In-app purchase
Buying digital features or subscriptions inside a mobile app through Apple's or Google's own billing, which the stores generally require and take a cut of.
Updated October 2026 · with examples from our own builds
What does in-app purchase mean in practice?
When an app sells digital content or features, such as a premium tier, extra credits or an ad-free mode, the stores generally require their own billing systems. Physical goods and real-world services, such as a delivery or a training session, can usually go through an ordinary payment gateway.
Where that line falls is a pricing decision. Store commission changes margins, and reading a feature the wrong way can get an app rejected or force a redesign of how plans are bought.
Store purchases also need work on your server: verification, acknowledgement within the store's time limit, renewals, refunds and grace periods, and a record in your own ledger. Services such as RevenueCat package that work; doing it yourself removes a dependency and adds code to maintain.
In-app purchase at a glance
- Generally required for
- Digital features and subscriptions sold in the app
- Usually exempt
- Physical goods and real-world services
- Server must
- Verify, acknowledge and record every purchase
Where has in-app purchase come up in our builds?
Google Play's Payments Policy requires Play Billing for digital subscriptions sold in an app distributed on Play, so Premium runs on Play Billing via RevenueCat rather than Razorpay. We also wrote up Google's User Choice Billing programme for India, which by our reading saves about 1.5% per transaction in practice.
Google and Apple take 15–30% of in-app purchases of digital features, and a driver plan could be read that way, while customer fares, a physical service, are exempt. We read both stores' rules, removed the card option and made a plan come out of money Pakka already owes the driver.
On the server, a purchase is verified with the Play Developer API, the plan is granted, and only then is the purchase acknowledged. A real test purchase waits on the Play Console account.
Common questions about in-app purchase
Can my app take payment through Razorpay or Stripe instead of the app store?
For physical goods and real-world services, generally yes. For digital features or subscriptions used inside the app, the stores generally require their own billing, so read the current policy for your exact case before you price the plan.
What does the store's cut mean for my pricing?
Either price in the commission on every digital sale or design the plan so it isn't a digital purchase. Pakka moved driver plans onto the driver's wallet balance after reading both stores' rules.
Related terms
Sources
Planning a product and not sure where in-app purchase fits? Ask us, or browse all 116 terms in the glossary.