Apphud vs Google Play Billing

Apphud provides subscription infrastructure and analytics for in-app purchases on iOS and Android. Its SDKs support iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter and Unity, and the service includes web access and an API. Teams can manage in-app purchases and auto-renewable subscriptions without server code. The dashboard reports subscription measures including MRR, retention, churn, ARPU, trial conversions, proceeds and refunds. A/B experiments let teams test purchases and paywalls, while Apphud says it validates App Store and Google Play receipts without server code. Integrations include analytics, attribution, messaging and notification services, as well as custom webhooks and APIs. Apphud Rules can offer discounts to retain or win back subscribers, but Rules are iOS-only. The free plan includes one seat and $10,000 MTR; after its grace period, renewals stop being tracked and dashboard access is unavailable. Pro costs $49 a month and includes five seats and online chat support.

Google Play Billing lets developers sell digital products and content in Android apps through one-time purchases or subscriptions. It is for digital items; developers selling physical goods or services are directed to the Google Pay SDK. One-time products may be consumable for repeat purchases or non-consumable for a lasting benefit, and can grant permanent access or a particular non-renewable use. Subscriptions grant defined benefits for a set period and support base plans, offers, prepaid plans, and add-on entitlements. The Play Billing Library connects an Android app with Google Play Services to retrieve localized offerings and launch purchase flows. Google recommends a secure backend using the Play Developer API for purchase verification and subscription management. That API can check purchase status and modify or cancel recurring purchases. Cloud Pub/Sub delivers notifications about changes to Google Play-managed subscriptions. Purchases that are not acknowledged within three days are automatically refunded. Google says service fees vary by developer and transaction; its overview says 97% of developers distribute apps and use Google Play at no charge, and 99% of developers subject to a service fee are eligible for a fee of 15% or less through available programs. The listed plan is free.