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App Store fees: 30%, 15% and the Small Business Program

Apple takes 30% of paid apps and in-app purchases, or 15% if you earn under $1M in proceeds and join its Small Business Program. Rules as of October 2026.

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Apple’s standard App Store commission is 30% on paid apps and in-app purchases of digital goods. Developers who earned up to $1 million in proceeds in the previous calendar year, and new developers, can join the App Store Small Business Program and pay 15% instead. Subscriptions drop to 15% after a subscriber’s first year even without the program. On top of that, the Apple Developer Program costs $99 a year. All of this is as stated on Apple’s pages on October 30, 2026.

We haven’t sold apps on the App Store ourselves. Everything below comes from Apple’s developer pages, its App Review Guidelines and Apple Newsroom, and, for the Android comparison, from Google’s own help center and blog, all read on October 30, 2026. This is a summary of published rules, not tax or legal advice.

How much does Apple take from app sales?

There are three rates that matter for most developers outside the EU:

What you sell Standard rate In the Small Business Program
Paid app (one-time price) 30% 15%
In-app purchase (one-time, digital) 30% 15%
Auto-renewable subscription, subscriber’s first year 30% 15%
Auto-renewable subscription, after one year of paid service 15% 15%
Free app with no in-app purchases nothing nothing

Where the numbers come from:

  • 30% standard. Apple’s 2020 announcement of the program says “the App Store’s standard commission rate of 30 percent remains in place for apps selling digital goods and services.”
  • 15% in the program. Apple’s program page says it “features a reduced commission rate of 15% on paid apps and Apple In-App Purchases.”
  • Subscriptions. Apple’s subscriptions page says that during a subscriber’s first year “you receive 70% of the subscription price at each billing cycle, minus applicable taxes,” rising to 85% after one year of paid service. Members of the Small Business Program get 85% “regardless of whether or not the subscription has accumulated one year of paid service.”
  • Free apps. Apple says “85% of apps are free, and their developers pay nothing to Apple.”

Apple’s program page also mentions a further reduced 10% rate. It applies to developers on Apple’s alternative terms in the EU, which come with their own fee structure that this guide doesn’t cover.

Who qualifies for the App Store Small Business Program?

Apple’s rules, quoted from its program page:

  • Proceeds limit: you and your Associated Developer Accounts must have earned “no more than 1 million USD in total proceeds” during the previous calendar year, and no more than $1 million during the current year.
  • New developers qualify too.
  • Proceeds means “your sales net of Apple’s commission and certain taxes and adjustments,” not your gross sales.
  • Associated Developer Accounts are any Apple Developer Program accounts you own or control, or that own or control yours. Apple’s FAQ says this includes holding a majority (over 50%) interest in another account, or having “ultimate decision-making authority” over it. You must list each one with its name, Team ID, Account Holder email and the relationship.
  • App transfers count against both sides: proceeds for the year are associated with every account that sends or accepts the app.

How much can you sell before you pass $1 million?

Because the limit is on proceeds, not sales, it’s higher than $1 million in customer spending. At the 15% rate, you keep 85 cents of each dollar before taxes, so $1,000,000 ÷ 0.85 = about $1,176,000 in sales before you reach the limit. Taxes and Apple’s adjustments change the exact figure; Apple’s FAQ says to estimate proceeds from the payments deposited in your bank account and the tax and adjustment details in App Store Connect.

What happens if you go over?

Apple says: “If a participating developer surpasses the 1 million USD threshold in the current calendar year, the standard commission rate will apply to future sales.” If your proceeds later fall back under $1 million in a calendar year, “they can re-qualify for the 15% commission the year after.”

How do you enroll, and when does the 15% start?

Apple’s program page lists three steps:

  1. Be the Account Holder in the Apple Developer Program.
  2. Review and accept the latest Paid Apps agreement (Schedule 2 to the Apple Developer Program License Agreement) in App Store Connect.
  3. If applicable, list all Associated Developer Accounts.

The reduced rate isn’t instant. Apple says proceeds are adjusted “fifteen (15) days after the end of the fiscal calendar month in which your enrollment is approved.” Its own example: enrollment approved on February 10, 2022 meant proceeds were adjusted from March 14, 2022. Apple doesn’t publish how long approval takes or any enrollment deadline. Sales you make before the adjustment date pay the standard rate, so enroll before your app starts selling.

The program now carries one more benefit. Apple’s page says members with fewer than two million first-time App Store downloads can use Apple Foundation Models running on Private Cloud Compute “with no cloud API cost,” once the Private Cloud Compute entitlement is assigned to their account.

What do the fees mean on real revenue?

These examples ignore sales tax and VAT, which Apple deducts before your share.

Worked example: $50,000 a year in one-time purchases

Standard (30%) Small Business Program (15%)
Customer spending $50,000 $50,000
Apple’s commission $50,000 × 0.30 = $15,000 $50,000 × 0.15 = $7,500
Your proceeds $35,000 $42,500
Minus Developer Program fee − $99 − $99
You keep $34,901 $42,401

Enrolling is worth $7,500 a year in this example.

Worked example: a $9.99 monthly subscription with 1,000 subscribers

Year one, all subscribers new:

  • Customer spending: 1,000 × $9.99 × 12 = $119,880
  • Standard: first-year rate, you receive 70%. $119,880 × 0.70 = $83,916
  • Small Business Program: you receive 85% from day one. $119,880 × 0.85 = $101,898

The difference in year one is $101,898 − $83,916 = $17,982. In year two, subscribers who have stayed a full year move to 85% under both, so the gap closes for them. New subscribers still pay the first-year rate outside the program.

How days of paid service are counted

Apple’s subscriptions page sets the rules for reaching the 85% rate outside the program:

  • Paid introductory offers, promotional offers and offer codes count. Free trials and renewal-date extensions don’t.
  • The count is per subscription group. Upgrades and downgrades within a group don’t reset it.
  • If a subscription lapses for cancellation or a billing problem and renews within 60 days, the count resumes. After 60 days it resets to the first-year rate.
  • Apple’s Billing Grace Period (3, 16 or 28 days, set in App Store Connect) keeps the count running if a renewal is recovered within it.

How do App Store fees compare with Google Play?

Google changed its fees in the US, the UK and the EEA on June 30, 2026. Its blog says “the service fee starts at 10% on your first $1M (USD) in annual earnings,” the same 10% applies to all auto-renewing subscriptions, and a 5% billing fee is added when the purchase goes through Google Play Billing. Our news post on Google’s change has the full rate card.

Apple App Store (US) Google Play (US)
Account fee $99 a year $25 one time
Paid app or one-time purchase, small developer 15% (with the program) 10% service fee + 5% billing fee with Play Billing
Same, without the program or above $1M 30% 20% (new installs) or 25% (existing installs) + 5% billing fee, per Google’s rate card
Subscriptions 30% first year, then 15% (15% throughout with the program) 10% + 5% billing fee with Play Billing

In markets that don’t have Google’s new fees yet, Google’s help center lists 15% on the first $1 million a year for developers in its 15% tier, 30% above that, and 15% on subscriptions.

For a small developer using each store’s own billing in the US, both come to 15%. The difference is that Apple’s 15% depends on enrolling in its program, and Google’s lower 10% applies when you use your own billing or a web link instead of Play Billing.

What to watch for

  • Enroll before you launch paid features. The rate starts about two weeks after the end of the month you’re approved, not on the day you apply.
  • Proceeds are counted across all your accounts. A second developer account you control shares the $1 million limit.
  • The $1 million test runs every year. Cross it mid-year and future sales that year pay 30%; you can re-qualify only the year after your proceeds drop back.
  • The $99 renews yearly. Apple’s membership page says it’s “99 USD per membership year, or in local currency where available.” Eligible nonprofits, accredited educational institutions and government entities can request a waiver.
  • US apps may link to web checkout. Apple’s App Review Guidelines say entitlements “are not required for developers to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action in their United States storefront apps.” The guidelines don’t state any fee for those web purchases; check the current Paid Apps agreement before you rely on it. Outside the US, links to other purchase methods still need a specific entitlement.
  • Physical goods and services don’t use in-app purchase. Guideline 3.1.3(e) says apps selling physical goods or services consumed outside the app “must use purchase methods other than in-app purchase,” such as Apple Pay or card entry.
  • Your membership includes some services. Apple lists 25 Xcode Cloud compute hours a month, which can save a separate build service. Our guide on building an iPhone app without a Mac compares cloud build costs.

Which applies to you?

  • Your app is free with no in-app purchases: you pay only the $99 a year.
  • You’re new or earn under $1 million in proceeds: join the Small Business Program. You pay 15% on paid apps, in-app purchases and subscriptions from the start.
  • You sell subscriptions and earn over $1 million: you pay 30% in each subscriber’s first year and 15% after that. Retention matters twice: it keeps the subscriber and halves the commission.
  • You’re registering as a company: you’ll need a D-U-N-S number for an organization account. See how to get a free D-U-N-S number.
  • You’re budgeting the whole app: see how much it costs to make an app, the iOS app builders hub and our best iOS app builders roundup.

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