Do you need RevenueCat if you only build for iOS?

Apple's own tools cover a complete iOS subscription app. Each item links to Apple's documentation.

• Products and prices: Product.products(for:) loads your products from the App Store (Apple).
• A ready-made paywall: SubscriptionStoreView shows a subscription group with names, prices and a buy button (Apple).
• What the customer owns: Transaction.currentEntitlements lists the customer's active, verified purchases and leaves out refunded ones (Apple).
• Purchases made elsewhere: Transaction.updates delivers renewals, offer codes and purchases from other devices while the app runs (Apple).
• Events while the app is closed: App Store Server Notifications V2 send renewals, refunds and billing problems to a URL you choose (Apple).
• Server checks: the App Store Server API lets your server look up a customer's transactions and subscription status (Apple).

func isPro() async -> Bool {
    for await result in Transaction.currentEntitlements {
        if case .verified(let transaction) = result, transaction.productID.hasPrefix("pro_") {
            return true
        }
    }
    return false
}

Find the row that matches your app. If every row you need says StoreKit 2 is enough, you do not need RevenueCat or RevenueDot yet.

The first purchase takes an afternoon. These cases take the weeks, because each one needs code, a test and a server that is always on.

• Billing problems: grace periods and billing retry, where access depends on the subscription state.
• Refunds and revocations: take access away when Apple sends a refund, and answer consumption requests.
• Upgrades and downgrades: moves between plans in one subscription group.
• Family Sharing: purchases shared with family members, and taken back when they leave (Family Sharing).
• Offers: introductory offers, offer codes and win-back offers, each with its own eligibility rules.
• Accounts: a customer who signs in on a second device, or restores purchases into a different app account.

RevenueDot is an open-source backend that works with the RevenueCat SDK, so you get the same SDK and paywalls without a RevenueCat account. It handles the App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore and Stripe in one customer record, with webhooks, 43 charts, paywalls and Refund Control. RevenueDot Cloud is free up to $10,000 a month, and you can self-host it.

It is new: it launched in 2026, has far less production history than RevenueCat, and has no SOC 2 report. Test your app in Apple's sandbox before launch. You can also start with StoreKit 2 today and add a backend when you add Android. See how to add subscriptions.