How do I know what I will be charged each month?
Your monthly cost is the base plan price. Optional transaction fees apply only when GrowthCat processes sponsor, advertising, or influencer payments; referral revenue tracking itself is unlimited.
FAQ
GrowthCat Frequently Asked Questions
Practical answers about referral tracking, influencer payments, payout validation, ads, and billing behavior so app owners and guest buyers and influencers can run campaigns with fewer surprises.
For App Owners
Does GrowthCat charge for attributed revenue?
No. GrowthCat tracks unlimited referral revenue and successful redemptions on every plan, without an attributed-revenue percentage or overage fee.
How do influencer payment fees work?
External influencer payments are free to record. If you choose Pay with GrowthCat, the platform fee is 3% on every plan + Stripe fees, which are shown separately.
What happens if refunds happen after a conversion?
GrowthCat uses a validation window so conversions can settle before payout eligibility. This helps avoid paying full commission on revenue that is refunded or canceled quickly.
Do I need to replace Stripe or RevenueCat?
No. RevenueCat powers attribution. Stripe is optional and is only required when you ask GrowthCat to process a paid subscription, an approved sponsorship, a marketplace ad, or an influencer payout.
Who decides the influencer commission rate?
You do. GrowthCat does not set your campaign commission percentage. You define campaign terms with each influencer.
Can I monetize my own app with GrowthCat Ads?
Yes. App owners create placements, choose marketplace visibility, and publish fixed impression or click packages at their own prices. Guest buyers purchase those packages without creating an account.
What is the difference between Referral features and Ads features in plan cards?
Referral features cover app count, active creator codes, unlimited referral tracking, and payout choices. Ads and sponsor features cover self-promotion impressions, active sponsor slots, and the plan-based self-service marketplace fee.
Can I run ads for my own apps without paying GrowthCat ad fees?
Yes. Self-promotion ads have a 0% GrowthCat ad fee and no Stripe checkout. Their impression delivery counts against the monthly self-promotion impression allowance, and the destination can be an app, website, affiliate link, product page, or another allowed URL.
GrowthCat Ads
Do sponsors or ad buyers need an account?
No. Guest buyers submit a request using their email and access their purchases through a secure email sign-in link. App owners use their GrowthCat account to manage inventory.
What is the difference between public, unlisted, and private ad inventory?
Public inventory is discoverable in the marketplace. Unlisted inventory is available through a direct link. Private inventory is hidden from public discovery; its availability depends on the owner’s settings.
How do self-service ad packages work?
An app owner creates a placement and fixed impression or click packages. A guest buyer picks a package and submits one image creative for review. After approval, the buyer completes Stripe checkout. Delivery requires approval and confirmed payment.
Which ads limits are included in each plan?
Self-promotion impressions are 10,000 on Free, 50,000 on Starter, 250,000 on Growth, and 1,000,000 on Scale. Marketplace delivery requires Stripe-funded payment, and transaction fees come from the publisher's effective plan.
What is an ad creative?
An ad creative is the asset and message submitted for a campaign. It can include an image or video, headline, body copy, call-to-action text, and destination URL, deeplink, App Store destination, or no destination depending on the campaign.
How do impression and click packages work?
Impression packages complete when delivered impressions reach the package quantity. Click packages complete when valid clicks reach the package quantity. Click packages still report impressions and CTR, but impressions do not consume click package quantity.
What are the GrowthCat ad fees?
Self-promotion has a 0% fee. Self-service marketplace fees are 20%, 15%, 10%, and 5% from Free through Scale + Stripe fees whenever Stripe processes the payment. Stored campaign quotes remain the source of truth for historical campaigns.
Do ad creatives need approval?
Yes. Images and videos uploaded for ads require GrowthCat review before they can serve through the SDK. Rejected campaigns can be edited and resubmitted.
How does the SDK show ads?
The SDK fetches catalog ads by placement key, serves only eligible approved campaigns and ad creatives, stops self-promotion delivery when the monthly impression cap is exhausted, and batches impressions, clicks, completions, and reward validation events for reporting and anomaly checks.
For Influencers
How are my earnings calculated?
Your earnings depend on the commission terms agreed with the app owner and the attributed subscription revenue tied to your code or campaign.
Why is a conversion pending before payout?
Pending status means the conversion is still in the validation period while refund and cancellation risk settles.
When do I become payout-ready?
After onboarding and verification are completed in the payout flow, and after eligible conversions clear validation.
Do platform fees reduce my visibility into payouts?
No. Campaign terms and payout-related calculations should remain visible so both sides can understand attributed revenue, commission basis, and payout eligibility.
What should I ask an app owner before joining a campaign?
Ask about commission percentage, validation window length, payout timing, minimum payout thresholds, and how disputes or reversals are handled.