Subscription vs One-Time Purchase for Your iOS App

Subscription or one-time purchase: the short answer

If your app provides a service people come back to regularly, or if it costs you money every month (servers, AI, content to produce), a subscription is usually the most sensible model for your first iOS app. If it solves a one-off problem, runs without a server and isn't meant to change much over time, a one-time purchase is simpler and more honest toward the user.

That's the short answer. The rest of this article shows you how to decide for your own case: what each model involves, the role of the free trial, Apple's commission, and how to calculate your monthly recurring revenue (MRR) from a price and a number of subscribers, without kidding yourself.

For context on where I'm coming from: I publish my own subscription iOS apps, Solys, an alarm clock with mini-games, and TradaZen, a trading simulator. Both use RevenueCat to handle subscriptions. What I describe here is what I apply to my own apps.

The models available on the App Store

To sell anything digital in an iOS app, you go through Apple's in-app purchases. A first app has three main options:

• paid app: the user pays before downloading. It's the hardest model for an unknown app, since you have to convince people without them being able to try it;
• one-time in-app purchase (non-consumable): the app is free to download, then the user unlocks the full version once and for all;
• auto-renewable subscription: the user pays every week, month or year until they cancel.

There are also consumable purchases (credits, coins), but for a first app, the real choice almost always comes down to one-time purchase vs subscription. Ads, on the other hand, don't charge the user anything: the math for those is in how much an ad in an app earns.

When a subscription makes sense

Apple sets a clear framework in its App Review Guidelines (guideline 3.1.2): an auto-renewable subscription must provide ongoing value to the customer, the period must last at least seven days, and the subscription must be available across all of the user's devices. Apple lists suitable examples such as regular content, substantial and frequent updates, software as a service, or cloud storage.

In practice, a subscription makes sense when:

• usage is recurring: the user opens the app every day or every week. An alarm clock is used every morning, a training simulator is practiced regularly;
• the app has running costs: calls to an AI API, a database, file storage. If each user costs you money every month, a single payment eventually stops covering what they consume;
• you plan to keep improving the app: new content, new features, regular fixes.

A subscription has another benefit: it makes your revenue more predictable. Every subscriber who stays still counts the next month, so you can think in recurring revenue instead of isolated sales.

It also comes with demands. A subscriber who no longer gets value cancels, and you have to keep earning their payment. It's good discipline, but it's a commitment.

When a one-time purchase makes sense

A one-time purchase is still a good choice in several cases:

• the app solves a one-off need: a tool you use a few times, a utility, a converter;
• it runs entirely on the phone, with no server or paid service behind it;
• your audience rejects subscriptions for this kind of tool, and forcing one on them would feel like a rip-off.

Its upside: it's easy to understand and easy to sell. Its downside: each user pays only once. To keep making money, you constantly have to find new buyers, while your maintenance costs keep running.

You can also combine them: a subscription as the main offer and a lifetime purchase as an option for people who refuse subscriptions. But for a first app, start with a single, clear model. You can adjust once you have real data.

The free trial, in both models

For an app nobody knows, a free trial removes a huge barrier: the user can try it with no risk.

For a subscription, Apple provides introductory offers. According to Apple's page on subscriptions, the subscription starts immediately but the user is only charged at the end of the free period. A customer can only use one introductory offer per subscription group, and the purchase flow must clearly state the trial length and the price charged afterward.

For a one-time purchase, it's possible too. Guideline 3.1.1 allows non-subscription apps to offer a time-limited trial, as a free in-app purchase named following the "XX-day Trial" convention. Before the trial starts, the app must state its length, what will no longer be accessible when it ends, and what the user will have to pay to unlock everything.

Offering a trial isn't enough, the user also has to see it. On my own apps, I had lots of installs and very few trials started. The model wasn't the problem: the paywall and onboarding weren't leading clearly enough to the trial. I had to rework them, and I gathered the mistakes to avoid in this article on the iOS paywall.

Apple's commission, precisely

Whatever your model, Apple takes a commission on every sale made through the App Store. The rates depend on your situation.

With the Small Business Program. According to the official program page, the commission drops to 15% on paid apps and in-app purchases for developers whose proceeds did not exceed 1 million dollars in the previous calendar year, as well as for new developers. Apple specifies that proceeds are counted after commission and after certain taxes. You have to enroll: it isn't automatic. If you cross the threshold during the year, the standard rate applies to subsequent sales.

Without the program. The standard rate is 30%.

Subscriptions. Apple's page on subscriptions states that during a subscriber's first year of service, you receive 70% of the price, excluding applicable taxes. Once that subscriber has accumulated one year of paid service, your share rises to 85%, meaning a 15% commission. Free trial days don't count toward that year. If you're in the Small Business Program, you're already at 15% from the start.

Different terms exist for developers who chose the alternative terms offered in the European Union. For a first app, you'll almost certainly be on the standard terms, but always check Apple's pages before running your numbers: these rules change.

Calculating your MRR from a price and a number of subscribers

MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) is the revenue your subscriptions bring in each month. The basic calculation fits on one line:

MRR = number of subscribers × monthly price

For an annual subscription, convert the price to a monthly figure by dividing it by 12.

Then you have to subtract what isn't yours. In France, the price shown on the App Store includes 20% VAT, which Apple pays over, and then Apple takes its commission. Here's an example, with numbers chosen only to illustrate the calculation:

• a monthly subscription at 4.99 euros: excluding VAT, about 4.16 euros; after a 15% commission, your share is about 3.53 euros per subscriber per month;
• 100 monthly subscribers at that price therefore means about 499 euros paid by customers, and about 353 euros for you each month;
• an annual subscription at 39.99 euros works out to about 3.33 euros per month paid by the customer, or about 2.36 euros per month for you after VAT and a 15% commission.

The exact amount depends on the buyer's country and its tax rules. App Store Connect shows your proceeds for each price, and that's the reference to use.

This calculation tells you nothing about what your app will earn. It only tells you how many subscribers you'd need to reach a given goal at a given price. That's already very useful: if your goal requires an unrealistic number of subscribers for your niche, better to know before you write any code. Also remember that some subscribers cancel every month: your MRR only holds if you gain at least as many as you lose.

For a broader look at the factors that make an app's revenue vary, read how much a mobile app earns.

What the model changes in your app

Choosing a subscription isn't just a line in App Store Connect. It comes with concrete obligations:

• a paywall that shows the name, the duration, the full renewal price and a way to restore purchases;
• a working restore button, required by Apple;
• in the App Store description, a reminder of the subscription terms and links to the terms of use and privacy policy. Without them, Apple rejects the app under guideline 3.1.2;
• reliable entitlement management: knowing at any time whether the user is subscribed, on a trial or expired. That's exactly what RevenueCat makes easier.

A one-time purchase takes less work, but not zero: restoring purchases is still mandatory, and the paywall must still clearly say what the user unlocks. If you change models later, let people who paid keep what they bought: the guideline 3.2.2 guide covers this case.

The whole technical side, products in App Store Connect, RevenueCat and purchase verification, is described on the iOS in-app subscriptions page. And if you're still at the step before that, the build an iPhone app page walks through the full journey, from idea to release.

My recommendation for a first app

For most first apps I see, the ones that provide a regular service, I recommend going with a subscription, with:

1. a clearly displayed free trial;
2. two offers at most, monthly and annual, with the annual one highlighted;
3. a paywall at the end of onboarding, after the user has seen the app's value;
4. analytics events at every step, so you know where users drop off.

If your app is a one-off tool with no recurring costs, a one-time purchase with a free trial is a perfectly defensible choice. Either way, keep your first version short and focused on a single core feature: that's what lets you ship fast and learn from real users. The iOS app MVP page explains how to scope it.

Adding a subscription or one-time purchase to your app

Choosing the model and the price is your job. Onboarding, the paywall and subscriptions are already in the starter code of the iOS Kit, with a step-by-step path to wire them up at your own pace. The full path to building a mobile app that sells a subscription, from idea to paywall, is summed up on the home page.

Nobody can promise you a number of subscribers. What you can aim for is an app with a well-thought-out revenue model and a paywall that complies with Apple's rules, then metrics to know what to improve next.

Frequently asked questions

Subscription or one-time purchase for an app: which should you choose?

A subscription usually makes more sense if your app provides a service people come back to regularly. It also does if the app costs you money every month (servers, AI, content to produce). A one-time purchase is simpler if your app solves a one-off problem, runs without a server and isn't meant to change much. For a first app, start with a single, clear model.

What is an in-app purchase in an iOS app?

It's Apple's mechanism for selling something digital inside your app. It covers the one-time purchase, which unlocks the full version once and for all, the auto-renewable subscription, and consumable purchases like credits or coins. A paid app, on the other hand, is paid for before download.

How much does Apple take on an in-app purchase or subscription?

Apple takes 30% at the standard rate, and 15% with the Small Business Program, which you have to enroll in. This reduced rate applies to new developers and to those whose proceeds did not exceed 1 million dollars in the previous calendar year. Outside the program, you receive 70% of a subscription's price during the first year of service, then 85%. These rules change: check Apple's pages.

Which subscription offers should a first app have?

My advice for an app that provides a regular service: two offers at most, a monthly one and an annual one, with the annual one highlighted. Clearly display the free trial and put the paywall at the end of onboarding, after the user has seen the app's value. The paywall mistakes to avoid are in this guide.

Can you offer a free trial with a one-time purchase?

Yes. Apple allows non-subscription apps to offer a time-limited trial, as a free in-app purchase named following the "XX-day Trial" convention. Before the trial starts, the app must state its length, what will no longer be accessible when it ends, and what the user will have to pay to unlock everything.

How do you calculate the MRR of a subscription app?

MRR is the revenue your subscriptions bring in each month: number of subscribers × monthly price. For an annual subscription, divide the price by 12. Then subtract VAT (20% in France) and Apple's commission. This calculation doesn't tell you what your app will earn: it tells you how many subscribers you'd need to reach a goal.