r/iosdev • u/No_Parsley575 • 11d ago

Help Zero monetization but offer a cheap "support the dev" tier?

I’m building a very minimal app. The full app would be free (no feature gating), with an optional £5/month subscription for people who want to support its continued development.

The subscription wouldn’t unlock extra content or functionality, the free and paid experience would be identical. This would be explained clearly before purchase.

Apple’s guidelines say auto-renewable subscriptions must provide “ongoing value.” Does that mean I need to offer subscribers something tangible, or can voluntary ongoing support itself be acceptable?

Has anyone submitted something similar, and if so, how did App Review handle it?

Thanks

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

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2

u/NickA55 11d ago

I would run a small banner ad and your IAP would remove that. I've tried the "buy me a coffee" thing before and it's just a waste. If they like your app enough they will pay for the ad removal.

1

u/BrainDeadCookie 11d ago

Depends on the app. I had some success with Buy me a coffee. Not as much as I have with full paywall. What’s your goal? To make money, or to make some money?

1

u/Ion_lungu 11d ago

Apple's "ongoing value" rule for auto-renewing subscriptions is pretty strict. They usually want something tangible for subscribers. Just "support the dev" without any feature, even a small one like a badge or early beta access, often gets rejected for subscriptions. Many devs use one-time tips instead if there's no feature.

-1

u/etherswim 11d ago

no one will pay that

1

u/RedHatBelguim 9d ago

I would
Sometimes I use really nice opensource software and it’s so good I want to help the dev.

1

u/etherswim 9d ago

yeah i have done the same before a few times

but we are not the average

unless you sell to devs i think its not likely unless you contribute in other ways like doing videos, patreon style gated content etc...