by ZHOU Mo

Apple said on March 13 it will adjust App Store commission rates for iOS and iPadOS apps distributed in mainland China after discussions with Chinese regulators.

The standard commission on paid apps and in-app purchases through the China App Store will be reduced from 30% to 25%.

Developers earning less than $1 million annually, as well as those eligible under Apple's Mini-Program Partner Program, will see commission rates on in-app purchases and auto-renewing subscriptions after the first year fall from 15% to 12%. The new fee structure will take effect on March 15.

The lower rates will also apply to non-Chinese developers selling through the China App Store, Apple said.

Apple has adjusted its commission policies in recent years. In 2020, the company launched its App Store Small Business Program, cutting commission rates to 15% for developers generating less than $1 million in annual revenue. Apple had also reduced commissions on auto-renewing subscriptions to 15% starting from the second year.

Apple has also reached agreements with Chinese tech platforms. In September 2025, the App Store began supporting Douyin Pay, allowing users to link the payment method to their Apple accounts and pay for services such as Apple Music, iCloud and AppleCare+. In November 2025, Apple launched its Mini-Program Partner Program, under which commissions on WeChat mini-program transactions were cut from 30% to 15%.

In Apple's fiscal first quarter of 2026, services revenue reached a record $30 billion, up 14% year on year, with a gross margin of 76.5%, far above the roughly 30%–40% margin generated by hardware.

The segment includes iCloud subscriptions, paid apps, in-app advertising and search-related payments.

According to Apple's App Store global ecosystem report released in late 2025, digital goods and services transactions through the China App Store reached about $23 billion in 2024, second only to the United States at $53 billion and higher than Europe's $20 billion.

Apple said it aims to maintain fair and transparent terms for developers and keep App Store commission rates in China competitive with other markets.

A study published on Apple's website by JU Heng, an associate professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, estimated that the App Store ecosystem in China facilitated 1.65 trillion yuan in developer billings and sales in 2019. The figure rose to 3.76 trillion yuan by 2023. More than 95% of that revenue went directly to developers and businesses without paying commissions to Apple.

An Apple spokesperson told Jiemian News the App Store serves millions of users in China each day and that the company aims to continue offering developers opportunities to create and distribute apps in China and globally while maintaining a secure and trusted platform for users.