App Store revenue · No SDK · Apple's own reports
Looking at RevenueCat
just for the charts?
RevenueCat is very good at what it is built for. Its SDK and backend handle purchases, entitlements, paywalls, and experiments across stores, and its free RevenueCat Mobile app, rated 4.9 from about 1,600 ratings, puts charts, customer history, and purchase notifications on your phone. If you want that system running your subscriptions, use it. Some developers only want to see their App Store numbers, though, and don't want a purchase backend for that. AppMeta Pulse is for them: it reads the reports Apple already publishes, with an API key, and nothing goes into your app.
How does AppMeta Pulse compare to RevenueCat?
RevenueCat records purchases as they happen, through the path you route them along. Pulse reads Apple's reports afterwards. Most of the differences below follow from that.
What it is
AppMeta Pulse: A dashboard app for App Store Connect. It reads Apple's Sales and Trends, Subscription, and Subscription Event reports, App Store impressions and page views, and customer reviews, and keeps every day it fetches on your iPhone.
RevenueCat: An in-app purchase platform: SDKs, a backend, entitlements, paywalls, A/B experiments, integrations, a web dashboard with charts, and the RevenueCat Mobile app.
RevenueCat does much more. Pulse covers only the reading part.
RevenueCat: An in-app purchase platform: SDKs, a backend, entitlements, paywalls, A/B experiments, integrations, a web dashboard with charts, and the RevenueCat Mobile app.
RevenueCat does much more. Pulse covers only the reading part.
Setup
AppMeta Pulse: Create an App Store Connect API key with the Admin role, and add your Vendor Number. There is no SDK to add, no code to change, and no new release of your app to ship.
RevenueCat: Integrate the SDK, or connect the store and turn on tracking of new purchases from App Store server notifications, which RevenueCat documents as its SDK-less route. Purchases made before setup need a receipt import.
Pulse also works for apps that never touched RevenueCat, including paid apps and old projects.
RevenueCat: Integrate the SDK, or connect the store and turn on tracking of new purchases from App Store server notifications, which RevenueCat documents as its SDK-less route. Purchases made before setup need a receipt import.
Pulse also works for apps that never touched RevenueCat, including paid apps and old projects.
Which numbers you see
AppMeta Pulse: Apple's own terms. Proceeds after commission and tax, or sales, switched with the Show Amount setting; MRR from Apple's subscription reports; trials, churn, and downloads net of refunds. The figures are next-day, because Apple publishes daily reports the following day.
RevenueCat: RevenueCat's metrics: active trials, active subscriptions, MRR, revenue, new and active customers, updated in near real time. The Overview's revenue card is gross, before store fees and taxes.
Expect the two to differ. They measure at different points and on different bases.
RevenueCat: RevenueCat's metrics: active trials, active subscriptions, MRR, revenue, new and active customers, updated in near real time. The Overview's revenue card is gross, before store fees and taxes.
Expect the two to differ. They measure at different points and on different bases.
Stores and customers
AppMeta Pulse: App Store only, for every app in your App Store Connect account. Apple's reports are aggregated, so there is no per-customer history.
RevenueCat: App Store, Google Play, Stripe, and other stores in one place, with each customer's purchase history.
For a cross-platform subscription business, RevenueCat is the stronger tool.
RevenueCat: App Store, Google Play, Stripe, and other stores in one place, with each customer's purchase history.
For a cross-platform subscription business, RevenueCat is the stronger tool.
On the phone
AppMeta Pulse: 12 Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, review replies (up to 25 at once) with optional on-device drafts, and optional iCloud Sync between your iPhones. No notifications.
RevenueCat: RevenueCat Mobile: charts, customer history, purchase notifications, widgets, Siri and Shortcuts, the Rico AI assistant, and an AI paywall editor. iPhone, iPad, Apple silicon Mac, and Vision Pro, iOS 18 or later.
If you want a ping for every purchase, RevenueCat Mobile does that and Pulse doesn't.
RevenueCat: RevenueCat Mobile: charts, customer history, purchase notifications, widgets, Siri and Shortcuts, the Rico AI assistant, and an AI paywall editor. iPhone, iPad, Apple silicon Mac, and Vision Pro, iOS 18 or later.
If you want a ping for every purchase, RevenueCat Mobile does that and Pulse doesn't.
Price and privacy
AppMeta Pulse: $0.99 a month or $1.99 a year after a 7-day free trial, or $2.99 once. No ads, tracking, or third-party analytics. App Store Connect requests go from your iPhone straight to Apple; nothing passes through a Lagerland Apps server.
RevenueCat: Free up to $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue, then 1% of tracked revenue; RevenueCat Mobile is free. The mobile app's privacy label lists contact info and usage data linked to you. The service itself processes your customers' purchases, which is its job.
Under $2,500 a month RevenueCat can cost nothing. Check current pricing on both sides.
RevenueCat: Free up to $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue, then 1% of tracked revenue; RevenueCat Mobile is free. The mobile app's privacy label lists contact info and usage data linked to you. The service itself processes your customers' purchases, which is its job.
Under $2,500 a month RevenueCat can cost nothing. Check current pricing on both sides.
AppMeta Pulse vs RevenueCat, feature by feature
From RevenueCat's pricing page, documentation, and App Store listing, and AppMeta Pulse's source code. Checked October 2026.
| Feature | AppMeta Pulse | RevenueCat |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | App Store Connect dashboard app | In-app purchase backend with SDKs, dashboard, and mobile app |
| Added to your app | Nothing | The SDK, or server notifications for the SDK-less route |
| Data source | Apple's Sales and Trends and Subscription reports | Purchases RevenueCat receives from your app or the stores |
| Purchases from before setup | Yes, as far back as Apple's reports go (about a year of daily reports), then kept on your iPhone | Only with a receipt import |
| Stores | App Store | App Store, Google Play, Stripe, and others |
| Revenue basis | Proceeds or sales, on a setting | Overview revenue is gross, before store fees and taxes |
| Freshness | Next day, when Apple publishes | Near real time for most metrics |
| MRR, trials, active subscriptions | Yes | Yes |
| Per-customer history | No | Yes |
| Entitlements, paywalls, experiments | No | Yes |
| Purchase notifications | No | Yes, in RevenueCat Mobile |
| Widgets | 12, Home Screen and Lock Screen | Yes, including active trials and a live transaction feed |
| Phone app platforms | iPhone only, iOS 17+ | iPhone, iPad, Apple silicon Mac, Vision Pro; iOS 18+ |
| Price | $0.99/month or $1.99/year after a 7-day free trial, or $2.99 once | Free up to $2,500 monthly tracked revenue, then 1%; mobile app free |
| Privacy (phone app) | No ads, tracking, or third-party analytics | Label lists contact info and usage data linked to you |
| App Store rating (phone app) | Not enough ratings to show yet | 4.9 from about 1,600 ratings |
| Best for | Reading App Store numbers with no integration | Running subscriptions across platforms |
Who should pick AppMeta Pulse, and who should stick with RevenueCat?
Pick AppMeta Pulse if…
- You write your own StoreKit code and don't want a purchase backend just to see charts
- You want numbers in Apple's own terms, proceeds and sales, read from Apple's own reports
- You have paid apps or older apps that will never get an SDK update
- You want history from before you connect, from the year of daily reports Apple still serves, kept on your iPhone from then on
- You want an app with no tracking or third-party analytics
Stick with RevenueCat if…
- You want entitlements, paywalls, or A/B tests handled for you
- You sell on Google Play, Stripe, or the web as well as the App Store
- You need per-customer purchase history, webhooks, or integrations
- You want purchase notifications and real-time numbers
- You're under $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue and the free plan covers you
About AppMeta Pulse
Questions
FAQ
Is AppMeta Pulse a RevenueCat alternative?
Only for the dashboard part. RevenueCat is an in-app purchase backend with SDKs, entitlements, paywalls, experiments, integrations, and charts across several stores. AppMeta Pulse is an App Store Connect dashboard that reads Apple's own reports. If you use RevenueCat to run your purchases, keep it. If you were considering it only to see App Store revenue and subscriptions, Pulse does that without adding anything to your app.
Do I need to add an SDK to use AppMeta Pulse?
No. AppMeta Pulse reads Apple's Sales and Trends, Subscription, and Subscription Event reports through the App Store Connect API, using a key with the Admin role that you create in App Store Connect. Nothing changes in your app, and it works for every app in the account, including paid apps and apps you no longer update.
Can RevenueCat work without its SDK?
Yes. RevenueCat documents an SDK-less integration: you connect the store, set up App Store server notifications, and turn on tracking of new purchases, or send receipts to its REST API. It tracks purchases from the point it starts receiving them; purchases from before that need a receipt import.
Why do RevenueCat and AppMeta Pulse show different revenue?
They measure at different points. RevenueCat's Overview shows gross revenue before store fees and taxes, updated in near real time from the purchases it receives. AppMeta Pulse shows Apple's proceeds after commission and tax, or sales, switched with its Show Amount setting, from Apple's daily reports, which arrive the following day. Exchange rates and refund timing differ too.
Does AppMeta Pulse work with Google Play or Stripe?
No. AppMeta Pulse reads App Store Connect only. If you sell subscriptions on Google Play, Stripe, or the web as well, RevenueCat's cross-store view is the better fit.
How much do they cost?
RevenueCat is free up to $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue, then charges 1% of tracked revenue, and the RevenueCat Mobile app is free for any RevenueCat account. AppMeta Pulse costs $0.99 a month or $1.99 a year, each starting with a 7-day free trial, or $2.99 once for Lifetime. Check current pricing on both sides before deciding.
Try it
Open AppMeta Pulse.
Your App Store proceeds, MRR, and subscriptions, read from Apple's own reports with nothing added to your app. The free download opens a demo on sample data.
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