Google Play Store Fees Are Getting Lower This June
Google has announced massive changes to its Play Store, centered on the fees it will charge developers. The change is a result of Epic Games’ lawsuit against the company, which ended in a court mandate to change its practices. The rollout begins in the United States, European Economic Area, and the United Kingdom, with additional markets to follow on a staggered timeline.
Google noted via the Android Developers Blog that the lower fees on the Play Store are rolling out on June 30, starting with the three markets mentioned earlier. The new fee structure separates the service fee from the billing fee for the first time. Regardless of which billing method a developer uses, whether Google Play’s billing system, an alternative billing option, or an external web link, the service fee starts at 10% on the first million in annual earnings. For auto-renewing subscriptions, the same 10% service fee applies.
Developers who choose to use Google Play’s own billing system will pay an additional 5% billing fee on top of that. Those who use alternative billing or send users to their own website for purchases will not owe the billing fee, meaning they can pay less than the previous standard 30% cut Google previously collected. Google is also introducing two quality-based programs with reduced rate cards. The revamped Games Level Up program and the new Apps Experience program offer lower fees for developers who meet specific eligibility criteria around product quality and user experience. Apps and games that meet all requirements are eligible for a new program rate card with reduced rates, which will officially become available on September 30, 2026.
Epic Games Settlement Dismantles Play Store Fees
According to ArsTechnica, the fee reductions and billing choice expansion are a direct result of the antitrust case Epic Games brought against Google. Epic filed suit in 2020, arguing that Google’s requirement that all apps use its billing system and its enforcement of that requirement through its app distribution monopoly was anticompetitive. A jury found Google liable in December 2023. Google announced earlier this year that it was introducing more billing flexibility and lower fees as part of its updated business model, and the June 30 date now marks when those changes officially begin taking effect in the first wave of markets. The settlement with Epic required Google to make meaningful structural changes to how it operates the Play Store in the US, including allowing alternative billing options and curtailing exclusive deals with developers.
Apple Also Changed App Store Thanks to Epic
Epic’s legal battles were not limited to Google as the company simultaneously sued Apple over its App Store policies, and while the outcome was different, it still produced real changes. In the US, a federal court ordered Apple to allow developers to include links in their apps pointing users to external websites where they could make purchases, bypassing Apple’s in-app payment system and its standard 30% commission. Apple complied but initially imposed a 27% fee on purchases made through those external links, drawing further criticism. Additional legal proceedings followed, with Epic and a federal judge pushing back on Apple’s approach to compliance. Apple has since continued to face scrutiny in the European Union as well, where the Digital Markets Act required it to open up app distribution and billing more broadly. Both cases fundamentally changed how app store operators approach fees and billing policies, with Google’s June 30 rollout representing the most sweeping structural change either platform has made to its commission model since both stores launched.
