The State of Subscription Apps 2025: The year AI ate everything

AI has significantly transformed the landscape for subscription apps, outperforming traditional categories and making app development feel more accessible, while also driving substantial disruption in the industry. The latest State of Subscription Apps report highlights these shifts, offering a comprehensive analysis of metrics across various dimensions such as category, platform, and engagement strategy. The report notes that AI-powered apps achieve high revenue per install, but success hinges on differentiation through engaging features. There's a growing trend towards hybrid monetization models, combining subscriptions with consumables or lifetime purchases, particularly in gaming and social apps. Retention remains a crucial challenge, with nearly 30% of annual subscriptions canceled in the first month, emphasizing the need for early engagement. The revenue disparity between top and lower-performing apps has widened, underscoring the importance of pricing optimization and user retention. Moreover, apps with lower-cost annual plans tend to retain a higher percentage of users compared to those with expensive monthly plans. The report, spanning over 260 pages, aims to equip developers with insights to tackle challenges in retention, pricing, and market entry.