Facts read November 7, 2026
RevenueCat vs Stripe Connect
RevenueCat is Cuely's default payments pick when your description doesn't favor either one: one API over Apple and Google in-app purchases, free until $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue. Pick Stripe Connect if you care most about marketplaces that pay out to providers.
Side by side
| Fact | RevenueCat | Stripe Connect |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Manages in-app subscriptions across the App Store and Google Play: entitlements, receipts and paywalls. | Stripe's product for platforms that take payments for, and pay out to, other people. |
| Free plan | Free up to $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue. | No monthly fee. Card fees as Stripe: 2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card charge. With Stripe handling pricing: no account, payout volume or per-payout fees. |
| Paid from | 1% of monthly tracked revenue once you pass $2,500. | If you handle pricing: $2 per monthly active account, 0.25% + 25¢ per payout sent, and 0.25% of payout volume. |
| At 1,000 users | $0/month | $0/month |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hostable | No | No |
| Best for | Subscriptions in iOS and Android apps; Syncing entitlements between stores and your backend | Marketplaces that pay out to sellers or providers; Taking a percentage of each booking; Provider identity checks (KYC) handled by Stripe |
| Watch out | It sits on top of the store's in-app purchase, so the store's commission still applies. Above $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue it charges 1% of what you track; the page doesn't say whether that's all revenue or only the excess. | Two pricing modes: if Stripe bills providers' fees directly, no extra account or payout fees; if you handle pricing, $2 per monthly active account plus 0.25% + 25¢ per payout. Instant payouts cost 1% of payout volume. |
Where they differ
The published scores, from −3 to +3, that decide which one Cuely picks for each need.
| Need | RevenueCat | Stripe Connect |
|---|---|---|
| users pay each other and you take a cut | −3 Can't pay out to other users. | +3 Splits each payment, holds your fee and pays providers out, with their onboarding and KYC. |
| native iOS or Android app | +3 Apple requires in-app purchase for digital subscriptions in iOS apps; RevenueCat wraps both stores' purchases. | −2 Fine for real-world services booked in an app; not for digital goods inside iOS apps, which need in-app purchase. |
| sells to businesses (organizations, roles, SSO) | −2 For consumer in-app subscriptions, not invoices or seats. | −1 Plain Stripe is simpler when nobody else gets paid out. |
| regulated or compliance-sensitive | 0 No particular strength here. | +1 Stripe verifies providers' identity (KYC) during onboarding. |
Sources: RevenueCat pricing (read November 7, 2026), Stripe Connect pricing (read November 7, 2026). No vendor pays for placement.