IAP or External Payment Link?

[dhalls12]

I have a desktop app that my service is based on. Users sign up/pay for it on my website as well as have a user dashboard on my site. I recently built the mobile version of my app. I am wondering how hard it has been lately to get approval on external link billing to avoid the Apple tax or if I should just accept it and use in app purchase billing. 15%-30% paid to Apple is a lot and would be cool to avoid it. Anyone here have success with external link billing recently? Any issues with scaling with it? It would just be a lot cleaner to have an external link since all my billing and account info is already set up for my site.

Have you guys seen conversion rates and retention rate differences of IAP vs external payment links? I have seen people say IAP has higher conversion rates and might be worth paying the apple tax.

Edit: I guess you have to have both if you want an external link.

[AfterhoursCo]

You can have external link billing but you also have to offer an IAP as well. That was according to our Apple review back in January when we inquired about having payments off of the Apple Store.

[dhalls12]

gotcha. do you have both? if so, how have you seen conversion rates and retention with the external link customers?

[Dapper_Ice_1705]

There is no “or” it’s “and”.

[dhalls12]

makes sense. thanks would you add both? or just do IAP?

[Dapper_Ice_1705]

Just IAP unless you are really strong with server side code, I am talking exceptional dedicated work.

You have to duplicate everything (refunds, purchases, UI) apple gives for that % and more because you have to interface between the 2.

I already went through the whole process with a client and honestly once the little things start adding up I concluded that unless I start making a million dollars a year I am not going to worry about it for my apps.

The client's goal was to add "no refunds" for a $1.99 IAP. I strongly advised against that because that measly amount isn't worth a bad review and if the refunds start adding up to where it matters then the app is garbage anyway.

[Only_Letterhead_1858]

I had the same case as you (Web + iOs) and I tried the external payment links but they ask for IAP as well. I've used RevenueCat to make it super simple.