Apple Begins Lowering App Store Commission to 15% for Eligible Developers

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Apple recently introduced a new Small Business Program that reduces the App Store's commission rate to 15% for developers earning up to $1 million per calendar year in net revenue from the sale of apps and in-app purchases. For developers exceeding the $1 million threshold, Apple's standard 30% commission rate still applies.

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Earlier this week, Apple began emailing eligible developers about their acceptance into the program, noting that the reduced 15% commission rate would go into effect by January 1, 2021. And as it turns out, Apple isn't waiting long to flip the switch, as some developers are already starting to see the 15% rate applied to their earnings.

A few of the developers already seeing the reduced rate include David Hodge, maker of the third-party Tesla vehicle app Nikola for the iPhone, and Jacob Gorban, a developer of the photo editing app ImageFramer for the Mac.


Apple announced the Small Business Program last month amid increasing scrutiny over its App Store practices, including an antitrust lawsuit from Fortnite maker Epic Games, which is ineligible for the reduced commission since it exceeds the $1 million earnings threshold. Apple said the program will benefit the "vast majority" of App Store developers.

Apple's website has a Small Business Program page where developers can initiate the enrollment process and learn more details.

Tag: App Store

Top Rated Comments

WiiDSmoker Avatar
WiiDSmoker
8 months ago
But I thought Facebook said Apple is bad for small business!?!?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GizmoDVD Avatar
GizmoDVD
8 months ago
People will still complain it’s not $0. Fools
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chucker23n1 Avatar
chucker23n1
8 months ago

Isn't $1 million rather high, don't get me wrong, good for those which earn less but $1 million is quite the salary, that is, if you're the sole dev for an app.
For a sole dev, yes, that’s fairly high.

It depends on regional salaries — you can probably sustain about a dozen people in east Europe, or about three or four in Silicon Valley.


Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
peneaux Avatar
peneaux
8 months ago
Should we thank Epic?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
farewelwilliams
8 months ago

How about the indie musicians getting $7 from a $9.99 iTunes album?
iTunes takes 30%...so...that's up to the indie musicians.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ian87w Avatar
ian87w
8 months ago
I wonder if Facebook also reduced their ads rates for small businesses, especially since their tracking is supposedly "less effective" now.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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