Creating software is easier than ever, but figuring out how to make money from it is an entirely different proposition.
While a swathe of new AI-assisted “vibe coding” tools can spin up mobile apps from plain-English prompts, once those apps go live, a big question emerges: how to turn usage into revenue.
That is what Replit is striving to address through a new partnership with RevenueCat, integrating subscription tooling directly into its platform and allowing users to add monetization features through simple prompts.
Earning potential
Founded in 2016, Replit built its reputation on lowering the barrier to software creation, initially through a browser-based coding environment that let users write, run, and share code without local setup. Its platform evolved to allow users to generate and deploy applications using natural language, hitting a $9 billion valuation and attracting a reported 50 million users ranging from students to enterprise teams.
This broader progression toward AI-assisted development has made it easier to produce working apps quickly. But monetization has remained a separate, more complex task. Developers typically need to configure subscriptions, integrate payment systems, and navigate app store rules on their own.
RevenueCat, founded in 2017, specializes specifically in that layer. Its software handles in-app purchases and subscriptions for more than 80,000 apps, managing billing, pricing tiers, and access controls across Apple and Google’s ecosystems. The company says it processes around $1 billion in subscription transactions each month.
By embedding RevenueCat into Replit, the two companies are trying to remove the need for users to leave the platform once their app is built. Instead, they can trigger monetization features with prompts such as “add subscriptions” or “monetize my app,” with the system handling configuration in the background.
Asif Bhatti, who leads product partnerships at Replit, said the aim is to shift monetization from a separate step into something that happens during creation.
“Vibe coding created a new generation of app builders who think in ideas, not code,” Bhatti told The New Stack. “With RevenueCat, we’ll see builders’ ideas become successful, profitable businesses. Monetization is no longer an afterthought; it’s built into the creative process from day one.”
Users create their app as normal using prompts in the Replit interface, and then when they reach a point of wanting to add subscriptions, they simply tell Replit in plain English that is what they want to do. They are then invited to connect their RevenueCat account, authorizing the integration so Replit can configure subscriptions and billing on their behalf.
Connecting RevenueCat with Replit
Replit informs the user when the RevenueCat integration is complete, and the subscription paywall is displayed in a working preview of the app.
Integrating payments
Automating pricing and paywalls
It’s worth noting that the integration goes beyond setting up payments. Matt Berry, head of partnerships at RevenueCat, said the system draws on data from its State of Subscription Apps Report, which aggregates benchmarking data from more than 80,000 apps, to guide users on how to price and package their products.
“It uses this data to give users personalized guidance on pricing and monetization, taking into account factors like app category, target audience, geography and more,” Berry told The New Stack. “This provides Replit users with the guidance they need to implement the correct pricing model from day one and monetize their apps effectively.”
For many Replit users, building an app may be their first exposure to the mobile ecosystem, including the various rules around subscriptions and revenue sharing. And that is why the guidance provided by RevenueCat also extends to app store compliance and paywall design, areas that can trip up first-time developers.
The commercial model reflects that early-stage audience, too. RevenueCat remains free to use until an app generates $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue, after which it takes a 1% fee.
“This means users monetizing their apps on Replit get access to the same platform and features used by some of the world’s biggest consumer subscription apps completely for free, which is a great way to start building and experimenting without any barriers,” Berry said.
While RevenueCat supports subscriptions across iOS and Android, Replit’s current one-click publishing flow is limited to Apple’s App Store, with Android builds requiring a manual upload outside the platform, though support for Google Play is in development.
Quality control
While the ease of both building and monetizing apps is a boon for budding entrepreneurs, it raises a key concern: whether app stores could see an influx of low-quality products.
Bhatti acknowledged that not every app will succeed, but argued that revenue generation itself depends on the app providing genuine value.
“Our goal from the start has been to democratize coding so that anyone, regardless of their technical experience, can build an app,” Bhatti said. “For apps to create and sustain revenue streams, though, they need to be high-quality.”
He pointed to features such as automated security and privacy analysis as part of the platform’s effort to support more robust applications, even though the broader question of how app marketplaces handle increased volume remains unresolved.
There is also the question of how much business logic can be abstracted away. As tools take on more of the decisions around pricing and monetization, some developers may end up running subscription businesses without fully understanding how they work.
Bhatti said the company is providing guidance alongside automation, while leaving outcomes to user demand.
“Vibe coding is still in its early days, so we’re going to see some amazing apps and businesses pop up,” Bhatti said. “And, of course, a fair share that don’t quite make it. That’s true of any new market.”
For Replit, its latest partnership signals an expansion in scope — from helping users build software, to helping them sustain it. RevenueCat, for its part, is no stranger to working with big-name AI companies, having already claimed the mighty OpenAI as a client. However, in that case, RevenueCat is used to power subscriptions for ChatGPT itself.
With Replit, that same infrastructure is being introduced much earlier in the process, allowing users to build and monetize apps in one flow rather than treating revenue as a separate step after launch.
Whether that combination produces a new class of viable app businesses, or simply more apps competing for attention, is the big question.
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Paul is an experienced technology journalist covering some of the biggest stories from Europe and beyond, most recently at TechCrunch where he covered startups, enterprise, Big Tech, infrastructure, open source, AI, regulation, and more. Based in London, these days Paul…
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