App Store Fees: What Apple and Google Play Take From Indie Apps

App store fees for a small developer come down to two numbers in most cases. Apple takes 15% of paid app and in-app purchase sales once you join the App Store Small Business Program, instead of its standard 30%. Google Play charges a 10% service fee on the first $1M of annual earnings from users in the UK, EEA, US, Australia and Japan, plus a 5% billing fee when the buyer pays through Google Play Billing (service fees). Everything else, from subscriptions and EU terms to link-outs and web checkout, moves those numbers up or down a little.

Disclosure: ZeroRaised publishes this guide and appears in the final section. Rates and rules come from Apple's, Google's and Microsoft's own developer pages and each payment provider's pricing page as fetched on 21 Oct 2026. Fees change often, and both stores changed them this year, so check the linked page before you set a price. ZeroRaised has no affiliate deal with any store or provider named here, and this guide makes no promise of downloads or revenue from any store or launch site.

TL;DR#

The most recent change came this month. On 13 October 2026 Google said its lower-fee quality programmes are open in five markets (Android Developers Blog), and on 16 October 2026 Apple updated the guideline that covers links to other ways to pay (Apple developer news). Neither changes what a typical indie app pays on its first $1M. The hook section explains why.

If you sell only through the stores and stay under $1M, plan on roughly 15% on both. The rest of this guide covers the cases where that rule of thumb breaks.

What changed this month: Google's quality programmes and Apple's link rule#

On 13 Oct 2026, the date shown on the post, Google Play's Paul Feng published New ways to drive smarter discovery, deeper engagement, and business growth on Google Play on the Android Developers Blog. Most of it is about discovery in Ask Play, Gemini and games. The part that touches fees is a line about "updates to our quality programs that reward great user experiences with lower service fees", and this: "Both programs are now available in Australia, Japan, the EEA, UK, and US, and will roll out to Korea by the end of the year." The two programmes are Apps Experience and Games Level Up, and the post says enrolment can now be managed directly in Play Console.

Three days later, on October 16, 2026, Apple posted Updated App Review Guidelines are now available. Among the changes, guideline 3.1.1(a) "clarified that links may be provided to a permitted destination", and the old bullet on Music Streaming Services Entitlements was folded into the one on StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlements. The guidelines page now shows "Last Updated: October 16, 2026".

Here is why neither moves the bill for most indie apps.

• Google's programmes only matter above $1M. The Apps Experience rate card keeps the first $1M (USD) of annual earnings at 10% plus the billing fee where it applies, whether or not you qualify. The cut comes on earnings above that: 15% instead of 20% on new installs. Google's own FAQ on the same page also says the programme does not affect store ranking.
• Apple's change is a clarification, not a new rate. The link rule still depends on the storefront, and the guideline text sets no commission. The section on linking out below covers what each store charges when a buyer leaves the app to pay.

The same week Apple also revised its Developer Program License Agreement, dated October 13, 2026. It adds terms for selling multiple seats of a subscription through Group Purchases and says Apple "will report legally required information such as tax, sales, and contact details to tax authorities". No headline rate changed.

App store fees compared: Apple and Google Play side by side#

The two stores now price things differently enough that a single 15-or-30 rule hides most of what matters. Apple's rate depends on who you are (your proceeds and your programmes). Google's depends on where the buyer is, when they installed, what they bought and how they paid.

Two details in that table catch people out.

First, Apple's threshold is measured in proceeds, which Apple defines as "sales net of Apple's commission and certain taxes and adjustments" (program page). Google's is measured in annual earnings. Apple's figure, at least, is not your gross sales total, so do not hold your gross takings up against it.

Second, Google's split between new and existing installs uses the regional rollout date. The service fees page gives "June 30, 2026 for the EEA, UK, and US; September 30, 2026 for Australia and Japan". An app launched now has only new installs, so the existing-install column matters only to apps that were already live.

Google adds a line that is easy to miss: "97% of developers distribute their apps and take advantage of all Google Play has to offer at no charge" (service fees). A free app with no in-app sales pays the US$25 registration fee and nothing else. Apple's commission also applies only to "the sale of digital goods and services" (membership details), so a free app pays Apple the membership fee and no commission.

Apple App Store fees in detail#

Apple's membership page states the base rule in one sentence. The commission on digital goods and services sold through the App Store is 30%, falling to 15% for members of the App Store Small Business Program and three partner programmes, with "15% for qualifying subscriptions." Almost every indie developer should be in the first of those programmes.

The Small Business Program#

From Apple's program page:

• Who qualifies. Existing developers with up to 1 million USD in proceeds in the prior calendar year, and developers new to the App Store. You also need to stay under 1 million USD in the current year (program page).
• What happens if you grow. If you pass 1 million USD during the year, "the standard commission rate will apply to future sales." If you fall back under it in a later year, you can re-qualify for 15% the year after (program page).
• Associated accounts count. You must list every Associated Developer Account, meaning any developer account you own or control or that controls yours, and their proceeds count towards the same limit.
• How to join. Be the Account Holder, accept the latest Paid Apps agreement in App Store Connect and list any associated accounts.
• When it starts. "Your proceeds will be adjusted fifteen (15) days after the end of the fiscal calendar month in which your enrollment is approved." Sales before that are paid at the standard rate, so enrol before you switch on paid features (program page).

The same page adds a perk unrelated to fees: members with "fewer than two million first-time App Store downloads" can use Apple Foundation Models on Private Cloud Compute.

Subscriptions#

Subscriptions follow their own rule. 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 a subscriber accumulates one year of paid service". Members of the Small Business Program receive 85% from the first billing cycle. Free trials and renewal extensions do not count towards the year of paid service.

For a small developer that means the 70% first-year figure mostly applies to bigger companies. In the programme, a subscription and a one-off purchase cost the same 15%.

What you pay before any sale#

The Apple Developer Program costs 99 USD per membership year, shown in local currency where available, and eligible nonprofits, accredited educational institutions and government entities can request a fee waiver (enrolment page). Organisations also need a D-U-N-S Number, so enrolling as a company takes longer than enrolling as an individual. Our Apple App Store launch page covers enrolment, review time and the link your listing gets, and how to launch an app on the App Store covers pricing choices inside App Store Connect.

Google Play fees in detail#

Google rebuilt its fees this year. Its lower fees article says the changes were "announced on March 4, 2026" and roll out on a staggered schedule. The structure now has two parts.

1. A service fee charged "on all transactions regardless of whether the transaction uses Google Play Billing, Alternative Billing or external web links" (lower fees article).
2. A billing fee that applies only when Google processes the payment. In Australia, Japan, the US, the UK and the EEA it "is set at 5%", with other regions to follow (lower fees article).

The June 2026 Android Developers Blog post puts the second part plainly: "For transactions processed via alternative billing or external web links, the billing fee does not apply."

The rates in the five rollout markets#

Read across the first column and the pattern is clear. Under $1M a year, a sale through Google Play Billing costs 15% in total and a sale through an external web link costs Google's 10% plus whatever your own payment provider charges.

Everywhere else#

Outside those five markets the older model still applies "until the announced updated service fees are rolled out globally" (service fees page): 15% on the first $1M (USD) each year for developers enrolled in the 15% tier, 30% above it, and 15% on auto-renewing subscriptions. Enrolment is not automatic. Google's 15% tier article asks you to have a payments profile, create an Account Group, say whether you have Associated Developer Accounts and accept the tier's terms on the Associated developer accounts page in Play Console. Google's pages on the new structure do not say whether the 10% first-$1M rate needs the same step, so check that page in Play Console too.

Should a small app chase Apps Experience?#

Not for the fee. The Apps Experience page lists what qualifies: passkeys or an approved SSO provider, Restore Credentials, Engage SDK, Adaptive App Tier 2 on phones, tablets and foldables, and features shipped on Android "within 3 weeks of other platforms", among others. That is a lot of work for a rate cut that starts above $1M a year. Some of those items are worth building for their own sake. Do not build them for the fee.

Before any sale, Google Play charges a US$25 one-time registration fee, payable by credit or debit card. Google says "Prepaid cards are not accepted" (Play Console help). Our Google Play launch page covers the testing rule for new personal accounts and review times, and how to publish an app on Google Play covers the full release.

App Store fees in the EU since 1 October 2026#

Apple moved every developer that distributes apps in the EU onto one set of business terms. Its developer news post, dated August 18, 2026, says the key updates "go into effect October 1, 2026" and that the per-install Core Technology Fee is replaced by "a simple 5% commission on digital transactions in apps distributed outside the App Store." The same post says the new terms also drop the Initial Acquisition Fee and the Store Services Fee.

The rates themselves are on Apple's EU support page:

Two things matter for a small developer here.

The in-app rate does not fall for you. Members of the Small Business Program pay 15% through Apple In-App Purchase in the EU, the same as anywhere else. The 26% figure only helps developers outside the programme.

Cheaper routes add work. With alternative payments "you're responsible for the collection and remittance of any applicable taxes for sales processed by an alternative payment provider", and you must send Apple a monthly report of those transactions "within 15 days following the end of the calendar month" (EU terms). Apple's Small Business Program page confirms the lower tier: developers on the EU alternative terms in the programme get "a further reduced commission of 10%."

So in the EU you can bring Apple's cut down from 15% to 10% on the App Store by processing payments yourself. Whether that is worth it depends on what your payment provider charges and what the tax and reporting work costs you. For a solo maker, five points of commission can easily be spent on a merchant of record or an accountant.

Linking out to your own checkout: what it still costs#

Sending buyers to your website is the most common idea for cutting app store fees, and the rules differ by store and by country.

Apple, United States storefront. The 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 guideline text does not set a commission for those sales, so read the current agreements in App Store Connect before you build a pricing plan around a link.

Apple, everywhere else. Outside the US, an app may link to other ways to pay only with a StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement in the storefronts where one exists. In all other storefronts "apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase" (guidelines). In the EU the store services commission in the table above applies to linked sales made within 7 days of the tap (EU terms).

Google Play. External web links go through Google's billing choice program, available to users in the UK and EEA from Jun 30, 2026 and in Australia and Japan from Sep 30, 2026, with the US covered by existing programmes. You must offer Google Play Billing alongside the link, offer refunds, and give users links to order history and subscription management. Google's service fee still applies; only the 5% billing fee goes away.

Here is what each route costs on a sale under the small developer thresholds:

The provider column is where people's sums go wrong. On a Google link-out, a merchant of record at 5% + 50¢ (Paddle pricing; Lemon Squeezy lists the same 5% + 50¢ rate) plus Google's 10% costs more than the 15% you would have paid through Google Play Billing on every sale, because the fixed 50¢ comes on top of the same total percentage. The gap is widest on a low price. Stripe alone is cheaper per sale but leaves VAT and sales tax to you. For US sellers, our open dataset of provider fees lists nine providers' standard published fees and whether each is a merchant of record.

To see the provider side for your own price, use our payment fee calculator. It compares the list fees of Stripe, PayPal, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle and Polar and shows what you keep, by account country, card origin and whether the sale is a subscription. It does not calculate Apple or Google commissions, so add the store's percentage from the tables above. For setting the price itself, see how to price a SaaS product.

App store fees for developers before the first sale#

Autocomplete for app store fees for developers also suggests apple store developer cost, and that is a separate question from commission: what each store charges to let you list at all. If you ship on more than one platform, these add up.

Apple's fee recurs, so treat 99 USD a year (membership details) as a fixed cost of the business, like a domain name. Google's is paid once, but the Play Console help page warns that if the government ID or card you give is found invalid, "your registration fee will not be refunded."

Browser extension stores work differently. Microsoft says "There is no registration fee for submitting extensions to the Microsoft Edge program" (registration docs). Microsoft's pages describe no commission on extension sales, so a paid extension takes money through a provider you choose. The Edge developer policies still have rules for it: section 1.8.2 says your extension and its metadata "must clearly provide information about the types of in-product purchases offered and the range of prices." Our Microsoft Edge Add-ons page covers the account setup, certification time and listing link.

For an Edge extension, then, there is no store percentage to plan around. Your payment provider's fee is the whole cost of a sale, which is where the payment fee calculator numbers apply in full. The Chrome extension launch guide covers getting the first users once the listing is live.

Which route costs least for an indie app#

For most small developers the order of work is short:

1. Join the Small Business Program before your first paid sale, and on Google Play check your enrolment on the Associated developer accounts page. Each is a one-off job.
2. Sell through the store's own billing first. At 15% on Apple (program page) and 10% plus 5% on Google (service fees), the store takes the payment and deals with tax, and nothing else on this page beats that by much for a new app.
3. Consider a link-out only when the numbers are real. Once you have paying users and a price you trust, compare the store's link-out rate plus your provider's fee with 15%. Count the work too: Google's billing choice program makes you offer refunds and customer support for sales outside Play, and Apple's EU terms make you collect and remit tax and report to Apple every month.
4. Ignore programmes that only pay off above $1M, such as Apps Experience, unless you would build those features anyway.

If you also sell a web version, the how to sell software online guide compares app stores with direct sales and licence keys.

Where ZeroRaised fits#

App store fees decide how much of each sale you keep. They do nothing to bring the first buyers to your listing.

ZeroRaised is a free launch site for bootstrapped makers whose products have no institutional VC or accelerator equity. Once your app is live in a store and people can download it, you can submit it for review. The maker perks page lists separate offers for eligible makers, and the launch sites directory lists other places to list by audience.

So, app store fees in one line: about 15% on both stores for a small developer who enrols, a little less or a little more depending on where and how the buyer pays, and a provider fee on top of whatever the store takes the moment the sale leaves the store.