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In-app purchase verification

Affiliate Tracking for RevenueCat Apps

Keep RevenueCat as your purchase source and add Insert Affiliate to credit each sale to the affiliate or creator who referred the user.

Get 10% off RevenueCat for life

New to RevenueCat? Insert Affiliate customers get 10% off RevenueCat for the lifetime of the account. Sign up to Insert Affiliate first: the discount link is in your onboarding, at the step where you choose RevenueCat. The offer is for new RevenueCat accounts only.

Get started with Insert Affiliate

How it works

If your app already uses RevenueCat, you do not need to change how purchases work to run an affiliate or referral programme. RevenueCat stays the purchase source, and Insert Affiliate works out which affiliate referred each sale. Insert Affiliate is an official RevenueCat Technology Partner.

Setup is a choice in your Insert Affiliate settings, the Insert Affiliate SDK in your app, and a connection between your RevenueCat project and Insert Affiliate.

This page covers what setup involves, the platforms it supports, how offers and short codes work with RevenueCat, and what you get once purchases start arriving.

As featured on Sub Club by RevenueCat
“Sounds all pretty seamless… I think this has been the barrier to entry for apps to do this. These are all those kind of huge things that add up to it being more feasible, especially for a small developer.”
David Barnard
Host, Sub Club by RevenueCat

Setting it up

  1. Step 1

    Choose RevenueCat in Insert Affiliate

    In your Insert Affiliate settings, select RevenueCat as your in-app purchase verification. It is the option the docs recommend for most apps.

  2. Step 2

    Add the Insert Affiliate SDK

    Install the SDK for your platform next to the RevenueCat SDK. Each SDK guide has a RevenueCat section with the code changes.

  3. Step 3

    Connect RevenueCat to Insert Affiliate

    Link your RevenueCat project so that App Store and Google Play purchases reach Insert Affiliate. This is done in the RevenueCat dashboard, and the docs list each setting.

  4. Step 4

    Test with a sandbox purchase

    Create a test affiliate, enter their short code or open their link on a test device, and make a sandbox purchase. The transaction should appear in your Insert Affiliate dashboard.

How it works with RevenueCat

A user arrives from an affiliate link or enters an affiliate short code, and your app remembers who referred them. When that user buys, RevenueCat confirms the purchase as it does today, and Insert Affiliate credits the sale to that affiliate and calculates the commission.

Nothing changes in how you sell. Your products, paywalls and entitlements stay in RevenueCat.

Supported platforms and SDKs

RevenueCat setup is documented for six Insert Affiliate SDKs:

  • iOS (Swift)
  • Android
  • React Native
  • Flutter
  • Unity
  • JavaScript and Capacitor

RevenueCat offer codes and discounts for referred users

You can attach an offer to an affiliate so that the people they refer see a discount or a free trial without typing a promo code. This works with RevenueCat Targeting and Offerings: you build the promotional offering in RevenueCat, and referred users are shown it in place of your standard one. Your app keeps displaying the current offering.

Short codes and links

Affiliates can share a link, a short code, or both. A short code is a short string of letters and numbers that the user enters in your app, which suits video platforms where links cannot be clicked. For links, Insert Links are built in, and Branch and AppsFlyer also work alongside RevenueCat.

RevenueCat web purchases

Web sales are supported too. Both RevenueCat Web Billing and RevenueCat Stripe Billing can be tracked, including hosted Web Purchase Links, by connecting the Stripe account that RevenueCat uses. The Stripe integration page explains the Stripe side.

What you get once it is connected

  • Each attributed transaction in your dashboard, against the affiliate who referred it.
  • Commission rates per affiliate, with the choice of whether renewals earn commission.
  • Payouts to affiliates through Stripe, one at a time or with automatic daily payouts, which are opt-in.
  • Refunds reflected in what each affiliate is owed.
  • In-app referrals: a Refer a friend screen that gives each user a code and link, with the option to reward referrers with free premium time automatically.

For how the two products differ, see RevenueCat vs Insert Affiliate.

Frequently asked questions

Does RevenueCat have a built-in referral or affiliate programme?
No. RevenueCat support has said there is no affiliate programme feature built into RevenueCat and pointed developers to Insert Affiliate, which is an official RevenueCat Technology Partner.
Do I have to change how purchases work in my app?
No. RevenueCat stays your purchase source. You add the Insert Affiliate SDK next to it and connect your RevenueCat project.
How does RevenueCat attribution to an affiliate work?
A user arrives from an affiliate link or enters a code, and the app remembers who referred them. RevenueCat confirms the purchase and Insert Affiliate credits that affiliate.
Can I give referred users a discount with RevenueCat?
Yes. You can attach an offer to an affiliate, and it works with RevenueCat Targeting and Offerings so referred users see a promotional offering without typing a promo code.
Which platforms are supported with RevenueCat?
The docs cover RevenueCat setup for the iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, Unity and JavaScript or Capacitor SDKs.
Can I track RevenueCat web purchases too?
Yes. RevenueCat Web Billing and RevenueCat Stripe Billing are both supported, through a connection to the Stripe account RevenueCat uses.
Is there a RevenueCat discount for Insert Affiliate customers?
Yes. Insert Affiliate customers who create a new RevenueCat account get 10% off RevenueCat for the lifetime of the account. Sign up to Insert Affiliate and you will find the discount link in your onboarding. It applies to new RevenueCat accounts only.

Documentation

Full setup instructions and code samples are in the docs.

How RevenueCat and Insert Affiliate differ

Read RevenueCat vs Insert Affiliate

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I want to help you setup your iOS or android affiliate scheme

Book a call with me and we can run through your ideas, get help with setup, or speak to me about your current affiliate situation

“I couldn't use affiliate marketing in my subscription app, so I built insert affiliate to solve this issue”
- Michael Butler, CEO
Michael Butler, CEO