App stores take a commission on paid apps and in-app purchases, usually 15% or 30%. Selling through your own website instead costs only card processing, often around 3%. This calculator shows how much that gap is worth at your price and volume.
How it works
The store fee is the price × the commission rate. Apple's Small Business Program charges 15% if your App Store proceeds were under $1 million in the previous year; the standard rate is 30%. Subscriptions drop to 15% after a subscriber's first year.
The web checkout fee is the processor's percentage plus its fixed fee. Because of the fixed fee, web checkout is proportionally more expensive on very cheap purchases.
Rules now differ by region. From 1 October 2026, Apple's EU terms charge 26% on standard in-app purchases and 15% on link-outs to your own checkout (10% at the reduced rate). Google Play in the US, UK and EEA charges a 10% service fee on the first $1 million a year and on all auto-renewing subscriptions, plus a 5% billing fee if you use Google Play Billing. Pick "Another rate" to model the rate that applies to you, for example 15 for Google Play Billing on a subscription.
A worked example
At 1,000 purchases a month of $9.99, a 15% store commission is $1.50 a sale, leaving $8,491.50 a month. Web checkout at 2.9% + $0.30 costs $0.59 a sale, leaving $9,400.29. Selling on the web keeps $908.79 more each month, about $10,905 a year, before any change in conversion rate.
Questions people ask
Can I send app users to my website to pay?
It depends on the store, the country and the product type, and the rules changed several times in 2025 and 2026. In some regions stores allow link-outs but still charge a reduced commission on those sales. Check the current guidelines before relying on it.
Does web checkout convert as well as in-app purchase?
Usually not. Leaving the app adds steps, and some buyers drop off. Compare the extra margin here with a realistic drop in conversion before switching.
Does Google Play charge the same as Apple?
The structures are similar, with reduced rates for smaller developers and subscriptions, but the details and dates differ. Select the rate from Google's current policy, or enter it as a custom rate.
Guides
- App Store Commission vs Web Checkout: How Much Do You Really Keep?Apple and Google take 15% or 30% of in-app sales; a web checkout costs around 3%. Here's the math, and why the rules make it more complicated than that.
- Stripe vs PayPal vs Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy: Which Costs Less?The cheapest headline rate isn't always the cheapest choice. Your price, your international buyers and who files sales tax all change the answer.