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Mobile Development · head to head

Adapty vs Kotlin Multiplatform

Adapty logo

Adapty

Mobile Development

In-app subscription and paywall platform, free below 5,000 USD of monthly revenue then 1 percent, with add-ons charged separately

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kotlin Multiplatform logo

Kotlin Multiplatform

Mobile Development

JetBrains-funded technology for sharing Kotlin business logic across iOS, Android, web, desktop and server

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Adapty the 1 percent headline is only the base rate; Refund Saver at 0.2 percent of revenue, Ads Manager at 3.5 percent of ad spend, Attribution at 0.03 USD per install and Adapty Mail at a 20 percent revenue share stack on top and are individually easy to switch on.; Kotlin Multiplatform it shares logic, not UI, by default, so a team expecting a Flutter-style single UI codebase has to also adopt Compose Multiplatform, which is newer and less proven on iOS than on Android.
  • They diverge on capability: Adapty covers Visual paywall builder, Kotlin Multiplatform covers Shared Kotlin logic.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Adapty and Kotlin Multiplatform actually diverge.

Attributes where Adapty and Kotlin Multiplatform differ
AttributeAdaptyKotlin Multiplatform
Pricing modelPer month by tracked revenueOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsiOS, Android, Web, React Native, FlutteriOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Mobile Development).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Adapty

  • Visual paywall builder
  • A/B testing on paywalls
  • Cross-platform entitlements
  • Subscription analytics
  • Refund Saver add-on
  • Attribution and Ads Manager add-ons

Only in Kotlin Multiplatform

  • Shared Kotlin logic
  • Native UI retained
  • Compose Multiplatform (optional)
  • IDE tooling
  • Gradle-based builds
  • Incremental adoption

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Adapty

  • A growth marketer who needs to test paywall pricing weekly without an engineering ticket or an app releasenot Kotlin Multiplatform
  • A small subscription app that wants to stay free longer than the 2,500 USD threshold offered by the main competitornot Kotlin Multiplatform
  • Consolidating subscription analytics and paywall experimentation in one place rather than wiring an analytics tool to a billing SDKnot Kotlin Multiplatform
  • Automating Apple refund responses where a measurable share of revenue is lost to refund requestsnot Kotlin Multiplatform

Kotlin Multiplatform

  • A company with existing separate native iOS and Android codebases wanting to stop duplicating business logic and networking codenot Adapty
  • A team that wants shared logic but is not willing to compromise on fully native UI per platformnot Adapty
  • An organisation already using Kotlin on the backend that wants to reuse the same models and validation on mobile clientsnot Adapty
  • A team evaluating Compose Multiplatform for UI sharing but wanting the option to fall back to native UI per screennot Adapty

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Adapty

  • The 1 percent headline is only the base rate; Refund Saver at 0.2 percent of revenue, Ads Manager at 3.5 percent of ad spend, Attribution at 0.03 USD per install and Adapty Mail at a 20 percent revenue share stack on top and are individually easy to switch on.
  • Revenue is calculated before platform fees, so the fee applies to money Apple and Google have already taken a 15 to 30 percent cut of, making the effective rate on received cash noticeably higher than the quoted figure.
  • Adapty Mail at a 20 percent revenue share is a large ongoing cost for a channel most teams would otherwise run through an email platform they already pay a flat fee for.
  • The integration ecosystem, third-party tutorials and hiring pool are smaller than the category leader, so engineers are less likely to have used it before and edge cases have fewer public answers.
  • Paywall configuration and entitlement state live with the vendor, so a migration later means rebuilding both the billing integration and every paywall the marketing team has created.

Kotlin Multiplatform

  • It shares logic, not UI, by default, so a team expecting a Flutter-style single UI codebase has to also adopt Compose Multiplatform, which is newer and less proven on iOS than on Android.
  • iOS interop relies on Kotlin/Native compiling to a framework consumed from Swift, and debugging across that boundary is more friction than debugging pure Swift or pure Kotlin.
  • Because logic-sharing is the whole premise, teams still need genuine iOS and Android UI expertise on staff; it does not reduce the native skills bar the way a full cross-platform UI framework aims to.
  • Build times and tooling maturity for multiplatform Gradle projects lag behind single-platform Kotlin or Swift projects, and multiplatform-specific build errors are less well documented.
  • JetBrains funds it as part of the broader Kotlin investment, so its roadmap priority competes internally with IntelliJ, Android Studio and other JetBrains commitments rather than having dedicated headcount the way Flutter has at Google.

Pricing, plan by plan

Adapty

Free
  • Pro under thresholdFree
    • Free until monthly revenue reaches 5,000 USD
    • All core features, no tiers and no fixed costs
    • Paywall builder and A/B testing included
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • 1 percent of monthly revenue above the 5,000 USD threshold
    • Refund Saver adds 0.2 percent of monthly revenue
    • Ads Manager adds 3.5 percent of monthly ad spend
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Quoted
    • White-glove onboarding
    • 24/7 dedicated Slack support and a success manager

Kotlin Multiplatform

Free
  • Kotlin MultiplatformFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed, unlimited apps
    • IDE tooling in the free Android Studio and free-tier IntelliJ IDEA Community
    • No paid Kotlin Multiplatform edition exists

Which should you pick?

Choose Adapty if

  • You need visual paywall builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web, React Native, Flutter.
  • You also want a/b testing on paywalls.
Adapty review

Choose Kotlin Multiplatform if

  • You need shared kotlin logic.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web.
  • You also want native ui retained.
Kotlin Multiplatform review

Questions people ask

Is Adapty or Kotlin Multiplatform better?
Neither clearly leads. Adapty starts at Free and Kotlin Multiplatform at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Adapty or Kotlin Multiplatform?
Adapty starts at Free and Kotlin Multiplatform at Free.
Does Adapty or Kotlin Multiplatform run on more platforms?
Adapty runs on iOS, Android, Web, React Native, Flutter. Kotlin Multiplatform runs on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web.
Can I use Adapty for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Adapty best used for?
Adapty is most often used for a growth marketer who needs to test paywall pricing weekly without an engineering ticket or an app release, a small subscription app that wants to stay free longer than the 2,500 usd threshold offered by the main competitor, consolidating subscription analytics and paywall experimentation in one place rather than wiring an analytics tool to a billing sdk, automating apple refund responses where a measurable share of revenue is lost to refund requests. Of those, a growth marketer who needs to test paywall pricing weekly without an engineering ticket or an app release and a small subscription app that wants to stay free longer than the 2,500 usd threshold offered by the main competitor are not what Kotlin Multiplatform is typically brought in for.
What can Adapty do that Kotlin Multiplatform cannot?
Adapty covers Visual paywall builder, A/B testing on paywalls, Cross-platform entitlements, Subscription analytics. Kotlin Multiplatform covers Shared Kotlin logic, Native UI retained, Compose Multiplatform (optional), IDE tooling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Adapty: How much does it cost above the free threshold?

1 percent of monthly revenue, measured in USD before platform fees, with billing starting once you exceed 5,000 USD in a 30 day period.

Kotlin Multiplatform: Does Kotlin Multiplatform replace my native UI code?

Not by default. It shares business logic and data layers; UI stays native per platform unless you separately adopt Compose Multiplatform.

Adapty: Is the free tier really more generous than RevenueCat?

On the base product yes, 5,000 USD against 2,500 USD of monthly revenue, but add-ons are priced separately where the competitor bundles more into its single rate.

Kotlin Multiplatform: Is there a paid version?

No. It is Apache 2.0 licensed and free, funded by JetBrains as part of the Kotlin project.

Adapty: Can marketing change paywalls without a release?

Yes, that is the main reason teams choose it; paywalls are configured server side and published without going through app review.

Kotlin Multiplatform: Do I need Compose Multiplatform to use it?

No, they are separate. You can share only logic and keep fully native UI on each platform indefinitely.

Adapty: What does Refund Saver actually do?

It responds to Apple refund requests with transaction evidence to contest them, and it costs an additional 0.2 percent of monthly revenue.

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