Apple cuts app store fees

Apple will cut its app store fees for smaller developers to 15% as regulatory scrutiny deepens.

CNBC’s Kif Leswing reported:

Apple said Wednesday it will cut its App Store commission rate to 15% for software developers with less than $1 million in annual net sales on its platform.

Apple currently takes a 30% commission from the total price of paid apps and in-app purchases from the App Store. For some small app makers, the new policy could cut the amount that they pay Apple in half.

Stephen Nellis and Subrat Patnaik from Reuters wrote:

The iPhone maker said developers will automatically get the lower 15% rate if they generate $1 million or less in proceeds – defined as the portion of store purchases that the developer keeps – in a calendar year.

Apple’s App Store fees and rules have come under fire from large firms such as Microsoft Corp MSFT.O, Spotify Technology SA SPOT.N, Match Group Inc MTCH.O and Epic Games as well as startups and smaller companies that allege the fees deprive consumers of choices and push up the price of apps.

The Wall Street Journal’s Tim Higgins and Sarah E. Needleman reported:

Critics have charged that Apple’s commission is too large, is unfairly levied against different companies, leaves customers footing the bill and leads to workarounds by some developers to avoid the fees.

The company has said its fees help fund a system that allows users to download third-party software safely on more than 1.5 billion devices globally. Last year, the App Store ecosystem facilitated $519 billion in world-wide commerce, more than 85% of which went to third parties, according to Apple. Apple’s fee is in line with what rival app stores run by Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG -1.32% Google and others charge.