Google agreed to cut developers' Google Play app store fees by half

Google announced on Tuesday, March 16, that it will slash its app store fees to 15% from the normal 30% for the first $1 million revenue of the developers.

The new pricing for app developers

The price cut will be effective starting July 1, and with the change, 99% of the developers who publish and sell their apps on the Google Play store will enjoy a 50% cutback in fees that they need to pay. The new pricing scheme will let developers shell out just 15% for the first $1 million in their annual sales.

“Starting on July 1, 2021, we are reducing the service fee Google Play receives when a developer sells digital goods or services to 15% for the first $1M (USD) of revenue every developer earns each year,” Google said in a statement. “With this change, 99% of developers globally that sell digital goods and services with Google Play will see a 50% reduction in fees.”

The tech giant further stated that the funds that developers will be able to save from the reduced fees would help them “scale up at a critical phase of their growth” by expanding their server capacity, employing more engineers and marketing staff, and more.

In any case, CNBC noted that this move from Google is similar to what Apple announced in December. The only slight difference is that Apple’s scheme is only for developers that earn less than $1 million per year from its app store. This means that if their earnings go over $1 million, they will be charged with the standard rate.

Is this the answer to the developers’ complaints?

Google has been heavily criticized for the 30% it charges for the in-app sales and downloads. The developers are complaining that the fees are really burdensome for them since it is cutting their earnings by a lot.

Finally, with this change, it seems that Google finally addressed at least part of the developers’ complaints regarding the fees and other app store's terms. This also led for the state regulators to investigate the company for its app store practices, and this move may ease the probe a bit.