Weekly subscriptions have now become one of the most popular ways iOS apps are earning revenue, with these plans contributing 46% to the bottom line, according to a new report by app revenue management platform Adapty.
The study, which observed $1.9 billion in revenue across more than 11,000 apps, noted that weekly plans have grown by 9.5% this year compared to one-time purchases, which grew by 6.3% in the first quarter. Other paid plans, including monthly, yearly, and lifetime subscriptions, dipped in growth.
Adapty said that prices of weekly plans have also increased along with the growth. Average weekly subscription prices in the EU and the U.S. have grown 12.2% and 12.5% respectively to $8.3 and $8.1. In comparison, monthly and annual plans have seen mixed growth in different regions. App makers like Spotify and Canva have experimented with weekly plans in multiple markets.
The report noted that the U.S. is leading with 48.9% of contributions to in-app purchases, with Europe in second place with a 24.8% contribution. It also said that U.S. installs bring 3-4 times more revenue than installs from other regions.
In all regions, weekly plans were the top contributors to revenue. Most notably, these plans generated 60% of revenue in LATAM, followed by 53% in MEA. In Europe, while weekly plans were the biggest money driver, they had a share of 38%.
There is a downside to the rise in weekly plans as it becomes harder for apps to retain users after a few weeks.
“What accelerates growth also limits lifetime value. Weekly plans thrive in burst-use categories, like utilities or quick productivity tools, where users pay for immediate value but rarely stay. Retention drops sharply after day 30, and only single-digit percentages remain after a year. That churn curve quietly erodes marketing ROI,” Appfigures founder and CEO Ariel Michaeli said in the report.
The report noted that weekly plans drive better lifetime value from consumers in categories like productivity and utility. However, in categories such as Health & Fitness and Photo & Video, annual plans drive value.
Adapty also said that developers offering trials before providing a subscription saw positive results, with app makers seeing 64% and 58% increases in lifetime value in the U.S. and Europe, respectively.
Apple is facing regulatory pressure to change its App Store model thanks to rulings in both the U.S. and the EU. However, Adapty thinks that we might not see immediate effects.
“We've spoken with some of the biggest players in the space, and honestly, there's no major shift toward third-party payments yet. The drop in conversion tends to cancel out most of the upside. There's also talk that Apple might lower its cut to 15-20% globally, and if that happens, the value of going external gets a lot harder to justify,” Vitaly Davydov, CEO of Adapty, said.
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