Alternative Billing Programs

Google runs several programs that let you collect payment outside standard Play Store billing. This skill tells you which pieces the RevenueCat Android SDK covers today and which ones you implement yourself against the Play Billing Library.

As of purchases-android 10.27.1 (October 2026) the SDK has no API for any Google Play alternative billing or external program, and RevenueCat does not support Google's alternative billing options. Check the RevenueCat changelog for later releases before you start work.

Phase 1: Discovery

Answer these before writing any code.

If you actually want to sell subscriptions via a RevenueCat-hosted web checkout, that is not one of Google's alternative billing programs. Use Offering.webCheckoutURL or Package.webCheckoutURL:

val pkg = offerings.current?.monthly
pkg?.webCheckoutURL?.let { url ->
    startActivity(Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse(url.toString())))
}

After the user completes that purchase on the web, they redeem it in-app via deep link handling.

Phase 2: Plan

Decide which of the two paths fits.

Path A: Wait for SDK support. If your launch timeline is flexible, watch the RevenueCat changelog and docs for first-class support of the specific program you need. This avoids running raw Play Billing Library code alongside RevenueCat.

Path B: Hand roll the integration. If you must ship now, implement the Play Billing Library APIs for the target program directly. The RevenueCat SDK owns the BillingClient instance, so running raw BillingClient calls alongside it needs care.

A RevenueCat 10.27.1 app compiles against Play Billing Library 8.3.0. User choice billing, alternative billing only, external offers and external content links (enableBillingProgram, use 8.2.1+) and external payments (8.3; a legacy Japan program, closed to new enrollment since September 30, 2026 and ending after March 31, 2027) are available. Billing Choice, its replacement (BillingProgram.BILLING_CHOICE, getBillingChoiceInfoAsync, PBL 9.1), is not, and RevenueCat 10.27.1 is not built against PBL 9.x, so a new Japan integration on RevenueCat 10.27.1 can use only user choice billing. When following the google-play/alternative-billing skill, use only APIs that exist in 8.3.0.

Keep PurchasesAreCompletedBy.REVENUECAT (the default) unless your app takes over acknowledgement of every Play purchase. MY_APP is app wide: RevenueCat then acknowledges nothing, and you must acknowledge or consume every purchase yourself, including those made through Purchases.purchase, within 3 days or Google refunds it.

Purchases.configure(
    PurchasesConfiguration.Builder(context, apiKey)
        .purchasesAreCompletedBy(PurchasesAreCompletedBy.MY_APP)
        .build()
)

Planning checklist:

• Confirmed the Play program and regional eligibility in Play Console.
• Read the current RevenueCat docs and changelog for the SDK version you ship.
• Chose Path A or Path B with a clear reason.
• If Path B, identified which flows RevenueCat still drives and which you drive.

Phase 3: Execute

What the RevenueCat SDK supports in this space as of 10.27.1:

If you ship Path B with PurchasesAreCompletedBy.MY_APP, acknowledgement is app wide: your code must also acknowledge or consume every standard Play Store purchase that goes through Purchases.purchase, or Google refunds it after 3 days.

Verification steps:

• Standard Play Store purchases still flow through RevenueCat and appear in the dashboard.
• Purchases made through the alternative billing path reach your backend and are reconciled with RevenueCat subscriber state.
• Acknowledgement happens exactly once per purchase, with no double-handling between your code and the SDK.

References

• Full chapter

• RevenueCat Docs: https://www.revenuecat.com/docs/

• RevenueCat Codelabs: https://revenuecat.github.io/