Google to match Apple by lowering app subscription fee to 15 percent

Starting January 2018, the search giant will reduce the amount of money it charges app developers for app subscriptions from 30 percent to 15.

The search giant is following the footsteps of Apple and making some changes to its policy regarding mobile subscriptions. Apple announced back in June 2016 that it would reduce the standard App Store transaction fee from 30 percent to 15 percent in an effort to incentivize app developers to sell app subscriptions directly through the App Store. As you can imagine, it was a welcome change for many developers, and fortunately, they’ll have the exact same incentive in the Google Play Store, starting next year.

Google announced that it would also reduce its standard subscription fee from 30 percent to 15 percent. Identical to the approach that Apple is taking with auto-renewed paid apps, developers will be able to take advantage of this only for customer subscriptions that have been ongoing for a year. In other words, the charge will remain at 30 percent for the first year.

By offering reduced fees, Google is not only now better positioned to compete with Apple, but it also encourages app developers to offer app subscriptions through the Play Store and maintain the app’s quality to retain subscribers for at least a year.