I’m developing a Flutter-based educational app that offers paid courses for exam preparation. The pricing for these courses is dynamic (varies per course), which doesn’t align well with Google Play’s fixed in-app product pricing model.
Because of this, I’m considering a flow where:
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Users are redirected to our website to complete the payment via a web payment gateway.
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Pricing is shown and handled entirely on the website.
I understand that Google Play enforces the use of its billing system for digital goods, but I’ve also seen some apps seemingly follow similar redirection approaches.
My questions:
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Would this approach violate Google Play Billing policies (even if purchase-related wording is avoided)?
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Which specific policies or sections would this fall under?
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What are the possible consequences if flagged (e.g., rejection, suspension)?
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Are there compliant alternatives for handling dynamic pricing in this kind of app?
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How are other apps managing similar use cases (if they are compliant)?
I want to ensure full compliance and avoid risking app removal or account penalties, so any guidance or real-world experience would be really helpful.
Thanks in advance! (edited)
Accepted Answer
You're at risk of rejection, most of the proper similar apps I've seen rely on subscription tiers to decide which course levels are available, the idea being legitimate user won't be taking dozens of courses simultaneously anyway (it might even be limited by their tier). Other approach is having the user buy virtual currency and you simplify the pricing difference to fit the currency. The downside is courses can't have simple independent regional pricing, you depend on Google's local pricing multiplier for your virtual currency that will apply to all courses.
Martheen