The Golden Rule of Guideline 3.1.1
Apple's Guideline 3.1.1 - Payments - In-App Purchase states that all digital content, premium features, digital subscriptions, or virtual items unlocked within the app must use Apple's native in-app payment system (In-App Purchases / StoreKit 2).
Allowed Payment Gateways: Stripe vs Mandatory StoreKit
| Purchase Type | Permitted Solution | Apple Commission | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Physical goods (Clothing, eCommerce, food delivery) | Stripe / Web Apple Pay | 0% (Standard processing fees) | | Real-world physical services (Ridesharing, rentals) | Stripe / Credit Card | 0% | | Cross-platform SaaS Subscriptions | Reader App / Existing Account Login | 0% if purchased on Web | | Digital unlocks inside mobile app | StoreKit 2 Mandatory | 15% (Small Business) to 30% |
Implementing In-App Purchases in Capacitor
To manage subscriptions easily, we recommend using the official RevenueCat plugin or native Capacitor Purchases.
import { Purchases } from '@revenuecat/purchases-capacitor';
// Initialize on app launch
await Purchases.configure({ apiKey: "appl_your_apple_api_key" });
// Trigger subscription purchase
const { customerInfo } = await Purchases.purchasePackage({ aPackage: selectedPackage });
if (customerInfo.entitlements.active['premium']) {
// User unlocked
}
For a custom monetization audit, explore our Capacitor mobile engineering services.