Google is cutting developer fees in the Play Store again

With increasing pressure, Google has decided to reduce fees for developers who have chosen to place their applications in the Play Store. The technology giant has announced that subscription-based applications will now pay a fee of 15%, instead of the original 30%. Applications that allow you to stream music and read e-books will receive an even better fee, in some cases only 10%. The Verge portal informed about the news.

Google claims that more than 99% of developers will be entitled to a 15% fee

So far, Google has had similar rules as Apple – a 30% fee in the first year since the application was published and 15% in the following years. However, from January 1, 2022, from the beginning, developers will be able to pay only a 15% fee. With this move, the company wants to help developers build thriving businesses while keeping Google Play a leader in app stores. The only condition is that the applications use a subscription system and not a one-off payment system.

However, apps that are free or paid for ads will not improve. As of March 2021, Google has charged more than 15% for developers who have earned more than $ 1 million directly from users. Thus, according to the company, more than 99% of developers are entitled to a 15% fee.

There is no exact fee for e-book reading and music streaming applications

The company has opted for an even lower fee for e-book reading and music streaming applications due to the higher costs that operators have to create and license content. Its decision was probably also influenced by public pressure from companies such as Spotify.

However, the exact fee for apps in this category is determined by Google. The conditions and criteria according to which the amount of the fee will be determined were not publicly stated by the company. Only advised developers to sign up for the new program, where applications will then be individually assessed.