at [dodopayments.com](https://dodopayments.com/) or read the [technical introduction](https://docs.dodopayments.com/introduction).

Trade-off to be honest about: Dodo does not manage in-app purchase receipts or entitlement sync for App Store and Play Store purchases. If your revenue is entirely in-app, this is not your tool.

### 2. Adapty

Adapty sits closest to RevenueCat in scope. It handles in-app subscription infrastructure across iOS, Android and cross-platform frameworks, with a strong emphasis on paywall building and A/B testing on top of the entitlement layer.

The pitch is that paywall experimentation is where subscription revenue actually moves, so price testing, remote paywall configuration and cohort analysis should be first-class rather than an add-on. Teams that migrate from RevenueCat to Adapty usually cite the experimentation workflow rather than cost.

Pricing is quote-based and tiered by tracked revenue. Check their current published rates directly, because this category revises pricing frequently.

Best for: teams whose main growth lever is paywall optimisation inside the app. Trade-off: like RevenueCat, it is a layer on top of Apple and Google, so the platform commission does not change.

### 3. Superwall

Superwall is narrower on purpose. It is a paywall delivery and experimentation platform rather than a full subscription backend: define paywalls remotely, ship them without an app release, run experiments against conversion.

That narrowness is the appeal. If you already have entitlement logic you trust, adding Superwall gets you paywall iteration speed without moving your subscription state. Pricing is quote-based, so confirm current rates before you model anything.

Best for: teams that want to ship and test paywalls without app releases and already have a subscription backend. Trade-off: it is not a replacement for receipt validation and entitlement management on its own.

### 4. Glassfy

Glassfy provides in-app purchase infrastructure with SDKs across the major platforms, handling receipt validation, entitlements and subscription state. It positions as a developer-focused implementation layer for teams that want the plumbing solved without a large product surface around it.

If your evaluation is essentially "I want RevenueCat's core job done and I do not need the full analytics and paywall suite", Glassfy belongs on the shortlist. Pricing is quote-based, so check current published rates.

Best for: engineering-led teams that want the purchase infrastructure and little else. Trade-off: smaller ecosystem and fewer third-party integrations than the category leaders.

### 5. Qonversion

Qonversion covers in-app subscription management with analytics, cohort reporting and cross-platform entitlement sync. It has historically been positioned as a cost-conscious alternative for teams that find the leaders' revenue-percentage pricing uncomfortable at scale.

The analytics surface is the differentiator most teams mention: subscription metrics, cohorts and revenue reporting without a separate BI pipeline. Pricing is quote-based and structured around tracked revenue, so verify current rates directly.

Best for: teams that want subscription analytics and infrastructure in one place. Trade-off: as with every option in this section, the platform commission is untouched.

### 6. Purchasely

Purchasely focuses on the subscription lifecycle beyond the initial purchase: paywalls, onboarding flows, win-back campaigns and retention messaging, alongside subscription infrastructure. It is the most marketing-team-friendly option in the list, with a no-code paywall editor aimed at people who are not shipping app releases.

If your bottleneck is that every paywall change requires an engineer and a release cycle, this is the category of tool that solves it. Pricing is quote-based, so confirm current rates before modelling.

Best for: teams where marketing owns paywall and retention experimentation. Trade-off: broader surface area means more product to adopt than a pure infrastructure layer.

### 7. Staying on RevenueCat

This belongs in the list honestly. RevenueCat is free below $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue with no credit card required to start, and once you cross that threshold it is 1% of tracked revenue calculated on pre-platform-cut revenue. Note that the 1% applies to the whole month's tracked revenue, not only the portion above $2,500, so the first billed month at exactly $2,500 MTR costs $25. Growth Tools lets you bring your own in-app purchase infrastructure and pay 1% of MTR only on conversions from the tools you actually use, such as paywalls and web-to-app funnels. Enterprise is custom pricing with volume discounts, dedicated support and custom SLAs.

The product is broad: open-source SDKs for all platforms, a unified subscription backend, RevenueCat Billing, a REST API, a paywall editor with A/B testing, MMP integrations, a 40+ metric dashboard, webhooks, and web billing with web purchase buttons. It is SOC 2 certified and GDPR compliant, with 4.8/5 on Capterra and 4.7/5 on G2, all as of September 2026. One thing it deliberately is not is a payment processor: RevenueCat does not pay you out, and you continue to be settled by Apple, Google or whichever processor you connect.

For many teams the correct decision after evaluating alternatives is to keep RevenueCat for in-app and add a web channel alongside it, rather than migrate.

## The web checkout route is a different answer, not a cheaper vendor

Every option above except Dodo Payments is a layer on top of the same underlying transaction. Apple or Google is the merchant of record, takes the platform commission, and your infrastructure vendor charges a percentage on top. Switching between those vendors changes the smaller number.

Moving revenue to web checkout changes the larger number. There is no platform commission on a web subscription. What replaces it is a payment processing fee plus, optionally, a merchant of record fee. Whether that is better depends on your mix, your geography and how much compliance work you want to own.

Compliance is the part teams underestimate. [US sales tax on SaaS](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/us-sales-tax-saas) varies by state and by how your product is characterised, and [VAT compliance for digital products](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/vat-compliance-digital-products) applies from the first sale in many EU jurisdictions with no registration threshold for non-resident sellers. A merchant of record absorbs that. A payment gateway does not, which is the core of any [payment gateway comparison](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/payment-gateway-comparison) and much of why teams evaluate [Stripe alternatives](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/stripe-alternatives).

Chargebacks work the same way. Under a merchant of record model the disputes land on the provider's account and liability, not yours, and [chargeback vs refund](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/chargeback-vs-refund) explains why that distinction matters operationally.

Here is how the two routes compare structurally, as of September 2026.

| Consideration | In-app (RevenueCat and peers) | Web checkout with a merchant of record |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Merchant of record | Apple / Google | The MoR provider |
| Platform commission | Yes, per store rules | None |
| Infra vendor fee | RevenueCat 1% of MTR once past $2,500 | Included in per-transaction rate |
| Sales tax / VAT / GST | Handled by the store | Handled by the MoR across 190+ countries |
| Chargeback liability | Handled by the store | Handled by the MoR |
| Payment methods | Store-controlled | Cards, wallets, ACH, SEPA, BNPL, PayPal |
| Refund control | Store policy | Your policy, $1 per refund with Dodo |
| Subscription logic | SDK entitlements | API and webhooks |
| Where it fits | Existing in-app purchase flows | New subscriptions, upgrades, annual plans, credits |

Most teams end up running both channels. In-app purchase stays for the frictionless upgrade path inside the app. Web checkout handles the plans where the margin difference is worth the extra step, typically annual plans and higher-priced tiers.

The implementation is smaller than people expect. You create products and subscription plans, point customers at a hosted checkout, and listen for events to unlock entitlements. The [subscriptions documentation](https://docs.dodopayments.com/features/subscriptions) covers plan configuration and lifecycle, the [checkout documentation](https://docs.dodopayments.com/features/checkout) covers the purchase flow, and the [webhooks documentation](https://docs.dodopayments.com/features/webhooks) covers the events that grant and revoke access.

Self-serve management matters too. Letting users upgrade, downgrade, change payment methods and cancel without a support ticket is table stakes, and [customer billing portal](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/customer-billing-portal) covers what that surface needs.

## How to choose

Run through this in order rather than starting from a feature comparison.

- Under $2,500 MTR with all revenue in-app: stay on RevenueCat. The free tier is genuinely free and switching costs engineering time for no gain.
- Over $2,500 MTR and the 1% is material: price out Adapty, Qonversion and Glassfy against your actual tracked revenue, using their current published rates rather than any comparison article, including this one.
- Bottleneck is paywall iteration speed rather than cost: look at Superwall or Purchasely.
- A meaningful share of revenue could be sold on the web: model that separately. The comparison is not RevenueCat versus Dodo, it is platform commission plus 1% versus a web transaction rate.
- Selling internationally without a tax function: weight the merchant of record model heavily. Registration and filing across dozens of jurisdictions is not a small ongoing cost.

If your product has a metered component, check how each option handles it. [Metered and accurate billing](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/metered-billing-accurate-billing), [subscription billing platforms](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/subscription-billing-platforms) and [the best subscription billing software](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/best-subscription-billing-software) are worth reading first, and [the cheapest merchant of record](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/cheapest-merchant-of-record) breaks down where the money goes if cost dominates your decision.

For rules on what you can and cannot sell outside the store, [selling digital goods outside the app store](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/digital-goods-outside-app-store) is the practical guide.

## FAQ

### Is RevenueCat a merchant of record?

No. RevenueCat is a subscription infrastructure and analytics layer. For in-app purchases, Apple and Google act as the merchant of record and take their platform commission, and RevenueCat's fee sits on top of that. This matters because the merchant of record is the entity legally responsible for sales tax, VAT and GST collection and remittance, and for chargeback liability.

If you want those obligations off your own entity for web sales, you need a merchant of record specifically, not a subscription infrastructure vendor.

### What does RevenueCat cost in 2026?

As of September 2026, RevenueCat's Pro plan is free below $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue, and once you reach that threshold you pay 1% of tracked revenue for the month, not 1% of the excess. Pricing is calculated on pre-platform-cut revenue and no credit card is required to start.

Growth Tools is a separate model where you bring your own in-app purchase infrastructure and pay 1% of MTR only on conversions from the tools you use, such as paywalls and web-to-app funnels. Enterprise pricing is custom, with volume discounts, dedicated support and custom SLAs.

### Can I sell app subscriptions on the web instead of in-app?

In many cases yes, and a large number of app businesses now run a web checkout alongside in-app purchase. A web subscription does not pay a platform commission. What it does pay is payment processing and, if you use a merchant of record, a fee for tax and liability handling.

The rules vary by platform, region and how you link to the web flow from inside the app, so check the current store guidelines that apply to you before building anything.

### Do I have to migrate off RevenueCat to use a merchant of record?

No, and most teams do not. RevenueCat handles in-app purchase entitlements and a merchant of record handles web transactions, so they cover different surfaces. Running both is common: in-app purchase stays for the frictionless upgrade inside the app, and web checkout handles annual plans, higher tiers or new subscriptions where the margin difference justifies the extra step.

The integration work is limited to keeping entitlement state consistent, which is typically a webhook listener that grants access when a web subscription starts and revokes it when it ends.

### What does Dodo Payments cost for subscriptions?

As of September 2026, US domestic cards and wallets are 4% + 40c, with international payments adding 1.5%. Subscriptions add 0.5% on top of the payment rate. India domestic INR transactions are 4% + 15c, ACH Direct Debit is 1.5% capped at $15, and SEPA Direct Debit is 1.5% capped at 15 EUR.

Invoicing, tax management across 190+ countries, analytics, usage-based billing, storefront, license keys and digital delivery are included. Refunds are $1 each, disputes are $30 each, and recovery tools are free to enable with 5% charged only on successfully recovered revenue. Current rates are on the [pricing page](https://dodopayments.com/pricing).

## Conclusion

RevenueCat is the strongest product in its category and the free tier below $2,500 monthly tracked revenue is hard to argue with. If your revenue is entirely in-app and you are under that threshold, the usual correct move is to stay.

Above it, price the 1% against Adapty, Qonversion, Glassfy, Superwall and Purchasely on your real numbers, using their current published rates. Those are all decisions about which layer sits on top of the same store transaction.

The structurally different decision is whether some revenue should be sold on the web at all, where there is no platform commission and a merchant of record can absorb global tax registration, filing, remittance and chargeback liability. Most mature app businesses end up running both channels rather than one.
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- [More Alternatives articles](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/category/alternatives)
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