The 30% tax, in dollars | Faceless AI - Dataspheres AI

What the fee actually costs you On the standard terms, Apple and Google each take 30% of a subscription. For developers in Apple's Small Business Program (...

What the fee actually costs you On the standard terms, Apple and Google each take 30% of a subscription. For developers in Apple's Small Business Program (under $1M/year) and for Google's first $1M, and for Apple subscriptions after their first year, the rate drops to 15%. Either way it comes off the top, before your own costs. Work an example. A $10/month subscription at 30% nets you $7.00; the platform keeps $3.00. Move that same sale to your own web checkout and you pay a payment processor roughly 3% plus 30 cents — about $0.60 — and keep $9.40. That is a 34% increase in net revenue per subscriber, with no change to your price or your product. Why it compounds Subscription businesses live and die on the ratio of lifetime value to acquisition cost. Every extra dollar of net revenue per subscriber raises lifetime value directly, which means you can afford to spend more to acquire a customer and still profit. Cutting the platform's cut is one of the few levers that improves unit economics without touching pricing, churn, or conversion. Path Platform take (2026) Who processes payment Apple in-app purchase (standard) 30% (15% under the Small Business Program or after year one of a sub) Apple Apple US external link (post-Epic) 0% Apple commission today — but legally contested at the Supreme Court You (Stripe / Paddle) Apple reader / web-signup only 0% — no in-app purchase exists to tax You (on the web) Apple EU external purchase (DMA) A reduced fee stack: an acquisition fee, a store-services fee, and a ~5% Core Technology Commission You Google Play external web link (from Jun 30 2026) ~10% service fee on the first $1M/yr, and no separate billing fee You The rest of this course is about capturing that difference legally and keeping your app in the stores.