Google will reduce Play Store fees from 30 percent to 15 percent for developers

Google on Thursday said it will reduce the commission on subscriptions on Google Play from 30 percent to 15 percent starting January 1, 2022. Google also announced that ebooks too and on-demand music streaming services will be eligible for a fee of 10 percent.

Announcing the new Play Store fees, Google said in a blog post, “To help support the specific needs of developers offering subscriptions, starting on January 1, 2022, we’re decreasing the service fee for all subscriptions on Google Play from 30% to 15%, starting from day one. For developers offering subscriptions, this means that first-year subscription fees will be cut in half. We’ve already gotten positive feedback from our developer partners on this change.”

The tech major said it has made important changes along the way, including moving beyond a “one size fits all” service fee model to ensure all types of businesses can be successful. “Instead of a single service fee, we now have multiple programs designed to support and encourage our diverse app ecosystem,” it added.

In March this year, Google had announced that it will slash the service fee that Google Play receives to 15 percent for the first USD 1 million of revenue earned by a developer each year. Bumble Inc founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said, “The pricing change they’ve announced will allow us to better invest in our products and further empower users to confidently connect online.”

” We’re excited to see Google continuing to collaborate with the ecosystem to find models that work for both the developer and platform. This reduction in subscription fees will help Duolingo accelerate our mission of universally available language learning,” Duolingo co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn said.

Google also said it will continue to engage with developers to understand their challenges and opportunities – and how it can best support them in building sustainable businesses.