App Store and Google Play Fees: How Much the Stores Take
Basics3 minInnovialabs editorial team
In short
Both stores take a standard 30% commission on digital purchases, with a reduced 15% rate for small businesses and subscriptions. Apple charges a yearly developer fee, Google Play a one-time fee; payments for physical goods and services are not subject to store commission.
The short version
Stores charge in two places: the developer account and a commission on sales of digital goods inside the app.
| App Store | Google Play | |
|---|---|---|
| Developer account | 99 USD per year | 25 USD one-time |
| Standard commission | 30% | 30% |
| Reduced small business rate | 15% | 15% |
| Subscriptions | 30% in year one, 15% after a year | 15% |
Terms and prices change from time to time and vary by country, so check the stores' official pages before you build your business model.
Developer accounts
- Apple Developer Program is billed yearly. If you do not renew, your apps disappear from the App Store. Companies need a D-U-N-S number — it is free, but getting one takes time.
- Google Play Console is a one-time registration fee. For new personal accounts, Google requires a closed test with a group of testers before publishing, so factor that into your timeline.
Standard and reduced commission
The standard rate is 30% on every digital purchase: paid apps, in-app purchases, subscriptions.
A reduced 15% rate is available to smaller developers:
- Apple — through the App Store Small Business Program, if your proceeds for the previous calendar year did not exceed 1 million USD. You have to apply. Program terms.
- Google — 15% on the first 1 million USD of earnings each year, 30% above that. You need to set up an account group in Play Console. Service fee terms.
Subscriptions after the first year
- App Store: the standard rate applies during a subscriber's first year of paid service; after a year of continuous subscription it drops to 15%. In the Small Business Program, the rate is 15% from the start.
- Google Play: auto-renewing subscriptions are charged 15% from day one.
Apple counts this per subscriber. Short gaps are allowed, but a long break resets the clock.
Where no commission applies
- Physical goods and services consumed outside the app: food delivery, rides, tickets, e-commerce products. These go through regular payment providers.
- Ads. Stores do not take a cut of ad network revenue.
- Free apps with no sales pay nothing beyond the account fee.
As a general rule, digital content and features used inside the app must be sold through the store's in-app purchase system. Alternative payment options are allowed in some countries, but with separate terms and their own fees.
How this affects pricing
- Work from net revenue. At a 10 USD price and 30% commission, you keep 7 USD before taxes. In many countries the store also withholds VAT or a similar tax from the price.
- Use the stores' price tiers. Prices are picked from preset levels and converted to local currencies automatically.
- Subscriptions pay off over time. The 15% rate for long-term subscribers changes the economics, so retention matters more than one-off sales.
- Check your eligibility for the reduced rate. Many small teams pay 30% simply because they never applied.
- Factor the fee into marketing. User acquisition cost has to be recovered from revenue after commission, not from the list price.