Google Play Product Setup
Setting up your in-app purchases in Google Play Billing
To set up products for Android devices, start by logging into the Google Play Console. Google Play Console is Google's central hub for managing app releases, testing, in-app purchases, and more.
This guide assumes basic knowledge of Google Play Console, as well as having an app set up and ready for adding in-app purchases. For more information, visit Google's documentation and guides for Google Play Console.
Create an In-App Purchase
You'll need to have an APK uploaded before you can create in-app products. Check out our guide on sandbox testing on Android for details on how to upload an APK and roll out a release on a closed test track.
To create an in-app purchase, go to Google Play Console's 'All Applications' page and select your app from the list.
In the sidebar, select the Products dropdown. Depending on your in-app product type, you will either choose In-app products or Subscriptions.
After clicking Create, there are several pieces of metadata you have to provide to Google about your in-app product:
Metadata | Description |
|---|---|
Product ID | The product ID is a unique alphanumeric ID that is used for accessing your product in development and syncing with RevenueCat. After you use a Product ID for one product in Google Play Console, it can’t be used again across any of your apps, even if the product is deleted. |
Name | A short name of the item, up to 55 characters. This will be displayed on your Google Play Store listing. |
Description | A long description of the item, up to 80 characters. This will be displayed on your Google Play Store listing. |
Billing period (subscriptions only) | The billing period of the subscription (weekly, monthly, etc.) |
Default price | Enter a price in your local currency, or choose a template. |
Tips for creating robust product IDs
After you use a Product ID for one product in Google Play Console, it can’t be used again across any of your apps, even if the product is deleted. It helps to be a little organized here from the beginning - we recommend using a consistent naming scheme across all of your product identifiers such as:
<app>_<price>_<duration>_<intro duration><intro price>
- app: Some prefix that will be unique to your app, since the same product Id cannot but used in any future apps you create.
- price: The price you plan to charge for the product in your default currency.
- duration: The duration of the normal subscription period.
- intro duration: The duration of the introductory period, if any.
- intro price: The price of the introductory period in your default currency, if any.
For example, using this format the identifier for a product that has a yearly subscription with a one week trial for $39.99 USD would be:
rc_3999_1y_1w0
Sample configuration of a 1-month subscription with a free trial.
Next Steps
Cross Platform
If your app is cross-platform, check out our guides for setting up products for App Store Connect or Stripe.
Integrate with RevenueCat
If you're ready to integrate your new Google Play in-app product with RevenueCat, continue our product setup guide .
Updated about 2 months ago