Subscription Pricing for Indie iOS Apps: Monthly vs Annual and How to Test
Updated Oct 10, 2026
On this page (6 sections)
Most indie subscription apps should offer both a monthly and an annual plan, with the annual plan priced at a clear discount to twelve months of monthly and shown as the default. Monthly lowers the barrier to start; annual brings cash upfront and fewer renewal decisions. Then test price changes on new subscribers only, and judge them on revenue, not conversion alone.
There's no universal "right price." It depends on your category, your audience and how often people use the app. What you can control is the structure, the presentation and a disciplined way to test.
Quick answer
Should my app offer monthly or annual subscriptions?
Offer both in most cases. Monthly suits people who want to try before committing; annual suits people who already see the value and want a lower effective price. Make the annual discount obvious, preselect the plan you want most people to choose, and measure which mix produces more revenue per install over time.
Plan structure: monthly, annual, lifetime
| Plan | Who it suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | Hesitant users, short-term needs, people testing value | More renewal decisions, so more chances to churn |
| Annual | Committed users; apps used regularly over months | A big upfront price can scare first-time users without a trial |
| Weekly | Short, intense use cases | Can feel expensive and can attract refunds if not clearly disclosed |
| Lifetime (non-consumable) | Users who dislike subscriptions; a launch or promo offer | No recurring revenue; ongoing server or AI costs keep running |
On iOS, monthly, annual and weekly plans are auto-renewable subscriptions inside a subscription group. A lifetime plan is a non-consumable in-app purchase. Apple's overview: Auto-renewable subscriptions.
Price points. You choose from Apple's price points per storefront. You can set a base storefront price and let Apple generate equalized prices for other storefronts, or set prices per storefront yourself. Check local prices in key markets so they end in sensible numbers and match local purchasing power. (App Store Connect Help: Manage pricing for auto-renewable subscriptions)
Anchoring and default plan selection
How you present plans changes which one people pick:
- Show the annual price as a monthly equivalent next to the full annual price, so it's easy to compare. Keep the full billed amount the most prominent, because that's what the user pays.
- Show the saving. "Save X% vs monthly" is easier to understand than two raw prices.
- Preselect one plan. Most apps preselect annual. If your audience is new to subscriptions, test preselecting monthly or pairing annual with a free trial.
- Keep the choice small. Two plans, sometimes three, is easier to decide between than four or five.
- Use a higher option as an anchor only if it's real. A plan no one wants that exists only to make another look cheap erodes trust.
Apple requires the billed amount and terms to be clear. See our paywall optimization checklist for the compliance details.
How to run a price test on iOS
How do I test subscription prices on iOS?
Create separate subscription products at each test price, then show different products to different new users with a paywall experiment tool such as RevenueCat Experiments, or change price for new subscribers only and compare before-and-after cohorts. Keep existing subscribers on their current price, run the test long enough to see renewals, and compare revenue per install.
App Store Connect doesn't offer a built-in price A/B test. The two common approaches:
1. Randomized test with separate products (preferred)
- Create a product for each price (for example, the current annual price and a higher annual price) in the same subscription group.
- Use a tool that assigns new users at random to a paywall showing one product or the other. RevenueCat's Experiments feature works this way with Offerings. (RevenueCat docs: Experiments)
- Run until you have enough conversions and at least one renewal cycle for the plans you care about.
2. Sequential (before/after) test
- Change the price for new subscribers only. App Store Connect lets you keep current prices for existing subscribers.
- Compare cohorts from before and after.
- Expect noise: seasonality, featuring and ad spend changes can all distort a before/after comparison.
Either way, change one thing at a time. Don't change price, trial length and paywall design in the same test. For choosing a testing method generally, see choosing an A/B testing method.
Metrics to judge a price change
Which metrics show whether a price change worked?
Judge price changes on revenue per install over a fixed window, not on conversion rate alone. A higher price often converts fewer people but earns more per buyer. Also track trial-to-paid conversion, first renewal rate, refunds and estimated LTV, because a price that converts well but churns fast can lose money.
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Download-to-paid (or download-to-trial) | Whether the price scares people off at the paywall |
| Trial-to-paid | Whether people who tried it think it's worth the price |
| First renewal rate | Whether the price holds up after the first period |
| Refund rate | Whether people feel misled or regret buying |
| Revenue per install (fixed window) | The single best summary of a price test |
| Estimated LTV | Long-run value, once you have enough renewal data |
App Store Connect shows units, proceeds and subscription reports. RevenueCat shows trials, conversions, MRR, churn and cohorts. To compare your store conversion with similar apps, see Apple's peer group benchmarks explained. For the App Store Connect reporting side, see App Store Connect Mastery.
GROWNX pulls your App Store Connect and RevenueCat data into one free-to-start dashboard, so you can see whether your keyword, metadata and paywall changes actually move revenue. Free plan available.
FAQ
Can I change prices for existing subscribers?
Yes, with conditions. Apple notifies subscribers of increases, and some increases need the subscriber's consent, for example larger increases above Apple's thresholds or a second increase within a year. Without consent, the subscription doesn't renew at the new price. Check Apple's current price increase thresholds before you raise prices.
Lifetime plan: yes or no?
A lifetime plan suits apps with low ongoing costs and users who dislike subscriptions, and it can work as a launch or promotional offer. It's riskier for apps with server or AI costs per user, because revenue stops while costs continue. If you add one, price it well above the annual plan and watch whether it cannibalizes annual sales.
How often should I change my prices?
Rarely, and only with a test or a clear reason, such as new features or rising costs. Frequent changes make results impossible to read and can annoy existing subscribers. A reasonable rhythm is one deliberate pricing test at a time, run long enough to see renewals, before you plan the next.
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