Apple now offers 700 new price points to U.S. developers in an expansion to its App Store. U.S. developers will now be able to set their pricing from as low as $0.29 up to $10,000 with a lot more incremental ranges.
Developers will also be able to round up the price for apps (for example, $1.00) instead of having to price them one cent below the dollar. New pricing affects paid downloads, paying for a subscription, or in-app purchasing.
Apple will also launch new pricing tools to help developers with price management outside their local markets, and it will reduce restrictions on pricing in global markets.
The changes are taking effect immediately regarding subscriptions, while the changes to app prices and in-app purchases will roll out in Spring 2023.
Apple Addressing Historical Concerns Regarding App Store
Apple announced new rules that enhance options for developers after enduring significant pressure regarding their tight grip on the App Store.
Legal issues like the antitrust suit started by Epic Games against Apple and the complaints by developers regarding Apple’s pricing of paid downloads compared to subscriptions have hinted before that Apple needs a change in its policy.
Auto-renewing subscriptions had options other than $0.99 pricing in the past, for example – $0.49, which confused both consumers and developers since those same rules didn’t apply to non-subscription app pricing.
Regarding subscription-based payments, developers had 200 price points available, and non-subscription in-app purchases had 87 options, up to 94 in emerging markets.
With the new rules, developers can choose from 900 price points, increasing their options by nearly 10 times.
When it comes to the highest pricing points available — $1,000 to $10,000, the app makers will have to justify their chosen pricing to Apple.
Any App Store developer can set a higher price for their app — regardless of the category the app falls in. However, the developers will first have to request a review by Apple in an online form.
The most impactful change regarding pricing is the change to price steps. The developers of apps that cost under $10 will now be able to configure their pricing steps by as low as $0.10.
However, going for a higher price reduces incremental flexibility. For example — for an app priced between $10 and $50, the developers can increase by $0.50 increments.
Another change that takes effect immediately is the ability to manage currency and taxes across all 175 Apple storefronts more effortlessly.
A developer can pick a price in one storefront that they know the best and the new tools that Apple introduced will automatically generate prices for the other 174 storefronts and 44 currencies.
The generated prices are not to be final, as the developers can still change them individually. Here’s what Apple has said:
Even though Apple still doesn’t allow complete freedom when setting a price, these changes are among the biggest made to App Store since the 2016 changes to Apple’s subscription model.
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