{"id":6791,"date":"2021-09-27T10:41:05","date_gmt":"2021-09-27T10:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sparxitsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=6791"},"modified":"2025-04-04T08:39:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T08:39:45","slug":"app-store-pricing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sparxitsolutions.com\/blog\/app-store-pricing\/","title":{"rendered":"All You Need to Know About App Store Pricing"},"content":{"rendered":"

App Store is the platform that allows you to showcase your app to millions of users.<\/p>\n

How much would it cost you to publish an app on Apple\u2019s App Store? Does Apple charge anything to publish the iOS applications<\/a>? You will get a complete understanding of that in this blog post.<\/p>\n

If iOS app developers<\/a> try to publish an app on the App Store, they will always be charged at certain price points i.e. $0.99, $1.99, $2.99, $3.99, and so on. But, why?<\/p>\n

Well, the answer to this question comes on different fronts which you will understand in the upcoming sections.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Roadmap to Publishing an App<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cI want to publish my app on App Store\u201d, says George. But, how is George going to do that? Well, it takes a few steps or stages to get your app the exposure it needs. Here is how.<\/p>\n

Choose a build<\/h3>\n

Among multiple builds or stand-alone forms of source code, you can choose one and send it for review.<\/p>\n

Set pricing and availability<\/h3>\n

To proceed with setting up the pricing, you would first need to select the region in which you want your product to be used. All the regions would be selected by default which you can deselect as per your needs. Once regions have been selected, you can choose a price tier and tax category for your application.<\/p>\n

Submitting for review<\/h3>\n

Adding a meta, you can send your app for the review process. The process can be automatic, manual, or multistage.<\/p>\n

Keep checking the status<\/h3>\n

You can check the status of your app\u2019s approval for publishing on the app store. You may need to alter the metadata, avoid any crashes, bugs or errors, broken links, or any other reasons.<\/p>\n

Request promo codes<\/h3>\n

Once your app is approved, you can create and distribute promo codes.<\/p>\n

The complete process of uploading mobile apps, iOS or Android, can be lengthier and different for both platforms but most of their steps and procedures are identical.<\/p>\n

<\/span>How Does App Pricing in App Store Work?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Before we move somewhere let us have a quick view of some statistics which represent the number of the applications that have been published on the world\u2019s second most popular app distribution platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
2010<\/span><\/td>\n0.15 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2011<\/span><\/td>\n0.28 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2012<\/span><\/td>\n0.45 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2013<\/span><\/td>\n0.71 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2014<\/span><\/td>\n0.95 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2015<\/span><\/td>\n1.4 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2016<\/span><\/td>\n1.9 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2017<\/span><\/td>\n2.3 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2018<\/span><\/td>\n2.4 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2019<\/span><\/td>\n3.0 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2020<\/span><\/td>\n3.4 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The numbers, here, show that there has been a constant rise in the popularity or userbase of the app distribution platform. Despite its disputed pricing policy, mobile app developers across the world are still contributing with their applications on App Store.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking for App Development CompanyContact Us<\/b><\/a><\/div>\n

Whenever a developer tries to publish an app, they are asked to choose from 94 tiers (87 price tiers and 7 alternate price tiers) and cannot add custom pricing.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Types of Applications Published on App Store, Commission & Proceeds<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Generally, we learn that Apple takes 30% commission and proceeds 70% of the subscription sales. An iOS app development company\u00a0or developers can keep their apps free to download or paid. But, is that all? Actually, there is a lot more you must know about publishing apps, commission, and pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Type of App<\/b><\/td>\nWhat\u2019s Chargeable<\/b><\/td>\nApple\u2019s Commission<\/b><\/td>\nProceeds to Developer<\/b><\/td>\nApp Examples<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Free Apps<\/b><\/td>\nFree download or app usage<\/span><\/td>\nNo commission<\/span><\/td>\nFree service<\/span><\/td>\nAmazon Alexa, Wikipedia<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Free With Advertising<\/b><\/td>\nFree download or app usage<\/span><\/td>\nNo commission<\/span><\/td>\nNothing proceeds, developers earn from advertising<\/span><\/td>\nInstagram, Pinterest, Twitter<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Free with physical goods and services<\/b><\/td>\nFree download<\/span><\/td>\nNo commission<\/span><\/td>\nNothing proceeds, developers earn by selling physical goods and services<\/span><\/td>\nAirbnb, Amazon, Lyft<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Free with in-app purchase<\/b><\/td>\nFree download<\/span><\/td>\n30% commission of sales through in-app purchase<\/span><\/td>\n70% of sales through in-app purchase<\/span><\/td>\nCandy Crush Saga, Clash of Clans, TikTok, Skype<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Paid<\/b><\/td>\nPaid download with free updates<\/span><\/td>\n30% commission of sales through in-app purchase<\/span><\/td>\n70% of sales through in-app purchase<\/span><\/td>\nDark Sky Weather, Facetune<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Free with subscription<\/b><\/td>\nFree download & auto-renewing subscriptions inside the app<\/span><\/td>\n30% for the first year subscription fee & thereafter commission goes down to 15%<\/span><\/td>\n70% for the first-year subscription fee. Thereafter, 85%.<\/span><\/td>\nBumble, Hulu, Calm<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reader Apps<\/b><\/td>\nFree download<\/span><\/td>\nNo commission<\/span><\/td>\nDevelopers receive complete revenue generated from selling content outside the app<\/span><\/td>\nNetflix, Amazon Kindle, Spotify, Audible<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cross-platforms<\/b><\/td>\nFree download, purchases can be made outside the app on other platforms as well.<\/span><\/td>\n30% commission if purchases are made inside the app.<\/span><\/td>\n70% proceeds if purchases are made inside the app<\/span><\/td>\nMS Word, Dropbox<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/span>What are App Store Pricing Tiers?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

As mentioned earlier, pricing tiers are certain pricing points always ending with double digits of nine (primary value.99) in US dollars. Applications published on App Store can be accessed by users in 155 countries or regions. An extension of 20 new countries has also been announced.<\/span><\/p>\n

The concept of pricing tiers begins with the question, how do you want to charge your app users?<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you going to make it free for all? If yes, publish it for free. Do not worry about charges.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, if you are going to charge people, you need to pay a share to App Store. The share is 30% of the selected pricing tier.<\/span><\/p>\n

You may require to add a pricing tier for product purchase if not free and separately for in-app purchases when enabled.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>What are the Alternate Pricing Tiers?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

We mentioned the term \u2018Alternate Pricing\u2019 in the previous section. So, why did Apple introduced seven alternate pricing tiers when they were 87 pricing tiers already. What is their purpose?<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in June 2013, Apple introduced alternate pricing tiers for emerging or developing regions and countries like India, Indonesia, China, South Africa, Russia, Mexico, Turkey, and a few others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alternate pricing tiers allow developers to see their products below the regular price points.<\/span><\/p>\n

The currency exchange ratio in alternate tiers can be lower than the normal pricing tiers.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>App Store Pricing Tiers Table<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

As mentioned earlier, pricing tiers are certain pricing points always ending with double digits of nine (primary value.99) in US dollars. Applications published on App Store can be accessed by users in 155 countries or regions. An extension of 20 new countries has also been announced.<\/p>\n

The concept of pricing tiers begins with the question, how do you want to charge your app users?<\/p>\n

Are you going to make it free for all? If yes, publish it for free. Do not worry about charges.<\/p>\n

But, if you are going to charge people, you need to pay a share to App Store. The share is 30% of the selected pricing tier.<\/p>\n

You may require to add a pricing tier for product purchase if not free and separately for in-app purchases when enabled.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how app pricing tiers from 0 to 10 look (total number of tiers is 87) alike;<\/p>\n

\"app<\/p>\n

You can see complete pricing tiers for more regions <\/span>here<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Configuring In-App Purchase on App Store<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

There are four types of in-app purchases iOS app developers can offer through the applications. You can enable single or multiple in-app purchases in the applications.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consumable<\/b><\/h3>\n

This type of in-app purchase allows users to use some add-ons features or upgrades for a certain limit in terms of usage or time. The benefits of such in-app purchases deplete and can be consumed until paid again. Generally, such in-app purchases are offered in the application engaging freemium model. For example; Tinder\u2019s profile boost, super-like, increase daily likes features. There are games where you can get gems or lives by purchasing coins.<\/span><\/p>\n

Non\u2011Consumable<\/b><\/h3>\n

The concept of this type of in-app purchase is also offered in the freemium model applications but once purchases, their benefits do not expire. You would have used or heard about some photo editing applications that provide additional filters or ad removers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Auto\u2011Renewable Subscriptions<\/b><\/h3>\n

Auto-renewable subscription is provided where users choose to avail and pay for services in a recurring methodology. Over-the-top, music, eLearning, and business applications are some of the main examples of this type of in-app purchase. Users can stop availing of the services at any point in time before being charged for the next time cycle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Non\u2011Renewing Subscriptions<\/b><\/h3>\n

This type of in-app purchase provides services for a limited period of time. Thereafter, the user will need to pay for another cycle. Usually, subscription packages of OTT applications like Disney Hotstar would fall under this category. Users prefer availing such types of in-app purchases when they want to use a limited part of the services being offered by the application.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Gateway Fees & Platforms<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

For allowing in-app purchases of digital goods such as e-books, music, video, passes, etc., you can only use Apple\u2019s own framework, StoreKit.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can use purchase methods other than in-app purchases with external payment methods such as PayPal and traditional payments for purchasing or availing below-mentioned services;<\/span><\/p>\n