Apple Starts Accepting Developers Into Small Business Program

Apple has started contacting eligible developers to inform them that they have been accepted into the Small Business Program, which allows developers to benefit from significantly reduced App Store fees.

small business program accepted

In November, Apple announced the Small Business Program, which sees ‌App Store‌ fees slashed to just 15 percent for developers earning under one million dollars per calendar year. Developers have been able to sign up to the Small Business Program since Thursday, December 3, and according to emails shared with MacRumors, Apple has now begun notifying developers if they have been accepted.

All developers who earned under one million dollars in 2020 are able to qualify for the program and the reduced 15 percent commission rate, and new developers who join in 2021 will also qualify. Going forward, developers who earn up to one million dollars in the prior calendar year will be able to participate. The ‌App Store‌ commission remains at 30 percent for developers making over one million dollars per year.

The program has since received praise from many developers, but some larger developers such as Spotify and Epic Games have criticized the move, saying it undermines the ‌App Store‌'s rules.

Apple says that the program will be available to the vast majority of developers, with those developers all receiving the same access to Apple's developer tools and programs. Apple expects the ‌‌App Store‌‌ Small Business Program to generate more digital commerce, support new jobs, and provide more funds for small businesses to invest back into their apps as they work to create innovative software for Apple users.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...

Top Rated Comments

DanielDD Avatar
65 months ago
I personally think Apple should apply the 15% rate for the first million, and 30% for any revenue after that. That way there's no need to register nor a need to have an approval process. But this is a step in the right direction :)
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
subi257 Avatar
65 months ago

The fact that any "shop" can charge 30% is stupid. App Store, Steam, etc. Apple smelled that the EU legislation monster was waking up to do what the US government was unwilling or incapable of doing - keeping the markets fair.
Do you have any idea what it costs to run and maintain the backend infrastructure? storage servers (servers at that level have a 3-5 year life), The electric it takes to run said servers and the electric for the A/C to keep them cool? Running a business like that is not a retail store. I responsible for support of a video server system for video editing in a video production/post production and a chassis of 200TB gets EOL'd every 4-5 years....at $103k each and we have 4 of them. I can't even imagine how many EXEBYTES they have. We also use 'AWS S3 buckets' for some online editing capabilities and it cost 10's of thousands a year. I am told by some freelance engineers that I know who work in broadcast that the NFL has around 4 petabytes of storage and MLB has around 11 petabytes.

As far as "keeping the markets fair" not to sound like an ******* but, if run a business and it's mine, who is anybody to tell me what I can charge and be allowed to make. It's my business and if you don't like my prices go somewhere else. If I can't charge what I want, I could say screw it and shut it down.....just my thought as a business in a capitalist country, not saying it's right or not.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Brandon42 Avatar
65 months ago

The fact that any "shop" can charge 30% is stupid. App Store, Steam, etc. Apple smelled that the EU legislation monster was waking up to do what the US government was unwilling or incapable of doing - keeping the markets fair.
You’d hate to find out how little coffee farmers get paid for the coffee beans that make your coffee then.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
65 months ago
Pity it took a lawsuit to make this happen
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KENPHOTO Avatar
65 months ago

The fact that any "shop" can charge 30% is stupid. App Store, Steam, etc. Apple smelled that the EU legislation monster was waking up to do what the US government was unwilling or incapable of doing - keeping the markets fair.
Lol, the mark up on software in brick and mortar stores meant developers got a lot less than 70%. No one seems to mention that Apple wears the costs of iTunes card sales as well. If you buy an iTunes card at 20% off, that 20% discount doesn’t come out of my 70%, it comes out of Apple’s.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Brandon42 Avatar
65 months ago

The fact the commission rate goes up the more successful you are is asinine.
It is not an uncommon practice. Think of it as a discount and then the normal rate begins. Many platforms offer a discounted starting tier. Microsoft and Amazon cloud computing are both good examples.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)