Google’s new Play Store fees show the next fight Apple may face

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Google is giving Android developers more ways to charge users outside Google Play Billing, while still keeping a cut of those purchases.

In a June 24 developer post, Google said its expanded billing choice program will start rolling out on June 30 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Economic Area. Developers in those markets will be able to use alternative billing or link users to their own websites for digital purchases.

That sounds like a clean win for developers at first. The catch is that Google is separating the fee it charges for Play services from the fee it charges for handling payments. In other words, moving the payment outside Google Play does not make Google’s fee disappear.

How Google’s new fees work

Google says the service fee starts at 10% on a developer’s first $1 million in annual earnings. The same 10% service fee applies to auto-renewing subscriptions.

For other standard transactions, the rate can be higher. Google lists a 20% service fee for new installs and higher rates for some existing-install transactions. If the developer uses Google Play Billing, Google adds a separate 5% billing fee in the US, UK, and EEA. Alternative billing and external web links avoid that billing fee, but not the service fee.

So the real change is “no fee.” It is more payment choice with a lower and more visible fee structure.

Why Apple should care

Apple’s App Store is already under similar pressure. Its App Review Guidelines now say developers do not need special entitlements to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action for purchases in apps on the United States storefront.

That carve-out does not apply everywhere. In most other storefronts, Apple still limits those purchase links unless a developer qualifies for specific entitlement programs. It also lands while Apple is already adjusting other App Store rules, from spam and copycat app cleanup to reported questions around AI agent apps on the App Store.

Google’s new setup matters because it gives the industry a live example of what a post-30% app store model can look like. Apple has argued for years that App Store fees pay for distribution, review, security, discovery, and developer tools. Google’s answer is to split that argument into two pieces: one fee for platform services, another fee only when Google handles billing.

If Apple is eventually allowed or forced to rebuild its own external-purchase fee model, this kind of split could become the template everyone points to.

Developers may still not love it

The numbers are better than a flat 30% in many cases, especially for smaller developers and subscriptions. But Google’s model also shows why app store reform can get messy fast.

A developer can offer an external link, avoid the billing fee, and still owe Google a service fee. Existing installs and new installs can be treated differently. Special app and game programs can bring lower rates later, but only for developers who meet Google’s requirements.

For users, the change may eventually mean more payment options inside Android apps. For Apple users, the bigger point is what happens next on the iPhone. The long-running Epic fight that brought Fortnite back to the US App Store has already weakened Apple’s control over external purchase links there.

Google’s new policy shows one possible end state: app stores may open the door to outside payments, but they will still try to keep a service fee attached to the platform.

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