App Store Connect Help

Support / App Store Connect / Offer promo codes / Request and manage promo codes

Offer promo codes

Request and manage promo codes

Promo codes offer potential App Store customers or reviewers a free copy of apps or in-app purchases, including subscriptions, on iOS, macOS, or tvOS. These codes can be redeemed on any App Store storefront where your app is available. Each code remains valid for four weeks from its generation date and can be used only once.

You can distribute promo codes by any means. Purchases made using promo codes are indicated in your Sales and Trends reports.

Note: Promo codes can't be generated for apps available only on Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager.

Promo codes for apps

When a customer downloads an app using a promo code, the app functions as if it were purchased. For example, the customer has the opportunity to update to new versions of the app. However, customers can’t rate or review the app. Promo codes can be used to redeem unreleased versions of apps available on the App Store. Promo codes for tvOS or multi-platform apps must be redeemed on an iOS device. After the code is redeemed, the tvOS app appears in the customer’s purchase history on the App Store for Apple TV. You can request up to 100 promo codes per version of each platform your app supports.

Promo codes for in-app purchases

When a customer redeems a promo code for a free app that isn’t installed on their device, the app downloads automatically. If the app is for sale, the customer needs to purchase the app to redeem the in-app purchase. If a customer uses a promo code to subscribe to an auto-renewable subscription, the subscription won’t automatically renew after the duration is complete. You can provide up to 100 promo codes for each in-app purchase product, with a maximum of 1,000 total codes for all in-app purchases every six months. This limit resets on January 1 and July 1. These codes are for non-commercial use and expire 28 days after they were generated.

To request promo codes for an app version, the version’s status must be Ready for Distribution, Pre-Order Ready for Sale, or Pending Developer Release for iOS and macOS apps, or Ready for Distribution or Pre-Order Ready for Sale for tvOS apps. For in-app purchases, the in-app purchase state must be Approved or it won't appear as an option.

Required role: Account Holder, Admin, App Manager, or Marketing. View role permissions.

Request promo codes

  1. In Apps, select the app you want to view.

  2. In the sidebar, click Promo Codes. The Promo Code page opens with Generate selected.

  3. Under App Promo Codes, enter the number of version promo codes and under In-App Purchase Promo Codes, enter the number of in-app purchase promo codes you want to generate.

  4. On the top right, click Generate Code.

  5. Read and agree to the contract terms for Apple to distribute free versions of your app or in-app purchase, and click Generate Code.

  6. Click OK. You can view or download the generated promo codes on the History tab.

View history of promo codes

  1. In Apps, select the app you want to view.

  2. In the sidebar, click Promo Codes. The Promo Code page opens with Generate selected.

  3. Click History tab.

    The history table shows the date each set of codes was generated in App Store Connect. Use this date to determine the expiration date of your codes.

  4. Click View Codes to view or download generated promo codes.

    You can copy the codes in the dialog, or click “text file“ to download a .txt file containing the codes.

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