Question 1

What is Apple's App Store fee?

Accepted Answer

Apple's standard commission is 30% of gross revenue on paid app downloads, in-app purchases and first-year subscriptions. The rate drops to 15% in two situations. First, if you are enrolled in the Small Business Program and your annual proceeds across all your apps stay below one million US dollars, every transaction is charged at 15% instead of 30%. Second, subscriptions renew at 15% after a paid subscriber has been active continuously for one year, regardless of Small Business Program enrollment. Apple deducts the commission before paying you, so if a customer buys a five dollar item at the 30% rate you receive three dollars and fifty cents. The commission is calculated on the gross proceeds after any customer-side taxes and Apple's payment processing.

Question 2

How does the Small Business Program work?

Accepted Answer

The Apple Small Business Program cuts the App Store commission from 30% to 15% for developers whose annual proceeds across every app on their account stay below one million US dollars. You have to opt in through App Store Connect — it is not automatic. The one million dollar cap is measured on proceeds after Apple has taken its commission, and the calendar resets on January 1st every year. If you cross the threshold mid-year, you move to the standard 30% rate for the remainder of the calendar year, then re-qualify the next January if the following year stays under the cap. Most indie developers, side projects and pre-Series-A startups qualify. If you have any doubt whether your revenue will stay under one million, enrolling is almost always the right call.

Question 3

When does the subscription fee drop from 30% to 15%?

Accepted Answer

Apple charges 30% on subscription revenue during a subscriber's first paid year and drops to 15% starting the day after their one-year anniversary. The clock is per-subscriber, not per-app, and it counts continuous paid days — if a subscriber cancels and resubscribes later, the counter resets. The Small Business Program layer on top means new subscribers pay 15% from day one instead of 30%. So for a typical SaaS with SBP enrollment, your subscription commission is 15% start to finish. For a subscription app not in SBP, your Year 1 revenue is billed at 30% and Year 2+ at 15%. Google Play took a different approach — since 2022, all subscription revenue on Google Play is 15% from day one for every developer, regardless of size.

Question 4

How is Google Play's fee different from Apple's?

Accepted Answer

Google Play uses a similar tiered structure but is slightly more generous in practice. All subscription revenue is billed at 15% from day one for every developer, no program to enroll in. For one-time purchases and in-app purchases, Google charges 15% on your first one million US dollars of earnings per calendar year and 30% on everything above that. Enrollment is automatic and per-account, so the moment you cross one million dollars mid-year the 30% rate kicks in on further sales, then you reset to 15% each January. In practice this means a subscription app under one million dollars sees identical commission rates on both stores (15% each), while a one-time purchase app or IAP-driven game sees slightly better Google Play economics until it scales past the threshold.

Question 5

What about the EU Digital Markets Act and alternative payment providers?

Accepted Answer

Since 2024, the EU Digital Markets Act forces Apple to allow alternative business terms for EU distribution. Developers can opt into a 17% commission (or 10% for Small Business Program and Year 2+ subscribers), but they also pay a Core Technology Fee of about fifty euro cents per first annual install above one million installs. For most small and mid-sized developers the standard rate is still better because the CTF only kicks in past one million installs per year. This calculator uses the standard worldwide fee structure — for the EU alternative terms and the CTF math you would need a dedicated EU calculator. Note that iOS and Android outside the EU still use the standard rates described above.

Question 6

Does the commission include payment processing fees?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The commission Apple and Google charge already covers payment processing, fraud handling, refunds, hosting, distribution, and all the other services the app store provides. The net revenue this calculator shows is what actually lands in your bank account after commission — there is no separate Stripe fee or bank fee on top for App Store or Play Store transactions. This is one reason many developers accept the commission despite the size — building a compliant payment system with the same reach, tax handling and refund policies would cost more than the commission for most apps. Currency conversion fees may apply if your bank account is in a different currency from the store, but those are typically well under 1%.

Tier	Gross	Apple net	Google net
Basic$4.99 × 800	$3,992.00	$3,393.20 15%	$3,393.20 15%
Pro$9.99 × 200	$1,998.00	$1,698.30 15%	$1,698.30 15%
Max$19.99 × 40	$799.60	$679.66 15%	$679.66 15%
Total (monthly)	$6,789.60	$5,771.16	$5,771.16
Total (yearly)	$81,475.20	$69,253.92	$69,253.92

App Store Fee Calculator

Modeling done — now ship the app.

Apple App Store commission — the full picture

Google Play commission — auto-tiered, subscription-friendly

Pricing tips that respect the commission

Frequently Asked Questions

Apple App Store commission — the full picture

Google Play commission — auto-tiered, subscription-friendly

Pricing tips that respect the commission

Frequently Asked Questions