Insights from RevenueCat’s 2025 State of Subscription Apps Report
Apr 3, 2025
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Jacob Eiting, Founder and CEO of RevenueCat, discusses profound insights from the 2025 State of Subscription Apps Report. He highlights the plummeting costs of app development, presenting opportunities for niche markets amid increasing competition. Retention rates are declining, emphasizing the need for top-notch product quality. Eiting also addresses AI's transient impact on growth and the importance of improving user onboarding experiences. Lastly, he shares anecdotes from his entrepreneurial journey, showcasing the critical elements of differentiation and innovation.
The declining retention rates for subscription apps emphasize the necessity for unique, high-quality products that meet user needs to combat increasing competition.
RevenueCat's evolution from backend support to a comprehensive analytics platform highlights the importance of developing a well-rounded product for sustained market fit.
AI integration in subscription apps offers potential for enhanced user experience and revenue, yet demands continuous innovation to maintain a competitive edge.
Deep dives
The Role of Product Quality in Retention Rates
Product quality largely determines the retention rate for subscription apps, regardless of the marketing strategies employed. Competition is increasing, making it essential for apps to offer something unique and valuable to keep users engaged. The podcast highlights that while paywall optimization and onboarding experiences are important, the core loop of usage and the intrinsic value of the product ultimately drive retention. Apps that meet users' needs and are well-designed will see higher retention rates, and this quality is essential to convert trial users into long-term subscribers.
The Journey and Evolution of RevenueCat
RevenueCat began as a solution to the challenges Jacob Eiding faced while developing a subscription app and has since become a leading platform for managing in-app purchases. Originally focused on providing backend infrastructure, the platform has evolved to include analytics and tracking to help developers optimize revenue streams. The discussion emphasizes the importance of building a well-rounded product that serves both as a functional tool and a business intelligence resource. This comprehensive approach has led to sustained growth and market fit for RevenueCat.
Shifts in Consumer Subscription App Metrics
The latest subscription app report reveals a concerning trend: a decline in overall retention rates as competition escalates in the app market. While top-performing apps maintain higher retention rates, the rise of low-cost alternatives creates an environment where users can easily switch between apps. Additionally, the report indicates that while retention metrics are falling, the perceived value of high-quality apps remains strong, suggesting a divergence between user expectations and available offerings. As such, apps must distinguish themselves to capture and retain their user bases amidst growing competition.
The Impact of AI on Subscription Apps
The podcast explores how the integration of AI technology into subscription apps has the potential to enhance user experiences and drive higher revenue per user. AI applications have been shown to generate significantly higher revenue compared to median apps, indicating their market potential. However, as AI becomes more ubiquitous, the challenge for new entrants will be maintaining competitive advantages as user expectations rise. This emphasis on quick iteration and innovation means that apps leveraging AI effectively will likely dominate the landscape moving forward.
Onboarding as a Critical Success Factor
Onboarding is identified as a crucial factor for converting new users into paying subscribers, with the majority of trial starts occurring shortly after installation. Top-performing apps utilize effective onboarding methods that immerse new users and immediately convey the value of their service. The conversation stresses the need for an engaging onboarding experience that feels premium and personalized to convince users to start a trial. Furthermore, continuous optimization of this process through A/B testing is recommended to ensure the app can adapt to evolving user needs and preferences.
Jacob Eiting is the founder and CEO of RevenueCat, the world’s largest SaaS platform for subscription apps that need help powering in-app purchases, managing customer data, and growing revenue across iOS, Android, and the web. Prior to founding RevenueCat in 2017, Jacob was the CTO of Elevate Labs, a consumer subscription business offering both brain training and meditation apps, and a software developer at multiple other companies, including Apple.
Key Takeaways:
The cost of building apps is falling exponentially. This is opening up opportunities for products in niches that were not previously viable, but that can now support profitable businesses. However, it’s also dramatically increasing competition.
Subscriber retention is the most important metric for consumer subscription apps, but retention rates continue to decline as the app stores become increasingly crowded. While there are tactics companies can use to improve retention on the margins, this metric is hard to move and is ultimately driven by product quality.
The rise of AI has created a “tourist effect” that is driving organic growth through viral word of mouth, but this will slow down eventually. To win in the long run, AI companies need to develop sustainable and repeatable growth strategies.
Given that 80% of trials occur on the same day an app is installed, optimizing the new user onboarding experience is one of the highest-leverage opportunities consumer subscription apps have to accelerate growth.
Consumer subscription apps are at a disadvantage vs. B2B SaaS businesses because most of them only monetize users through a single subscription tier. Recently, a lot of apps have begun testing lifetime subscriptions and/or one-time purchases to capture more consumer surplus and increase ARPU.