iOS Apps: The State of Subscriptions in 2025

Adapty published what might be the most data-rich report on mobile subscriptions this year - covering $1.9 billion in revenue from over 11,000 apps. Whether you're building a subscription-based iOS app or just curious about the economics, it's worth reading in full.

Read the full report on Adapty

What Stood Out to Me

Subscriptions dominate app revenue. This isn't surprising, but the scale is. The subscription model has moved well beyond media and productivity apps. Fitness, education, dating, utilities - the long tail of subscription apps keeps growing.

Free trials still convert. Despite "subscription fatigue" being a popular narrative, trial-to-paid conversion rates remain strong when the trial length matches the app's value delivery. Seven-day trials work for apps with immediate utility. Longer trials make sense when the user needs time to build a habit.

Pricing is consolidating around a few tiers. Most successful apps settle on two or three pricing tiers. The trend is moving away from complex feature matrices toward clear "good / better / best" structures. Weekly billing is growing in specific categories (fitness, dating), while annual plans remain the revenue backbone for productivity tools.

Retention is the real game. Acquisition gets the attention, but the report makes clear that reducing churn by even a few percentage points has an outsized impact on revenue. Grace periods, win-back campaigns, and price localization are the levers that matter most.

For Developers Building Subscription Apps

If you're considering a subscription model for your iOS app, this report provides solid benchmarks for pricing, trial length, and expected conversion rates by category. It's data-driven rather than opinion-driven, which makes it more useful than most advice in this space.