RevenueCat is the standard way to add subscriptions to a Flutter app in 2026. One SDK, both stores, restore purchases handled, entitlements checked, receipts validated server-side.
The native in_app_purchase plugin gives you the primitives: fetch products, buy them, listen to purchase updates. It does not give you restore-purchases logic, receipt validation, entitlement checks, cross-platform user identity, or analytics. RevenueCat gives you all of those, and is free below a revenue threshold.
(1) Create an app in RevenueCat, add your App Store Connect and Play Console credentials. (2) Create products (subscriptions or one-time) in both stores. (3) Group them into offerings. (4) Install purchases_flutter, configure with your public SDK key, identify the user. (5) Present the paywall, call Purchases.purchasePackage(), check entitlement on app launch.
Every subscription app is required by App Store Review Guideline 3.1.1 to offer a Restore Purchases button. RevenueCat exposes Purchases.restorePurchases() — call it, then re-check the customer's entitlement. If the user has an active subscription, unlock the paywall.
A product is what the user buys (monthly_pro). An entitlement is what unlocks (pro_features). Products can change; entitlements should not. Always gate features on entitlements, not on product IDs.
RevenueCat validates receipts for you. If you also need server-side validation (e.g., to grant server-side entitlements), use RevenueCat webhooks — they fire on every purchase, renewal, cancellation, and refund.
RevenueCat Charts gives you MRR, ARPU, LTV, churn, and cohorted retention out of the box. Send events to PostHog by piping RevenueCat webhooks through your backend.
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