Apple Lowers App Store Commission to 15% for Small Developers

Applied to developers with app revenue under $1 million
Google takes opposite stance on uniform 30% application

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Apple will reduce the App Store commission fee to 15% for small and medium-sized developers starting next year.

On the 18th, Apple announced the App Store Developer Support Program for small and independent developers. This program lowers the paid and in-app purchase commission fees from 30% to 15% for developers selling digital goods and services on the App Store.

Apple CEO Tim Cook stated, "Small and medium-sized developers are the backbone of the global economy and the living center of innovation and opportunity in communities worldwide. We are launching this program to help them open a new chapter of creativity on the App Store and develop high-quality apps that our customers love."

While Google has decided to apply a 30% payment commission fee for its app market, Apple’s contrasting move has drawn attention. Apple introduced this program to encourage small and medium-sized developers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apple plans to reduce the App Store commission fees for small and medium-sized developers starting January 1 next year. This applies to developers whose total app revenue was $1 million (approximately 1.1 billion KRW) or less as of last year. Developers whose revenue from sales, after deducting commission fees, exceeds $1 million will continue to be subject to the standard commission rate of 30%.

If a developer participating in the Small Developer Support Program exceeds the $1 million revenue threshold, Apple will apply the standard commission rate for the remainder of the year. If the developer’s revenue falls below $1 million in the following year, they will be eligible to reapply for the 15% commission rate.

The Apple App Store hosts 1.8 million apps and has over 500 million weekly users. The App Store’s revenue reached $519 billion last year.

Meanwhile, Google announced that starting January next year, it will apply a 30% commission fee on app and content payments sold on Google Play, its app market. Until now, Google has allowed content purchases through payment systems of individual companies in addition to Google’s in-app payment system for apps other than games.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.