Apple cuts China App Store commission fees after government pressure | Apple
Apple announced late Thursday that it will reduce commission fees collected at its App Store in mainland China. The move follows global scrutiny of payment requirements as well as pressure from regulators in the tech company’s second-largest market.
Apple said fees for in-app purchases and paid transactions will be reduced from 30% to 25% starting Sunday. expression on his blog for developers.
“Apple is making changes to the App Store in China following discussions with the Chinese regulator,” the company’s announcement reads. “Starting March 15, 2026, there will be changes to the commission rates applicable to the App Store in mainland China on iOS and iPadOS.”
The measure was framed as a win for Chinese digital consumers, with the cut estimated to save Chinese developers more than 6 billion yuan ($873 million) in annual operating costs, Chinese state-owned Economic Daily said in a report on Thursday.
“This regulation… will increase consumption options and information transparency,” the Economic Daily said. “On the iOS side, the premium for digital products and services will be gradually eliminated, and the prices of membership subscriptions, game downloads, live broadcast tips, mini programs and other scenarios are expected to decrease, which is expected to save consumers up to about 1 billion yuan a year.”
In-app purchases for developers belonging to Apple’s small business and mini-app partner programs will be reduced from 15% to 12%. “Mini apps” refer to smaller apps that run within a larger app, such as Tencent’s WeChat. The move is a milestone for Chinese app developers and “super app” operators, including Tencent and TikTok owner ByteDance, whose platforms are home to many smaller apps created by third-party developers.
The 30 percent Apple tax remains a key target of antitrust scrutiny from regulators around the world. The EU passed a new law in 2024 that forces Apple to reduce commission fees for developers to between 10% and 17%. In the US, Apple allows users to pay in-app fees with alternative payment methods. App Store commissions have been the subject of a major lawsuit between Apple and Fortnite maker Epic Games, resulting in the tech company being forced to allow links to alternative payment sites that allow developers to bypass Apple’s tax.
China’s antitrust watchdog began investigating the iPhone maker last year over App Store prices but did not seek any official fees. Bloomberg reported.
“In the case of China, Apple has been talking to the IT ministry and other departments and has been asked or pressured to lower its fees,” said Rich Bishop, founder of AppInChina, which advises foreign software developers on making their apps available in China.
The move will take effect on World Consumer Rights Day on Sunday, when Chinese state media often highlights domestic and foreign companies accused of consumer rights violations. Apple became the target of a campaign in 2013 when its after-sales service was criticized by state broadcaster CCTV, forcing the company to issue a public apology.
Bishop said that in the future, the Chinese government could ask Apple to collect App Store revenue in China rather than overseas, and could further tighten regulatory oversight of foreign apps published in China. Apple had previously removed apps such as virtual private networks (VPNs) from the Chinese App Store at the request of Chinese internet regulators.
All devices connected to the internet carry a separate code that reveals their location, and VPNs allow users to hide their location by assigning a new code to their device. Many Chinese users and foreign companies operating in China use them to bypass strict local internet censorship of foreign websites. China’s antitrust regulator is conducting an investigation into Apple’s policies and App Store fees, while Chinese consumers filed antitrust complaints last October regarding the firm’s app fee structure, Bloomberg reported last year. Google cut Android developer wages worldwide last week.
Apple’s fee reduction also applies to international developers whose apps are available on the Chinese App Store. “Duolingo, China’s top-grossing education app, makes about $50 million a year from the Chinese market, and this will save them a decent amount of money,” Bishop added.
