Apple's App Store In China Gets Lower 25% Commission To Appease Regulators (appleinsider.com)
(Friday March 13, 2026 @12:00PM (BeauHD)
from the commission-changes dept.)
- Reference: 0180966854
- News link: https://apple.slashdot.org/story/26/03/13/051218/apples-app-store-in-china-gets-lower-25-commission-to-appease-regulators
- Source link: https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/03/13/apples-app-store-in-china-gets-lower-25-commission-to-appease-regulators
Apple will cut its App Store commission in China [1]from 30% to 25% starting March 15 , with small-business and mini-app rates dropping from 15% to 12%. AppleInsider reports:
> Chinese regulators have been [2]back and forth with Apple in recent years over the 30% App Store commission. The latest publicly known pressure occurred after President Trump slammed the country with seemingly random and outrageous [3]tariffs in 2025 . While nothing much else has happened in the public eye in the year since, Apple has announced a new commission rate via its [4]developer blog . The new rates go into effect on March 15.
>
> The current standard 30% rate is dropping to 25% for in-app purchases and paid app transactions. The Small Business Program and Mini Apps Partner Program will see rates drop from 15% to 12%. That lower rate applies to auto-renewals of in-app purchase subscriptions after the first year. Mini Apps are for transactions found in super apps like those popularized in China. [...] Developers will need to sign the updated terms, but the new rates are applied automatically. It is unclear if these new changes will prevent regulatory action from China.
[1] https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/03/13/apples-app-store-in-china-gets-lower-25-commission-to-appease-regulators
[2] https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3264706/china-court-rules-favour-apple-case-involving-controversial-app-store-fees
[3] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-05/china-weighs-investigating-apple-over-app-store-policies-fees-including-30-cut
[4] https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=dadukodv
> Chinese regulators have been [2]back and forth with Apple in recent years over the 30% App Store commission. The latest publicly known pressure occurred after President Trump slammed the country with seemingly random and outrageous [3]tariffs in 2025 . While nothing much else has happened in the public eye in the year since, Apple has announced a new commission rate via its [4]developer blog . The new rates go into effect on March 15.
>
> The current standard 30% rate is dropping to 25% for in-app purchases and paid app transactions. The Small Business Program and Mini Apps Partner Program will see rates drop from 15% to 12%. That lower rate applies to auto-renewals of in-app purchase subscriptions after the first year. Mini Apps are for transactions found in super apps like those popularized in China. [...] Developers will need to sign the updated terms, but the new rates are applied automatically. It is unclear if these new changes will prevent regulatory action from China.
[1] https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/03/13/apples-app-store-in-china-gets-lower-25-commission-to-appease-regulators
[2] https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3264706/china-court-rules-favour-apple-case-involving-controversial-app-store-fees
[3] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-05/china-weighs-investigating-apple-over-app-store-policies-fees-including-30-cut
[4] https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=dadukodv
Most favored nation? (Score:2)
Sounds like we need most favored nation on App Stores too... You shouldn't be able to charge a higher commission on your American app store than anywhere else in the world.