RevenueCat vs Adapty vs Apphud: Subscription Tool Comparison (2026)

If you're building a subscription mobile app in 2026, you'll use one of three SDKs to manage subscriptions: RevenueCat, Adapty, or Apphud. They sit between StoreKit/Google Play Billing and your app, abstracting away the platform-specific subscription mess.

This is the honest comparison of the three.

TL;DR

• RevenueCat: industry standard. Best documentation, biggest community, free up to ~$10k MTR.
• Adapty: closest competitor. Strong paywall A/B testing built-in. Free up to ~$10k MTR.
• Apphud: cheapest paid tier. Solid analytics. Free up to ~$10k MTR.

All three are free at indie scale. Pick based on paywall A/B testing needs and analytics depth.

What these tools actually do

Common job for all three:

1. Cross-platform subscription state. Your app calls "isPremium" — the SDK handles the iOS/Android billing details.
2. Receipt validation. Server-side check that the user actually paid (avoiding common fraud).
3. Subscription event tracking. Trial start, conversion, renewal, cancellation, refund.
4. Analytics dashboard. Cohort retention, MRR, churn, LTV.
5. Subscription change handling. Upgrades, downgrades, refunds, paused subscriptions.

You can do all of this with StoreKit + Google Play Billing directly. You'll spend 2-4 weeks of engineering doing it. These SDKs save that.

RevenueCat

Strengths

• Largest community and documentation. Easiest onboarding.
• Most mature. Powers ~30k apps in 2026.
• Generous free tier (up to $10k MTR — Monthly Tracked Revenue).
• Strong third-party integrations (Mixpanel, Amplitude, Adjust, Singular).
• Reliable receipt validation. Edge cases handled.

Weaknesses

• Paid tiers get expensive fast at scale.
• Built-in A/B testing is good but not best-in-class vs Adapty.
• Some advanced analytics features behind paid plans.

Pricing (2026)

• Free up to $10k MTR.
• $99/month + 1% of revenue starting at $10k MTR.
• Enterprise plans for higher scale.

Best for

• First-time subscription apps.
• Teams that value documentation + community over advanced features.
• Apps that integrate with many third-party tools.

Adapty

Strengths

• Best-in-class paywall A/B testing. Native UI builder, server-side test routing, robust analytics on paywalls specifically.
• Strong cohort analytics.
• Paywall builder (no-code paywall design).
• Competitive free tier.

Weaknesses

• Smaller community than RevenueCat.
• Documentation good but less battle-tested.
• Fewer third-party integrations.

Pricing (2026)

• Free up to $10k MTR.
• $0.05/MTR after, capped at percentage at scale.

Best for

• Teams that A/B test paywalls aggressively (most subscription apps should).
• Apps where paywall optimization is core to the business.
• Indie devs who want a no-code paywall builder.

Apphud

Strengths

• Cheapest paid tier in the comparison.
• Solid analytics dashboard.
• Built-in paywall A/B testing.
• Push notification integration.

Weaknesses

• Smaller community than RevenueCat or Adapty.
• Less robust third-party integration ecosystem.
• Documentation thinner.

Pricing (2026)

• Free up to $10k MTR.
• Paid tiers cheaper than RevenueCat above threshold.

Best for

• Cost-conscious indie devs.
• Apps scaling past free tiers where RevenueCat fees become meaningful.
• Teams that want decent paywall A/B testing without Adapty's premium positioning.

Feature comparison

When the choice matters

Indie / pre-launch

All three are free at your scale. The decision is reversible (migrating costs 1-2 weeks of engineering). Pick based on which docs read clearest to you.

Default recommendation: RevenueCat for the community + documentation.

Subscription-heavy app, paywall optimization core

Adapty. Its paywall A/B testing UI saves enough time vs others to justify a slight premium at scale.

Cost-sensitive at scale

Apphud. Cheapest above the free tier.

Migration cost

Switching SDKs requires:

1. SDK swap in your app.
2. Re-configuring product entitlements.
3. Migrating historical user data (best-effort).
4. Re-validating receipts.
5. Re-creating subscription analytics views.

Plan 1-2 weeks to migrate. Don't migrate without a clear reason.

What you don't need a tool for

If you're tracking only a few subscription events and don't need:

• Cross-platform unified state.
• Paywall A/B testing.
• Cohort analytics.
• Refund / cancellation tracking.

You can use StoreKit + Google Play Billing directly. Most indie subscription apps benefit from a tool though — the engineering cost of doing it yourself rarely pays back.

Common mistakes

• Picking based on logo recognition. All three work fine at indie scale.
• Underestimating paywall A/B testing value. This is the single biggest revenue lever for most subscription apps.
• Skipping receipt validation. Subscription fraud is real — even at small scale.
• Not integrating with analytics tool. RevenueCat/Adapty/Apphud should feed Mixpanel/Amplitude for full funnel analysis.
• Late migration. Picking at scale is more expensive than picking early.

Tools beyond these three

Smaller / specialized options:

• Qonversion — emerging competitor, similar feature set.
• NamiML — niche focus on paywall optimization.
• PurchaselyAI — paywall-focused tool with no-code builder.

For most indie devs, one of the three majors is the right choice.

Related reading

• Mobile App Monetization Guide 2026
• Freemium Conversion Rate Optimization
• Soft vs Hard Paywall Conversion Data
• 7-day Trial Paywall Conversion Data
• Annual vs Monthly Subscription Pricing
• LTV Calculation for Subscription Apps
• Mobile App Churn and Retention
• MMP Comparison: Adjust vs AppsFlyer vs Singular

Try the tools

• Ad Analytics Calculator
• Ad Benchmark Analyzer
• Free ASO audit