Google Lowers Play Store Subscription Fee From 30% to 15%

After lowering its Play Store commission from 30 percent to 15 percent in March, Google today announced that it is making the same change to subscription fees, an update applicable to all app developers, reports The Verge.

play store google
At the current time, Google's subscription policy works like Apple's. Google collects 30 percent from a subscription during the first year, and then drops that to 15 percent for each subsequent year if customers keep a continuous subscription going.

Google recognizes that many businesses are unable to benefit from the fee cut because of the continuous rule that it has, so Google is dropping all subscription fees to 15 percent "from day one," effectively removing prior year-long subscription requirement. The fee cut was also previously limited to the first $1 million in revenue.

Apple also offers reduced 15 percent subscription fees from day one, but that's limited to developers who are part of its App Store Small Business Program, which is available to those who earn up to but don’t exceed to $1 million in a calendar year. For other developers that are not part of that program, Apple takes a 30 percent cut until a subscriber has been subscribed to a service for 12 months.

All apps in the Google Play Store will pay 15 percent instead of 30 percent for all subscriptions, but Google also plans to lower the fee even further for some ebooks and on-demand streaming music service apps. Fees could be as low as 10 percent for apps that fall into these categories.

Google is making the change to subscription fees as it faces increased regulatory pressure much like Apple. It too is in the same legal battle over in-app purchases as Apple with Epic Games, and it is under the same scrutiny in the United States and other countries.

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...

Top Rated Comments

mi7chy Avatar
48 months ago

Wait, so it wasn’t only Apple that had the outrageous 30% fee?? Did the courts know this?? How come Apple didn’t point this out?? /s
Android sideloading like MacOS, Windows, Linux, etc. circumvents the Google Play Store and fees. Apple Play Store is a forced tax. Imagine if state/federal forces you to buy electronics at msrp with tax from brick and mortar and you couldn't buy for less than msrp without tax from private party.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blazerunner Avatar
48 months ago
Your turn, Apple.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KindJamz Avatar
48 months ago
Nice job Google. Don’t use your services too much but for people that do this is a win
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WiseAJ Avatar
48 months ago
Now watch as prices still remain exactly the same for all of the subscriptions, no benefit at all to customers.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
48 months ago
Wow! Change is happening. Next up
Is Apple. Please lower the subscription fee. Apple you make a lot of money via services alone.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jakotako Avatar
48 months ago
Regardless of how one looks at it, it is pretty comical that Epic's lawsuit helps to push these changes, however, Epic's Fortnite will not return to any of the stores profiting from this until the litigation is resolved.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)