RefundHalt vs. building it yourself
Apple and Google document every part of refund handling, so you can build it yourself. The question is whether building and running it is worth more to your team than a flat monthly price.
RefundHalt
For refund protection that is live today on both stores, answers on time at night and on weekends, and follows store API changes for you, choose RefundHalt.
Building it yourself
For full control of every field, or when store keys and refund data must never leave your own systems, build it yourself.
RefundHalt vs. building it yourself at a glance
Read the feature comparison before you decide.
| Feature | RefundHalt | Building it yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Live in minutes | Yes | No |
| Apple signature checks and API tokens built in | Yes | No |
| Google notification topic set up for you | Yes | No |
| Answers on time at night and on weekends | Yes | Limited |
| Follows store API changes for you | Yes | No |
| Usage evidence from your data | Yes | Yes |
| Full control of every field | Limited | Yes |
| Data stays in your own systems | No | Yes |
Why you should choose RefundHalt
Every request answered on time
Apple gives 12 hours and Google gives 24 hours, including nights and weekends. RefundHalt answers automatically, around the clock, and has a deadline fallback so no case expires unanswered.
Saturday 02:14
Apple sends a refund request
Saturday 02:14
RefundHalt matches the purchase and applies your rules
Saturday 02:14
Answer sent to Apple
Saturday 14:14
Apple's 12-hour deadline
No infrastructure to build
You do not verify Apple's signed payloads, create API tokens or set up Pub/Sub in Google Cloud. Paste a URL and a topic name and you are done.
App Store Connect
Server Notifications URL
https://app.refundhalt.com/webhooks/apple/…
Play Console
Real-time developer notifications topic
projects/refundhalt/topics/rtdn-…
No SDK. No app update.
The details are already right
Percentages are sent in milliunits, left out for auto-renewing subscriptions on Apple, and backed by usage events on Google. Mistakes here make Apple reject the answer.
What each option involves
| Category | RefundHalt | Building it yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Time to the first answer | Minutes | Days to weeks of engineering |
| Ongoing work | None. We follow store API changes | Monitoring, on-call and store API changes |
| Price | Flat. Pro is $49.99 a month or $29.99 billed yearly (5 apps). Enterprise is $69.99 or $49.99 billed yearly (unlimited apps). | Engineering time to build, then permanent ownership. |
When building it yourself is the better choice
Build it yourself if refund handling is a core part of your business, if your compliance rules say store keys and refund data must stay inside your systems, or if you already have a backend team on call. Our blog documents the exact payloads and common mistakes if you go this way.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the most common mistakes in an in-house build?
- Sending consumptionPercentage for auto-renewing subscriptions (Apple rejects it), using 1,000,000 instead of 100,000 for 100% in milliunits, forgetting that Google records only the first reviewrefund answer, and having no fallback when the main path fails at night.
- Can I start with RefundHalt and move in-house later?
- Yes. The store setup is a URL and a key that you can point anywhere at any time, and your refund history is available through the API and webhooks.
- Does RefundHalt need my app's source code or an SDK?
- No. RefundHalt works on the server side with the official store APIs. The only optional part is a small usage endpoint on your server.
We checked every fact about other products on November 2, 2026, from their public websites and documentation. If something is out of date, email support@refundhalt.com and we will correct it.