Web vs. In-App Billing
There are two ways to pay for Thrive. You can subscribe in the app, where the App Store or Google Play bills you, or on the web, where checkout opens in your browser.
Either way it's the same account, the same plan and the same features. The difference is who bills you, what it costs, and where you go to change or cancel it.
The two ways to pay
- ›In the app. The purchase goes through the App Store or Google Play and uses the payment method on your store account. Apple or Google handle billing, renewals and refunds.
- ›On the web. Checkout opens in your browser, and the plan screen notes Secure checkout in your browser. The subscription belongs to your BetterBudgets account rather than to a store account.
Why the web usually costs less
App store purchases carry the stores' fees, so the same plan is usually priced lower on the web. The app tells you this where it's allowed to:
- ›When there's a choice on the plan screen, the Pay on the web option shows how much less it costs, and a line underneath gives both prices and what you save.
- ›In the browser, the page you land on after signing in says Subscribe here for less.
Current web pricing is on the pricing page. In the app, the plan screen shows the price where you are.
Who sees the choice
What the plan screen offers depends on your device and where your store account is registered. It goes by your store account's country, not your phone's language or location.
- ›iPhone, US App Store account. The plan screen shows a switch between Pay in-app and Pay on the web. Pay in-app is selected to start with.
- ›Android, US Google Play account. The plan screen shows both prices and the saving as a line of text. There's no button to pay on the web from inside the Android app, so to take the web price, subscribe in a browser instead.
- ›Anywhere else. In the app, you pay through the App Store or Google Play. You can still subscribe on the web from a browser.
- ›In a browser. Checkout is always on the web.
The choice is also hidden once you're subscribed, because starting a second subscription on the other rail would bill you twice.
Discount and referral codes
Codes only work at web checkout. The App Store and Google Play have no way to take them.
- ›Have a code? only appears on the plan screen when you're paying on the web.
- ›If you apply a code and then switch to Pay in-app, the screen says Your code applies to web checkout only, and you can switch back to Pay on the web to use it.
- ›Referral codes are for a first subscription. They won't apply if you're already subscribed, if your account has subscribed before, or if someone has already referred you.
More in Discount codes and the Referral Program.
Subscribing on the web
BetterBudgets is a phone app. The browser is only for creating an account and subscribing.
When you sign in on the web, you land on a page that says BetterBudgets lives on your phone, with links to download the app. If you don't subscribe yet, the page also shows Subscribe here for less and a See plans button.
After you pay, open the app on your phone and sign in with the same account. Thrive unlocks on its own. There's nothing to restore or link.
If you start web checkout from the iPhone app, finish paying in the browser and then switch back to the app. It checks for your purchase and welcomes you in when it finds it.
Managing, switching and canceling
Open Settings → Subscription to see which rail you're on: Billed on the web, Billed through the App Store or Billed through Google Play.
Web
- ›Tap Manage subscription to change your plan, update your card, download invoices or cancel.
- ›Plan changes take effect immediately, with prorated billing.
App Store or Google Play
- ›Tap Open store settings. Plan changes and cancellations happen in your store account.
- ›When you switch plans, Apple or Google handles the change. The app takes you to the store's subscription settings instead of starting a new purchase.
On either rail, canceling stops future charges, and you keep Thrive until the end of the period you've already paid for. See Canceling.
Restore is for store purchases
Restore re-links a purchase you made through the App Store or Google Play to the account you're signed in to. It appears on the plan screen when you're paying in the app and aren't subscribed yet.
Web subscriptions don't need restoring. They follow your account, so signing in is enough. That's why Restore doesn't appear when you're paying on the web.
Moving between web and in-app billing
A subscription can't be transferred from one rail to the other. To move, cancel the one you have, let the paid period run out, then subscribe on the other rail. Your budgets and data aren't affected, because it's the same account.
Before any purchase, the app checks what you already have:
- ›Same plan, same rail. The purchase is stopped with You already have this plan.
- ›Subscribed through the App Store or Google Play, now buying on the web. You're warned that Your store subscription keeps billing. Only you can cancel a store subscription, so cancel it in your store account or you'll pay for both.
- ›Subscribed on the web, now buying through the store. You're warned that You already subscribe on the web. Your web plan keeps renewing until you cancel it under Manage subscription.
Both warnings let you Go back or Continue anyway. Going back is almost always the right call.
Refunds and billing questions
- ›App Store or Google Play purchases. Apple or Google handle refunds under their own policies, since they took the payment.
- ›Web purchases, or anything that looks wrong. Email support@betterbudgets.io from your account email.
See Managing Your Subscription for plans, upgrading and what happens when Thrive ends.