The State of Subscription Apps 2025: The year AI ate everything

Twelve months ago, I joked about how AI was going to change everything for subscription apps. It did, but in ways I didn’t fully appreciate at the time.

AI-powered apps are already outperforming a bunch of legacy categories, and on top of that, AI-assisted development has made launching (and iterating) an app feel more like a weekend hobby project. Running a subscription business is still hard, but AI is letting us do more, faster — creating an incredible amount of disruption that makes now a better time than ever to build and invest.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a State of Subscription Apps report without us going completely overboard on data. Last year, I warned you it was “dense.” So this time around, we doubled down — literally. (More than) twice the page count, more charts, and more slicing and dicing. We broke down metrics by category, platform, region, price point, engagement strategy, and probably a few other segments you never knew you needed. The result is a monstrous trove of insights that should keep you busy until next year’s version, which will probably come in a three-volume set.

Download the 2025 report

AI apps print money – if they stand out

Most AI apps see revenue per install above $0.63 after 60 days, matching only Health & Fitness ($0.63) and doubling the overall median of $0.31. But just adding “AI” to your App Store description isn’t enough. The apps that win differentiate — by building useful, sticky, or entertaining AI-powered features that give users a reason to stay.

Subscriptions alone aren’t enough anymore

35% of apps now mix subscriptions with consumables or lifetime purchases, and the trend is growing. Gaming (61.7%) and Social & Lifestyle (39.4%) are leading the way, showing that hybrid monetization models are a strong way to capture more revenue without losing the benefits of subscriptions.

Retention starts on day one

Nearly 30% of annual subscriptions are canceled in the first month. If you don’t win them back over, at the end of that first year, they’re gone. The most successful apps engage early and continuously deliver value, giving users reasons to stick around long enough to renew.

The revenue gap between top apps and the rest is growing

At $8,880 in earnings, the top 5% of newly launched apps make over 400x as much revenue after two years as the bottom 25%, who make no more than $19. This gap has widened dramatically since last year’s 200x difference, proving that the best apps optimize pricing, iterate fast, and retain users better.

Low prices keep users locked in

Most apps with cheap annual plans retain up to 36% of users after a year, while high-priced monthly plans retain just 6.7%. If your goal is retention, lower-cost annual plans give you more breathing room to engage users before they churn.

Get the full report

Building a successful subscription app is easier said than done — even in the era of vibe-coded, one-shotted apps. My hope is that you’ll find the data you need in the 260+ pages of this report to handle your next big challenge, whether that’s retention, pricing, or cracking into a new market.

At RevenueCat, giving away information is one of our top seven favorite activities, and we’re excited to keep pushing the envelope on what we can learn — and share — about this thing called apps.

Download the 2025 State of Subscription Apps report