Apple To Lower App Store Commission To 15% For Small Businesses Earning Up To $1 Million A Year

For a long time, Apple's 30% revenue share for developers on its App Store platform has been a topic of constant debate in the industry....

For a long time, Apple's 30% revenue share for developers on its App Store platform has been a topic of constant debate in the industry. Today, Apple announced the launch of a new developer program designed to help small businesses and independent developers promote business growth through a new generation of innovative apps in the App Store.

Specifically, this program benefits developers who sell digital goods and services in the App Store, reducing their paid app and in-app purchase-related commissions. If the developer’s revenue in the previous calendar year could only end up with $1 million, they are eligible to participate in the program and enjoy a commission rate of 15%.

The Apple App Store Small Business Program will be officially available on January 1, 2021. Apple said that today's global economy is facing unprecedented challenges, and small businesses and independent developers are still committed to innovation and success, so the timing of the launch of this plan is very critical. Under the pandemic, as companies have transformed to adapt to the virtual world, the importance of apps has been elevated to a new level. To continue to reach customers and communities, many small companies have launched or expanded their digital businesses. This plan to lower commissions means that small developers and aspiring entrepreneurs will have more resources to invest in and develop businesses in the App Store ecosystem.

Here are the criteria to enroll in this program:

• Existing developers who made up to $1 million in 2020 for all of their apps, as well as developers new to the App Store, can qualify for the program and the reduced commission.
• If a participating developer surpasses the $1 million thresholds, the standard commission rate will apply for the remainder of the year.
• If a developer’s business falls below the $1 million thresholds in a future calendar year, they can requalify for the 15 percent commission the year after.

For apps that sell digital goods and services and earn more than $1 million (referring to the developer's income after deducting commissions), the standard commission rate of the App Store remains to be 30%.

Lastly,, small business owners who enjoy this commission reduction policy can continue to use Apple’s series of development tools, including development applications, programming languages, a secure payment interface, and more than 250,000 essential software building blocks called APIs.