RevenueCat powers subscription billing for more than 50,000 live apps. It also benchmarks more than 115,000 apps in its annual report, one of the widest lenses on how mobile apps make money. More than 50,000 apps rely on RevenueCat to manage subscriptions, consumables, lifetime purchases, and now virtual currencies. Its 2026 State of Subscription Apps report analyzed more than 115,000 apps, representing more than $16 billion in revenue across more than a billion transactions, according to RevenueCat.
The company sits at an unusual vantage point. Three years ago, about 2,000 new subscription apps launched every month; today that number is almost 15,000. The data below spans apps tracked, revenue analyzed, funding, valuation, and the subscription benchmarks that shape how developers price and retain users. It draws on RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps report and its Series C announcement.
Key Takeaways
- RevenueCat powers more than 50,000 live apps and processes more than $8 billion in annual transactions across iOS, Android, and web.
- Its 2026 report benchmarks more than 115,000 apps and more than $16 billion in revenue, a dataset wider than its own customer base.
- Subscription app supply exploded from about 2,000 to almost 15,000 new launches per month over three years, driven by AI-assisted development.
- Revenue stays highly concentrated: apps launched before 2020 still generate 69% of all subscription revenue, while 2025-or-later apps account for just 3%.
- Hard paywalls convert at a median 10.7% by Day 35 against just 2.1% for freemium apps, roughly a 5x gap.
- Roughly 72% of annual subscribers cancelled within Year 1 in 2026, up from about 56% a year earlier.
- RevenueCat raised a $50 million Series C at a $500 million post-money valuation, bringing total funding to $100 million.
Editor’s Choice
- RevenueCat processes more than $8 billion in annual transactions.
- More than one in three new subscription apps debuting on iOS or Android worldwide shipped with RevenueCat, with new integrations more than doubling in 6 months.
- The 2026 report spans 338 pages of benchmarks.
- iOS accounts for about 77% of all new subscription app launches, up from about 67% in 2023.
- The top 10% of apps grew monthly recurring revenue 306% year-on-year, while the median grew just 5.3%.
- Top-earning apps now make 400x more than the bottom, up from 200x in 2024.
- AI apps carry a Year 1 median lifetime value of $30.16, against $21.37 for non-AI apps.
RevenueCat by the Numbers: Apps Tracked and Revenue
RevenueCat’s scale reads on two axes: the apps it directly powers and the far larger set it benchmarks. RevenueCat processes more than $8 billion in annual transactions, powering monetization for apps such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Notion, VSCO, and Runna, per RevenueCat’s Series C announcement. RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps 2026 report itself runs to 338 pages.
- Apps directly powered: More than 50,000, managing subscriptions, consumables, lifetime purchases, and virtual currencies.
- Apps benchmarked in the 2026 report: More than 115,000 across all categories.
- Revenue analyzed: More than $16 billion.
- Transactions analyzed: More than a billion.
- Annual transactions processed: More than $8 billion.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Live apps powered | 50,000+ |
| Apps benchmarked (2026 report) | 115,000+ |
| Revenue analyzed | $16 billion+ |
| Transactions analyzed | 1 billion+ |
| Annual transactions processed | $8 billion+ |
| Report length | 338 pages |
Source: RevenueCat State of Subscription Apps 2026, RevenueCat Series C press release
By the numbers: RevenueCat reports it powers more than 50,000 live apps yet benchmarks more than 115,000 in its 2026 report. That gap matters: the report is a market-wide read on more than $16 billion in subscription revenue rather than a customer snapshot, which is why its benchmarks travel well beyond RevenueCat’s own install base.
Subscription App Launches by Platform
- App supply is the story behind every other number. Three years ago, about 2,000 new subscription apps launched every month; today that number is almost 15,000, after AI removed a decade-old supply constraint on app development, according to RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps 2026 report.
- The platform mix skewed sharply toward iOS over the same period, a shift visible across the wider app economy.
- New subscription app launches per month: grew from about 2,000 to almost 15,000 over three years.
- iOS share of new subscription app launches: about 77% in 2026, up from about 67% in 2023.
- Android new subscription app launches: grew from about 700 to about 3,300 per month.
The iOS tilt tracks the broader platform picture in iPhone statistics, where Apple’s install base continues to concentrate high-value subscription spend.
Recent Developments
- March 2026: RevenueCat published its State of Subscription Apps 2026 report, expanding the dataset to more than 115,000 apps and more than $16 billion in revenue.
- 2026 benchmarks: The report documented a 113-point gap between the top and bottom MRR-growth quartiles.
- May 2025: RevenueCat raised a $50 million Series C led by Bain Capital Ventures at a $500 million post-money valuation.
- 2025 product expansion: RevenueCat added virtual currencies to its platform alongside subscriptions, consumables, and lifetime purchases.
- Integration momentum: The rate of new apps integrating RevenueCat more than doubled in 6 months, fueled by AI-driven consumer apps.
RevenueCat Funding and Valuation
- RevenueCat’s balance sheet grew alongside the subscription-app boom it measures.
- The company raised a $50 million Series C led by Bain Capital Ventures at a $500 million post-money valuation, bringing its total raised to date to $100 million.
- Returning investors including Index Ventures, Y Combinator, Adjacent, Volo Ventures, and SaaStr Fund also participated.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Series C raised | $50 million |
| Post-money valuation | $500 million |
| Lead investor | Bain Capital Ventures |
| Total raised to date | $100 million |
| Returning investors | Index Ventures, Y Combinator, Adjacent, Volo Ventures, SaaStr Fund |
Source: RevenueCat Series C press release, May 2025
- Series C amount: $50 million.
- Post-money valuation: $500 million.
- Cumulative funding: $100 million to date.
Apps and Customers Using RevenueCat
RevenueCat’s market position shows best at launch time. In a recent three-month window, more than one in three subscription apps that debuted on iOS or Android worldwide shipped with RevenueCat under the hood. Its customer roster spans breakout AI products from names like OpenAI’s ChatGPT operation to established software brands such as Notion.
- Named customers: OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Notion, VSCO, and Runna.
- Annual transactions processed: More than $8 billion across the customer base.
- New-app market share signal: More than one in three new iOS or Android subscription apps used RevenueCat in a recent three-month window.
- Growth trajectory: New-app integrations more than doubled in 6 months.
How does RevenueCat make money? RevenueCat runs a freemium infrastructure model: developers use the SDK free below a monthly tracked-revenue threshold and pay as their subscription revenue scales. That pricing is why adoption tracks new-app launches so tightly, since teams integrate at launch and only pay once revenue arrives.
Subscription Revenue Concentration by Launch Year
Subscription revenue is a winner-take-most market, and the concentration is hardening. Apps launched before 2020 generate 69% of all subscription revenue, while apps launched in 2025 or later account for just 3%. The earnings spread widened at the top as well.
- Pre-2020 apps: Generate 69% of all subscription revenue.
- 2025-or-later apps: Account for just 3% of subscription revenue.
- Top-versus-bottom earnings: Top-earning apps now make 400x more than the bottom, up from 200x in 2024.
- New-launch spread: The top 5% of newly launched apps make over 400x as much revenue after two years as the bottom 25%, who make no more than $19.
Why it matters: RevenueCat’s data shows the subscription market rewarding incumbency. With pre-2020 apps still holding 69% of revenue and top earners pulling 400x the bottom, a new entrant faces a steep climb for a small slice. That concentration reframes launch-volume advice: distribution and retention decide who reaches the revenue that already exists.
MRR Growth Polarization
- Growth is splitting into two populations. The top 10% of apps grew 306% year-on-year, the median grew just 5.3%, and the bottom 10% shrank by more than 60%.
- At the quartile level, the top quartile grew MRR by 80% or more while the bottom quartile shrank by more than 33%, a 113-point gap.
| MRR Growth Cohort | Year-on-Year Change |
|---|---|
| Top 10% of apps | +306% |
| Top quartile | +80% or more |
| Median app | +5.3% |
| Bottom quartile | -33% |
| Bottom 10% of apps | -60% or worse |
Source: RevenueCat State of Subscription Apps 2026
- Top-decile growth: 306% year-on-year.
- Median growth: 5.3% year-on-year.
- Top-quartile growth: 80% or more year-on-year.
- Bottom-quartile decline: A contraction of more than 33% year-on-year.
- Bottom-decile decline: A contraction of more than 60%.
- Quartile spread: A 113-point gap between the top and bottom quartiles.
Across our 50+ platform statistics pages, this engagement-and-retention split shows up repeatedly: mature products deepen revenue while new entrants struggle to hold users past the first month.
Paywall Conversion: Hard vs Freemium
- Paywall design drives one of the widest performance gaps in the dataset.
- Apps with a hard paywall convert at a median of 10.7% by Day 35, compared with just 2.1% for freemium apps, roughly 5x better.
- By Day 60, hard-paywall apps reach a revenue-per-install of $3.09 versus $0.38 for freemium.
- Hard paywall conversion: A median 10.7% by Day 35.
- Freemium conversion: Just 2.1% by Day 35.
- Revenue-per-install gap: $3.09 for hard paywalls versus $0.38 for freemium at day 60.
Free Trial Benchmarks
- Trial abandonment is heavily front-loaded, which reshapes how developers should think about trial length.
- Among 3-day trials, 55.4% of all cancellations occur on Day 0, and 84% happen between Day 0 and Day 1.
- Trials lasting 17 to 32 days convert at a 42.5% median, versus 25.5% for trials shorter than four days, yet 46.5% of apps still used trials under four days in 2026.
| Trial Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| 3-day trial cancellations on Day 0 | 55.4% |
| 3-day trial cancellations by Day 1 | 84% |
| Conversion, 17 to 32-day trials | 42.5% |
| Conversion, sub-4-day trials | 25.5% |
| Apps using sub-4-day trials (2026) | 46.5% |
Source: RevenueCat State of Subscription Apps 2026
- Day 0 drop-off: 55.4% of 3-day trial cancellations happen on the first day.
- Long-trial advantage: 17-to-32-day trials convert at 42.5% versus 25.5% for sub-4-day trials.
- Short-trial prevalence: 46.5% of apps still used sub-4-day trials in 2026.
Worth noting: RevenueCat’s trial data cuts against a common growth reflex. Short trials feel efficient, yet longer 17-to-32-day trials convert at 42.5% against 25.5% for sub-4-day windows. With most abandonment landing on Day 0, the first-session experience is where conversion is won or lost.
Subscription Cancellations and Churn
- Retention worsened across the board. Roughly 72% of annual subscribers cancelled within Year 1 in 2026, up from about 56% in 2025, and the first month alone accounts for 35% of all annual cancellations.
- Separately, nearly 30% of annual subscriptions are canceled in the first month. Billing mechanics compound the problem unevenly across platforms.
- Year 1 churn: Roughly 72% in 2026, up from about 56% in 2025.
- Billing-error cancellations: 31% of Google Play cancellations stem from billing errors, versus 14% on the App Store.
- Plan retention: Low-cost annual plans retain up to 36% of users after a year, while high-priced monthly plans retain just 6.7%.
AI Apps Outperform on Revenue
- AI-native apps are the growth engine behind RevenueCat’s own surge, and they monetize differently.
- AI apps earn 41% more revenue per user than non-AI apps but churn 36% faster, with a Year 1 median lifetime value of $30.16 against $21.37 for non-AI apps.
- Most AI apps see revenue per install above $0.63 after 60 days, compared with the overall median of $0.31, with the Health & Fitness category matching AI apps at $0.63.
| AI vs Non-AI Metric | AI Apps | Non-AI Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue per user | +41% | baseline |
| Churn speed | 36% faster | baseline |
| Year 1 median LTV | $30.16 | $21.37 |
| Revenue per install (60 days) | $0.63 | $0.31 median |
Source: RevenueCat State of Subscription Apps 2026, State of Subscription Apps 2025
- Revenue-per-user premium: AI apps earn 41% more per user.
- Churn speed: AI apps churn 36% faster than non-AI apps.
- Lifetime value: $30.16 Year 1 median for AI apps versus $21.37 for non-AI apps.
- Revenue per install: Above $0.63 for AI apps after 60 days, against a $0.31 overall median.
Hybrid Monetization by Category
- Pure subscriptions are giving way to mixed models.
- 35% of apps now mix subscriptions with consumables or lifetime purchases, with Gaming leading at 61.7% and Social & Lifestyle at 39.4%.
- Overall hybrid adoption: 35% of apps mix subscriptions with consumables or lifetime purchases.
- Gaming: 61.7% use hybrid models.
- Social & Lifestyle: 39.4% use hybrid models.
What is a good subscription app conversion rate?
A strong benchmark depends on paywall type. RevenueCat’s data puts hard-paywall apps at a median 10.7% trial-to-paid conversion by Day 35, while freemium apps sit near 2.1%. Apps clearing the top decile convert downloads to paying users at several times the median, so a rate above the hard-paywall benchmark signals healthy monetization, while low-single-digit conversion is normal for freemium models.
How many apps does RevenueCat power?
RevenueCat powers more than 50,000 live apps and processes more than $8 billion in annual transactions. It benchmarks more than 115,000 apps covering more than $16 billion in revenue in its 2026 report. The two figures answer different questions: one measures its direct customer base, the other the market-wide sample it analyzes.
Conclusion
RevenueCat’s numbers describe a subscription-app market that grew faster than it matured: monthly launches climbed from about 2,000 to almost 15,000 while roughly 72% of annual subscribers now cancel within their first year. Powering more than 50,000 apps and processing more than $8 billion in transactions, and benchmarking more than 115,000 apps against more than $16 billion in revenue, the company reads the market from a position few vendors share.
For developers and analysts, the through-line is concentration. Pre-2020 apps still hold 69% of revenue, hard paywalls out-convert freemium roughly 5x, and AI apps monetize 41% richer even as they churn faster. Those benchmarks, refreshed annually, are the clearest public gauge of where subscription revenue actually lands.
