App Store Fee Calculator

The 15% versus 30% question every app faces

The single biggest deduction from your app's revenue is the store's cut, and it comes in two rates: the standard 30 percent, or 15 percent if you qualify for the Small Business program. That difference is not small. On $500 a month in revenue, the standard rate takes $150 while the Small Business rate takes $75 - a $75-a-month swing that compounds as you grow. This calculator shows you exactly what each rate takes and what is left, so the choice stops being abstract.

Most new builders leave the 15 percent rate on the table simply because they did not know to enroll. Apple's Small Business Program and Google Play's equivalent both drop the cut to 15 percent for developers earning under $1M a year - which is nearly every new app. Enrolling is a form to fill out, not a hurdle to clear. Doing it before you launch means you keep 85 percent of every dollar from day one instead of discovering the program months into paying 30 percent.

How the store cut is calculated

The math is simple once you see it. Start with your gross monthly revenue - subscribers times price, before anyone takes a cut. Subtract the store fee, either 15 or 30 percent, because Apple and Google take theirs off the top. Subtract any other monthly costs you run. What is left is what reaches you. From there you decide how much to reinvest into growth versus take home. Everything the store does not take is yours to direct.

• Gross revenue minus the store cut minus your costs equals what reaches you.
• The standard cut is 30 percent; the Small Business program cuts it to 15 percent.
• Apple also drops to 15 percent on a subscriber's second year, even outside the program.
• The lower the store cut, the more of every dollar you keep to grow or take home.
• A free app with no in-app purchases pays no store cut on outside revenue.

Why the store cut moves so much money

Notice how much more reaches you when you switch from the standard 30 percent to the 15 percent Small Business rate. With half the store cut, far more of your revenue flows through to you, which means more to reinvest in growth and more to take home. This is why enrolling in the program is one of the highest-leverage moves a new app can make. The 15 percent you keep back is money you did not have to earn twice - it was always yours.

Using this to price your app

The calculator only helps if you use it while you decide on a price. Before you set your subscription price, run your expected revenue at the store rate that applies to you and see what actually reaches you after costs. If the take-home is too thin, you need a higher price, more subscribers, or lower costs - and it is far better to learn that now than after launch. Model a conservative and an optimistic scenario so you know the range you are building toward.

A note on real numbers

What this calculator gives you is only as trustworthy as the revenue you feed it. Do not plan around a hopeful subscriber count - use a realistic one, or run several scenarios. Pick the store rate that truly applies to you, and enter your real running costs, not a guess. Conservative inputs occasionally mean you under-project, but they never leave you surprised at your first payout - and being surprised by the store cut is the mistake that actually stings.