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App Store Revenue Calculator: Apple Commission, In-App Purchases and Subscriptions

Start from downloads or daily active users, choose subscriptions, in-app purchases, a paid app or ads, and see what you keep each month and year after Apple's commission.

Calculator

First-time downloads in the App Store each month.

Subscriptions

%

Default 2%: RevenueCat's 2026 median download-to-paid conversion. It varies a lot by app and region.

$

RevenueCat reports $9.99 as the most common monthly price. Enter the price per month.

%

Default 15% is an Earnlitix assumption. A lower churn means more subscribers build up.

Small Business: proceeds of $1M or less in the previous year, and you must enrol with Apple.

%

Apple charges its commission on the price without tax. Leave 0 if your price has no tax in it, or if you enter prices without tax.

$

Optional. Shows how big your app has to be.

Advanced assumptions

Apple commission: 30% standard, 15% in the Small Business Program (up to $1M of yearly proceeds). Subscriptions: 30% in a subscriber's first year, 15% after. Ads are not subject to it.

Estimated monthly revenue$22,667$272,000 per year

Per month

$22,667Low
$22,667Expected
$22,667High

Per year

$272,000Low
$272,000Expected
$272,000High

Purchases, subscriptions and paid apps use your inputs as entered, so low, expected and high are the same.

Downloads per month
20,000
New subscribers per month
400
Active subscribers (steady state)
2,667
Subscriptions per month (gross)
$26,667
Apple commission, Small Business (15%)
− $4,000
Net store revenue per month
$22,667

To earn $1,000 a month with these settings

Downloads per month needed
≈ 882

A straight scale-up of the expected figure. Store fee tiers and real-world growth make it approximate.

Benchmark and fee sources

Apple's rules were read from Apple's developer pages on the date below. They can change.

Benchmarks last verified: 2026-10-25

Amounts are in USD (United States selected). Change country or currency in the header. Exchange rates are approximate, from a static table updated 2026-10-25 — not live and not for transactions.

Estimates for planning only. Not tax or financial advice. Last verified: 2026-10-25

App Store revenue calculator: how it works

An iPhone app can earn from ads, from in-app purchases, from subscriptions or from the price of a paid app. Apple keeps a commission on everything sold through the App Store, but not on ads shown inside your app. This calculator adds up the income, takes off Apple's commission and shows what is left each month and year.

Pick what your app sells, then start from monthly downloads or from daily active users (DAU). For subscriptions it estimates new subscribers from the share of downloads that start paying, and keeps them until they cancel at your monthly churn rate. Choose whether you are in the App Store Small Business Program, which cuts the commission from 30% to 15%.

Formula and assumptions

Formula

  • DAU = monthly downloads × retention %
  • Subscribers (steady state) = new subscribers per month ÷ monthly churn; gross = subscribers × price
  • IAP gross = DAU ÷ stickiness × buyer % × purchases × price; paid app = downloads × price
  • Commission: 15% (Small Business) up to $1M of proceeds a year, otherwise 30% (subscriptions 30% year one, 15% after)
  • Net monthly revenue = ad revenue + (store gross ÷ (1 + tax %)) × (1 − commission)

Assumptions

  • Apple takes 30% of paid apps and in-app purchases, and 15% if you are in the App Store Small Business Program (proceeds of $1M or less in the previous calendar year). Subscriptions are 30% in the first year of a subscriber's paid service and 15% after that. Rules read from Apple's developer site on the date shown below; Apple can change them.
  • The $1M Small Business threshold is on proceeds (what you keep after commission). The calculator applies 15% up to $1M of proceeds a year, and the standard rates on revenue above that. Apple checks this by calendar year and by your whole developer group; this is a simple yearly estimate.
  • Subscriptions: new subscribers per month = downloads × trial-to-paid share (default 2%); subscribers stay until they cancel (default 15% a month). The share past their first year is (1 − churn)^12, and that share is charged the 15% rate outside the programme.
  • In-app purchases: buyers = monthly active users × buyer share (default 2% a month). Monthly active users = DAU ÷ 20% (an Earnlitix assumption). DAU = downloads × retention (default 5.3%).
  • Ad revenue reuses the Play Store eCPM benchmarks, because no reliable iOS-specific split was found. iOS eCPMs are often higher, so this is cautious. Ads are not charged Apple commission.
  • Sales tax, VAT or GST inside your price is removed before Apple's commission if you enter it. Apple's currency conversion, refunds and the Apple Developer Program fee are not modelled.

Worked example

20,000 downloads a month, subscription app at $9.99 a month

  1. New subscribers each month = 20,000 × 2% = 400.
  2. With 15% of subscribers cancelling each month, the steady number of subscribers is 400 ÷ 0.15 = about 2,667.
  3. Gross subscription revenue = 2,667 × $9.99 = about $26,640 a month, or $319,680 a year, under the $1M threshold.
  4. In the Small Business Program the commission is 15%: $3,996, leaving about $22,644 a month.
  5. Outside the programme about 14% of subscribers are past their first year (15% commission) and the rest pay 30%, a blended 27.9%: about $7,424 of commission, leaving about $19,216 a month.

Result: About $22,644 a month ($271,728 a year) in the Small Business Program, versus about $19,216 a month ($230,597 a year) at standard rates. The programme is worth about $3,400 a month at this size.

Limitations

  • Apple's rules can change, and the Small Business Program has conditions: you must enrol, associated developer accounts are counted together, and the $1M proceeds limit is checked by calendar year. This calculator treats it as a simple yearly threshold.
  • Conversion, churn, retention and buyer shares are benchmarks and assumptions, and your app will differ widely. Subscription numbers assume steady state, which a new app takes months to reach. Refunds, free trials, price changes and currency conversion are not modelled.
  • Ad revenue reuses Android AdMob eCPM benchmarks because no reliable iOS-specific split was found. Real iOS eCPMs are often higher, but Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt can reduce them. Earnings are before your own income tax.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Apple charge developers?

Apple's standard commission on paid apps and in-app purchases is 30%. Auto-renewable subscriptions are 30% in a subscriber's first year of paid service and 15% after one year. Apple's developer site is the source for current rates.

What is the App Store Small Business Program?

It lowers Apple's commission to 15% on paid apps, in-app purchases and subscriptions if you earned no more than $1 million in proceeds in the previous calendar year, counting associated accounts. You have to enrol. If you pass $1 million in a year, the standard rate applies to later sales that year.

Does the $1 million limit use revenue or proceeds?

Apple uses proceeds, which means your sales after Apple's commission and certain taxes. At the 15% rate, $1 million of proceeds is about $1.18 million of customer spending. The calculator uses that definition.

Does Apple take a cut of ad revenue?

No. Ads shown in your app are paid by the ad network, not through the App Store, so Apple's commission does not apply. Your ad network takes its own share, which is why this calculator has an ad network payout setting.

How do I estimate subscription revenue?

Multiply monthly downloads by the share that become paying subscribers to get new subscribers each month. Divide that by your monthly churn to get how many you keep at a steady state. Multiply by the monthly price. RevenueCat reports a median download-to-paid conversion of about 2% in 2026.

How much does an average iOS app make?

There is no honest single average: results run from nothing to millions and depend on the category, the number of downloads and what you sell. Try your own downloads and conversion rates in the calculator to see a range for your app.

Is the Apple Developer Program fee included?

No. The yearly membership fee is separate and is not modelled here. Apple's commission is the main running cost this tool shows.

Can I use this for the Play Store as well?

No. Google Play has different fees (15% on the first $1M a year) and its own rules. Use the Play Store App Revenue calculator for Android.

Sources

Calculator data last verified: 2026-10-25. Estimates for planning only; not tax or financial advice.

What next?

Disclosure:We may earn a commission.We may earn a commission if you sign up through links in this section. This never changes the price you pay and does not affect our calculators.

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