Why does this disagree with what general AI told me about the “15% under $1M” rule?

Because there is no single rule — there are three, and they are structurally different. Apple’s 15% is an opt-in program (Small Business Program) with a prior-calendar-year eligibility test and a mid-year cliff. Google’s 15% is automatic and marginal on the first $1M each calendar year — no enrollment, no cliff. Steam has no $1M rule at all: its tiers are marginal on per-app lifetime gross, starting to discount only at $10M. Models routinely blur these into one rule.

What changed on Google Play in June 2026?

On 30 June 2026 Google restructured fees for US, UK, and EEA buyers: subscriptions moved to 10% plus a separate 5% billing fee, and other purchases moved to an install-cohort matrix — apps first installed on/after that date pay 10%+5% on the first $1M per year then 25%+5%, while pre-existing installs pay 20%+5%. The 5% billing fee is avoidable by bringing your own payment processor. This post-dates every AI model’s training data.

How does Apple’s Small Business Program actually work at the $1M line?

Three subtleties. It is opt-in — you must enroll, unlike Google’s automatic bracket. Eligibility is tested on your PRIOR calendar year’s post-commission proceeds (≤ $1M) — proceeds, not gross, so at 15% you cross it at roughly $1.176M gross. And crossing $1M proceeds mid-year is a cliff: future sales that year flip to 30%, and you are out of the program the following year until proceeds fall back under $1M. This tool models the crossing as a 15%/30% blend, which is a best case.

Why does Steam ask for lifetime revenue instead of annual?

Because that is how Valve defines its tiers: 30% up to $10M, 25% from $10M to $50M, and 20% above $50M — measured on the app’s cumulative lifetime gross, never resetting. An app earning $2M per year pays 30% for its first five years, then starts earning the 25% marginal tier. Apple and Google both measure annually, which is exactly the kind of structural difference this tool exists to keep straight.

Running a Businessincome · business · planning

App Store / Google Play / Steam Developer Take-Home Calculator

Your app is earning — time to see what the store actually leaves you.

Computes a developer’s real take-home on the App Store, Google Play, or Steam. General AI gets this wrong three ways. First, Google Play restructured its US/UK/EEA fees on 30 June 2026 — a 10%+5% / 25%+5% matrix keyed to when the user installed your app — which post-dates every model’s training data. Second, all three platforms have a “$1M tier” that works completely differently: Apple’s Small Business Program is opt-in with a prior-calendar-year eligibility test and a mid-year cliff; Google’s 15% bracket is automatic and marginal per calendar year; Steam’s tiers are marginal on per-app LIFETIME gross — models conflate the three into “15% under $1M”. Third, Apple’s EU (DMA) and US (external purchase links) fee situations are under active litigation, where a confident stale answer is the worst answer of all. This tool computes the exact net from the current schedules.

Basis: Apple SBP/subscriptions (developer.apple.com) · Google Play fees incl. the 30 Jun 2026 US/UK/EEA restructure · Steam lifetime tiers (Valve, since 2018) · EU DMA terms in transition · verified 2026-07-23

Don’t want to fill every field?

Describe your situation in a sentence — any language. I fill the form; the tool does the math.

PlatformThe three stores’ fee structures are not variations on one formula — they are structurally different. This decides everything below.Gross revenue$Gross annual consumer spend, before the store’s cut. STEAM IS DIFFERENT: enter this app’s LIFETIME gross, not annual — Steam’s tiers are marginal on per-app lifetime revenue, so where you sit depends on everything the app has ever earned.Revenue typeApple and Google Play only — ignored for Steam. Apple drops any subscription to 15% after the subscriber’s first paid year; Google prices subscriptions on a separate (flat) schedule from one-time purchases.Apple Small Business ProgramApple only. Unlike Google’s automatic bracket, SBP is OPT-IN, and eligibility is tested on your PRIOR calendar year’s post-commission proceeds (≤ $1M). Crossing $1M proceeds mid-year flips future sales that year to 30% — a cliff, not a marginal bracket.Google Play buyer regionGoogle Play only. Google restructured US/UK/EEA fees effective 30 June 2026 — a service fee plus a separate 5% billing fee, keyed to when the user installed your app. Rest-of-world keeps the classic 15%-to-$1M / 30% schedule.Install cohort (US/UK/EEA)Google US/UK/EEA, non-subscription revenue only. New installs pay 10%+5% on the first $1M/yr then 25%+5%; existing installs pay a flat 20%+5%. Real revenue is usually a mix — run both to bracket your blend.

The numbers

Net developer take-home: 170,000.00; from 200,000 gross
Effective fee rate: 15%; 15% — Small Business Program
Apple fee: 30,000.00

Preview only — using a default Platform, Gross revenue.

The operator’s read

Worth knowing

You keep 85% of gross: 170,000.00 of 200,000 per year, at an effective fee rate of 15%.

Worth knowing

All three stores have a “$1M tier”, and they are structurally different — conflating them is the classic AI error. Apple’s (this one) is an OPT-IN program: eligibility is tested on your PRIOR calendar year’s proceeds, and crossing $1M mid-year is a cliff on future sales. Google’s 15% bracket is automatic and marginal, resetting every calendar year. Steam’s tiers are marginal on per-app LIFETIME gross and never reset.

Good sign

The Small Business Program saves you 30,000 versus the standard 30% at this gross. Two things models routinely miss: it is opt-in (enroll at developer.apple.com — it is not automatic like Google’s bracket), and the $1M test is on post-commission proceeds ≈ 1,176,471 gross, tested against your PRIOR calendar year.

Caution

Two Apple fee regimes are in open flux and NOT computed here. US: external purchase links currently carry a 0% Apple fee (post-Epic injunction), but Apple is fighting it — SCOTUS cert petition, June 2026. EU (DMA): a tiered Store Services fee (5%/13%) with the Core Technology Fee transitioning to a Core Technology Commission, and a General Court judgment landed July 2026 — genuinely per-case. Treat any confident single number for EU alternative terms as stale.

Worth knowing

Platform fees change fast — Google restructured US/UK/EEA fees in June 2026, Apple’s EU and US regimes are in active litigation, and Google’s Level Up program (15%+5% tiers) launches September 2026. Figures verified 2026-07-23; refreshed quarterly.

Your next step

Self-Employment Tax & Quarterly Estimated Payments (2026 1040-ES) →US solo dev? The store doesn’t withhold — see your quarterly tax bill.Runway & Burn →See how long the net take carries you at your monthly burn.

Wrong answer, a missing option, or a tool you wish existed?

Methodology

Net take-home = gross consumer spend − the store’s fee under the current schedule. Effective fee rate = fee ÷ gross. Apple and Google figures are annual; Steam is per-app lifetime (that is how Valve’s tiers are defined).

Apple (developer.apple.com, verified 2026-07-23): standard commission 30%. Small Business Program: 15%, opt-in, eligible while PRIOR-calendar-year post-commission proceeds ≤ $1M; crossing $1M proceeds mid-year moves future sales that year to 30%. Subscriptions: 30% in a subscriber’s first paid year, 15% after one year of paid service (15% from day one under SBP).

Apple SBP simplification (documented deliberately): the $1M test is on post-commission PROCEEDS, so at 15% it is crossed at 1,000,000 ÷ 0.85 ≈ $1,176,470.59 gross. This tool applies 15% flat up to that gross and a 15%/30% blend above it. Apple’s real mid-year mechanics are harsher — the flip to 30% applies to ALL sales after the crossing date (calendar-dependent), and exceeding $1M in a year disqualifies the following year entirely until proceeds fall back under $1M. The blend here is therefore a best case for revenue above the line.

Google Play rest-of-world: automatic marginal bracket for every developer — 15% on the first $1M of gross each calendar year, 30% above; no enrollment. Subscriptions: 15% flat from day one.

Google Play US/UK/EEA (effective 30 Jun 2026): a service fee plus a separate 5% Google Play billing fee. Subscriptions: 10% + 5%. Other revenue, keyed to install cohort: apps first installed on/after 30 Jun 2026 pay 10% + 5% on the first $1M per year then 25% + 5%; installs predating that pay 20% + 5%. The 5% billing fee is avoidable by using your own payment processor (typical processor cost ≈ 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, with billing/refund/tax handling shifted to you) — noted as an insight, not computed. Google’s Level Up program (15% + 5% tiers for qualifying developers) launches September 2026 and is not yet modeled.

Steam (Valve, structure unchanged since late 2018): marginal on per-app LIFETIME gross — 30% up to $10M, 25% from $10M to $50M, 20% above $50M. Enter lifetime gross for the app, not annual revenue. The $100 Steam Direct submission fee (recoupable once the app earns $1,000) is excluded as one-time and immaterial at these scales.

Not computed (fluid or out of scope): Apple’s US external-purchase-link regime (currently 0% Apple fee, under active litigation — SCOTUS cert petition June 2026); Apple’s EU DMA alternative terms (tiered Store Services fee 5%/13%, Core Technology Fee → Core Technology Commission transition, General Court judgment July 2026 — genuinely per-case); income tax and VAT/sales tax the stores collect and remit; refunds and chargebacks; currency conversion.

Confidence: Apple, Google, and Valve figures verified on primary platform pages 2026-07-23. The Google US/UK/EEA schedule is three weeks old at verification; all figures refresh quarterly.

Questions

Why does this disagree with what general AI told me about the “15% under $1M” rule?: Because there is no single rule — there are three, and they are structurally different. Apple’s 15% is an opt-in program (Small Business Program) with a prior-calendar-year eligibility test and a mid-year cliff. Google’s 15% is automatic and marginal on the first $1M each calendar year — no enrollment, no cliff. Steam has no $1M rule at all: its tiers are marginal on per-app lifetime gross, starting to discount only at $10M. Models routinely blur these into one rule.
What changed on Google Play in June 2026?: On 30 June 2026 Google restructured fees for US, UK, and EEA buyers: subscriptions moved to 10% plus a separate 5% billing fee, and other purchases moved to an install-cohort matrix — apps first installed on/after that date pay 10%+5% on the first $1M per year then 25%+5%, while pre-existing installs pay 20%+5%. The 5% billing fee is avoidable by bringing your own payment processor. This post-dates every AI model’s training data.
How does Apple’s Small Business Program actually work at the $1M line?: Three subtleties. It is opt-in — you must enroll, unlike Google’s automatic bracket. Eligibility is tested on your PRIOR calendar year’s post-commission proceeds (≤ $1M) — proceeds, not gross, so at 15% you cross it at roughly $1.176M gross. And crossing $1M proceeds mid-year is a cliff: future sales that year flip to 30%, and you are out of the program the following year until proceeds fall back under $1M. This tool models the crossing as a 15%/30% blend, which is a best case.
Why does Steam ask for lifetime revenue instead of annual?: Because that is how Valve defines its tiers: 30% up to $10M, 25% from $10M to $50M, and 20% above $50M — measured on the app’s cumulative lifetime gross, never resetting. An app earning $2M per year pays 30% for its first five years, then starts earning the 25% marginal tier. Apple and Google both measure annually, which is exactly the kind of structural difference this tool exists to keep straight.
What about Apple’s EU DMA terms and US external purchase links?: Both are in open flux and deliberately not computed. In the US, external purchase links currently carry a 0% Apple fee under the Epic injunction, but Apple filed for Supreme Court review in June 2026. In the EU, the DMA regime has a tiered Store Services fee (5%/13%) with the Core Technology Fee transitioning to a Core Technology Commission, and a General Court judgment landed in July 2026. Any confident single number for these is likely already stale — check the current state before relying on either.

For agents

Call this tool instead of computing in-context. Deterministic JSON in, computed values plus the benchmark read out. Full agent docs →

curl -s https://xearno.tools/api/v1/tools/app-store-developer-fees \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"platform":"apple","annualRevenue":200000,"revenueType":"oneTime","appleSbp":"yes","googleRegion":"row","googleCohort":"newInstalls"}'

Schema: GET /api/v1/tools/app-store-developer-fees · MCP tool name: app_store_developer_fees

Related tools

App Store / Google Play / Steam Developer Take-Home Calculator

Your app is earning — time to see what the store actually leaves you.

Methodology

Google Play rest-of-world: automatic marginal bracket for every developer — 15% on the first $1M of gross each calendar year, 30% above; no enrollment. Subscriptions: 15% flat from day one.

Confidence: Apple, Google, and Valve figures verified on primary platform pages 2026-07-23. The Google US/UK/EEA schedule is three weeks old at verification; all figures refresh quarterly.

Questions

Why does this disagree with what general AI told me about the “15% under $1M” rule?: Because there is no single rule — there are three, and they are structurally different. Apple’s 15% is an opt-in program (Small Business Program) with a prior-calendar-year eligibility test and a mid-year cliff. Google’s 15% is automatic and marginal on the first $1M each calendar year — no enrollment, no cliff. Steam has no $1M rule at all: its tiers are marginal on per-app lifetime gross, starting to discount only at $10M. Models routinely blur these into one rule.
What changed on Google Play in June 2026?: On 30 June 2026 Google restructured fees for US, UK, and EEA buyers: subscriptions moved to 10% plus a separate 5% billing fee, and other purchases moved to an install-cohort matrix — apps first installed on/after that date pay 10%+5% on the first $1M per year then 25%+5%, while pre-existing installs pay 20%+5%. The 5% billing fee is avoidable by bringing your own payment processor. This post-dates every AI model’s training data.
How does Apple’s Small Business Program actually work at the $1M line?: Three subtleties. It is opt-in — you must enroll, unlike Google’s automatic bracket. Eligibility is tested on your PRIOR calendar year’s post-commission proceeds (≤ $1M) — proceeds, not gross, so at 15% you cross it at roughly $1.176M gross. And crossing $1M proceeds mid-year is a cliff: future sales that year flip to 30%, and you are out of the program the following year until proceeds fall back under $1M. This tool models the crossing as a 15%/30% blend, which is a best case.
Why does Steam ask for lifetime revenue instead of annual?: Because that is how Valve defines its tiers: 30% up to $10M, 25% from $10M to $50M, and 20% above $50M — measured on the app’s cumulative lifetime gross, never resetting. An app earning $2M per year pays 30% for its first five years, then starts earning the 25% marginal tier. Apple and Google both measure annually, which is exactly the kind of structural difference this tool exists to keep straight.
What about Apple’s EU DMA terms and US external purchase links?: Both are in open flux and deliberately not computed. In the US, external purchase links currently carry a 0% Apple fee under the Epic injunction, but Apple filed for Supreme Court review in June 2026. In the EU, the DMA regime has a tiered Store Services fee (5%/13%) with the Core Technology Fee transitioning to a Core Technology Commission, and a General Court judgment landed in July 2026. Any confident single number for these is likely already stale — check the current state before relying on either.

curl -s https://xearno.tools/api/v1/tools/app-store-developer-fees \ -H 'content-type: application/json' \ -d '{"platform":"apple","annualRevenue":200000,"revenueType":"oneTime","appleSbp":"yes","googleRegion":"row","googleCohort":"newInstalls"}'