App stores charge 15 to 30%. Stripe charges roughly 3%. That gap is real, and so is the catch. Here is what developers actually pay when selling digital goods through Stripe, Apple, and Google, and where the choice between them actually exists.
- Stripe: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, plus 0.7% for recurring billing. Effective rate under 4% for most subscriptions.
- Apple App Store: 30% commission, dropping to 15% after year one of a subscriber's tenure, or for developers under $1M in annual revenue.
- Google Play: the same structure, with 15% applying to the first $1M in annual developer earnings.
- The constraint: for in-app purchases inside iOS or Android apps, Stripe is not an option. Apple and Google require their own billing.
- Where Stripe works: web subscriptions, SaaS billing, and digital goods sold outside the app.
On a $10 per month subscription with 10,000 subscribers, the difference between 30% and 3% is roughly $27,000 per month. That is the number that makes developers look twice at Stripe. The gap is real. The question is whether a given developer is in a position to capture it, and most mobile developers are not, at least not entirely. Where that line sits, and what the math looks like on each side, is what the scenarios below work through.
What Stripe actually charges
Stripe's base fee for card transactions is 2.9% + $0.30. On a $10 subscription, that is $0.59 per transaction. For recurring billing, Stripe Billing adds 0.7% of billing volume, a flat rate since Stripe merged its Starter and Scale billing plans in 2024. The effective fee on a $10 subscription lands around $0.66.
That is not the final number for every developer. The charges that apply to digital goods sold internationally stack on top:
- International cards: +1.5% when the customer's card is issued outside your country.
- Currency conversion: +1% when the transaction requires a conversion.
- Stripe Tax: +0.5% for automated VAT and GST collection, relevant in the EU, UK, Australia, and a growing list of jurisdictions.
- Dispute fees: $15 per chargeback, refunded if you win.
For a US developer billing a German subscriber in EUR, the effective Stripe rate on a $10 subscription runs into the 6 to 7% range once the international and conversion modifiers apply. Still well below 15%, but not the headline 3%.
Stripe publishes all of these rates. There are no revenue share arrangements, no annual fees, and no per-seat pricing. The total is the sum of the applicable modifiers.
Stripe vs Apple vs Google: the fee structures side by side
| Stripe | Apple App Store | Google Play | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard fee | 2.9% + $0.30 | 30% | 30% |
| Small business rate | Same rate at any volume | 15% (under $1M revenue) | 15% (first $1M of earnings) |
| Subscription fee | 2.9% + $0.30 + 0.7% billing | 30% year one, 15% after | 15% from day one |
| International | +1.5% cards, +1% conversion | Included in commission | Included in commission |
| Effective on a $9.99 sub | ~$0.66 | $3.00 year one, $1.50 after | $1.50 |
| Effective on a $4.99 IAP | ~$0.44 | $1.50, or $0.75 under Small Business | $0.75, or $1.50 above $1M |
| Merchant of record | Optional via Managed Payments (+3.5%) | Included | Included |
| Tax compliance | Yours, or Stripe Tax (+0.5%) | Handled for you | Handled for you |
Stripe follows a percentage-plus-flat-fee model; Apple and Google rely on commission. The app stores fold tax, fraud, and chargebacks into their cut, which is part of what the commission buys.
When you can and can't use Stripe
This is the part most comparisons skip.
For in-app purchases and subscriptions that unlock content or features inside an iOS or Android app, Apple and Google require their own billing systems. Using Stripe for in-app content violates store policy. That covers the majority of consumer mobile apps.
Where Stripe is a legitimate option:
- Web subscriptions. A user subscribes on your website and uses the app as a client. The purchase happens outside the app, so Stripe applies.
- SaaS products with mobile apps. Billing lives on the web and the app is a companion. Stripe throughout.
- Hybrid checkout. A web purchase at a lower price alongside the in-app option at a higher price. The user saves money and the developer captures more margin on web-originated subscribers.
Spotify built the hybrid model at scale. Its in-app subscription is priced higher to absorb Apple's commission, and its web subscription is priced lower to convert price-sensitive users outside the store. Same product, two deliberate price points.
Running a hybrid checkout has real costs: a page to build and maintain, lower conversion than a native paywall, and ongoing questions about platform parity as policies shift. At small scale the engineering rarely pencils out. Above roughly $500k in web-eligible ARR, the math changes.
What changed in 2026: external payment links
The one area still in motion is external linking. After the Epic v. Apple litigation, US developers can direct users from an iOS app to an outside purchase page. What Apple may charge on those external purchases is unsettled. Apple first applied a 27% commission to external-link sales, a court struck that down as a violation of the injunction, and through 2026 the exact fee Apple can charge has been back in front of the courts, with Apple seeking Supreme Court review.
The practical read for a developer today: external links are allowed in the US, but the commission picture is contested, and the flow is a link out rather than a native checkout, so conversion drops. Building a core billing strategy around it still carries operational risk. Treat it as an emerging option, not a settled one.
The actual numbers by scenario
Same product throughout: a $10 per month subscription, 10,000 active subscribers, $1.2M in gross annual revenue.
App Store at 30%. Apple takes $360,000. The developer keeps $840,000.
App Store at 15% (Small Business Program or post-year-one subscribers). Apple takes $180,000. The developer keeps $1,020,000.
Stripe, US subscribers, web subscription. Stripe takes roughly $79,000 (2.9% + $0.30 + 0.7% billing). The developer keeps about $1,121,000.
The gap between the 15% App Store tier and Stripe is around $100,000 a year on $1.2M in revenue. That gap funds real engineering investment in a web checkout, and it explains why any subscription app above a certain scale runs both channels.
The tax problem specific to digital goods
One friction Stripe does not handle by default is digital services tax.
App stores collect and remit tax on your behalf. Stripe does not, unless you turn on Stripe Tax.
Physical goods have relatively clear tax rules. Digital goods sold cross-border trigger specific obligations: EU VAT through OSS, UK VAT, Australian GST, and an expanding set of national digital services taxes. A developer selling a $9.99 subscription to a French buyer owes 20% VAT on that transaction, and many do not find out until a compliance notice arrives.
Stripe Tax automates calculation, collection, and reporting for an additional 0.5% per transaction. For developers selling direct to consumers in multiple jurisdictions, it is effectively mandatory. Factor it into the Stripe cost column before running the comparison.
So which one should you use
App store commissions are the cost of the distribution and billing infrastructure Apple and Google built. For most consumer apps that trade makes sense, and 15% under the App Store Small Business Program is simply the cost of shipping on iOS. The useful question is how much subscription volume could realistically move through a web checkout, and whether the margin recaptured, after card fees, Stripe Tax, and checkout engineering, justifies building and maintaining one.
That decision is easier once the pricing side is clear. The fee structure sets your floor; what comparable apps charge in each market sets your ceiling. The Apple price tier system governs what you can charge in-app, a hybrid monetization setup governs how you split web and in-app, and the pricing tool landscape covers what helps you manage it.
Mirava sits on the pricing-intelligence side of that decision. The Mirava Index shows what comparable apps charge in your key markets, so you can see whether the headroom is there before you commit to a fee structure. How much of your revenue is web-capturable is the harder half of the question. What the market will bear is the half worth checking first.
FAQ
Can you use Stripe for iOS in-app purchases?
No. Apple requires all purchases that unlock content or features inside an iOS app to use Apple's billing system. Using Stripe for in-app content violates the App Store Review Guidelines. Stripe is available only for purchases that happen outside the app: web checkouts, desktop billing, and SaaS subscriptions where the mobile app is a companion client.
What is Stripe's fee for recurring subscriptions versus one-time purchases?
One-time purchases cost 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction at the standard US rate. Recurring subscriptions through Stripe Billing add 0.7% of billing volume, the flat rate Stripe has used since it merged its Starter and Scale billing plans in 2024. Both increase with international cards (+1.5%) and currency conversion (+1%).
How do Stripe fees compare to Google Play's 15% fee tier?
Google Play charges 15% on the first $1M of annual developer earnings, then 30% above that. Stripe charges roughly 3 to 4% depending on transaction size and modifiers. On a $10 per month subscription, Google Play takes $1.50 at 15% and Stripe takes about $0.66. The same constraint applies: Stripe is not available for in-app content purchased through an Android app.
Does Stripe handle VAT for digital goods in Europe?
Not by default. Stripe Tax (0.5% per transaction) automates VAT calculation, collection, and reporting for digital goods in the EU, UK, and other applicable jurisdictions. Without it, the developer determines and remits the correct rate per country. App stores handle this for you, which is a real operational advantage of in-app billing for teams without a finance function.
When does building a web checkout actually make sense?
At low revenue the engineering cost outweighs the fee savings. The inflection point varies, but $500k or more in web-eligible ARR is a reasonable threshold to start the analysis. The strongest candidates are SaaS tools with a mobile companion app, productivity apps with a desktop-first use case, and consumer apps with a meaningful share of price-sensitive users who would convert on web but not at a higher in-app price.
