What You Keep From a €4.99 App Subscription in 2026

From a €4.99 monthly subscription sold to a customer in Spain, you keep about €3.51 through Google Play, and the same €3.51 through Apple if you are in the Small Business Program. Without the program, Apple leaves you about €3.05 in the first year. Sending the customer to a Stripe web checkout keeps you between €3.15 and €3.35. On a cheap plan, the store is the better deal.

The numbers below use the fee schedules published for the EU in 2026. Every rate links to its source at the end.

Where does the money go?

Three things come out of every payment, in this order:

1. VAT. The customer's price includes it. In Spain the general rate is 21%, so €4.99 is €4.12 before tax. Apple's own example says what you receive is the price "minus the European Union's value added tax (VAT) and minus Apple's commission".
2. The store fee. It is charged on the price without VAT.
3. Card processing, only if you take the payment yourself. Stripe charges 1.5% + €0.25 on standard EEA cards, plus 0.7% for Stripe Billing subscriptions.

The fixed €0.25 is what hurts small prices. On €4.99 it is 5% of the charge before the percentage fees even start.

What does each store charge in 2026?

Apple, EU storefronts. Since Apple's unified EU terms, an in-app purchase costs 26%. It drops to 15% for members of the Small Business Program and for subscriptions after their first year. If you link out to your own checkout, Apple charges a store services commission of 15%, or 10% under the same two conditions. It applies to sales made within 7 days of the link tap.

Google Play, EEA. Since June 30, 2026, Google charges a 10% service fee on auto-renewing subscriptions, whatever billing you use. Google Play Billing adds a 5% billing fee. Alternative billing or an external web link skips that 5%, but you still pay the 10%.

Outside the EU, for reference. On the US App Store, apps can already link to other purchase methods. The commission on those links is 0% while a court decides. Apple has proposed 15%, 10% for subscription renewals and 5% for the Small Business Program. Epic is fighting it, so do not plan around any of these numbers yet.

Try it with your price

Pick a price and a number of subscribers. The toggle switches Apple to its reduced rate (Small Business Program, or a subscriber past their first paid year). Google's subscription fee is the same either way.

When does your own checkout win?

At a low price, almost never. With the Small Business Program, Apple's in-app 15% beats the web route below about €13 a month. The same break-even applies on Android, because both cases compare a 15% total fee against 10% plus Stripe. Above €13 the web checkout pulls ahead, but slowly. At €29.99 the gap is about €0.33 per payment.

Without the program, the picture flips early. Apple's 26% loses to its own 15% link commission from about €3.60 a month. That is the strongest reason to apply for the program, not to build a web checkout.

What should a small developer do?

Join the Small Business Program before your first sale. It is free and it takes your Apple fee from 26% to 15% on day one. Keep in-app purchases on both stores while your plans cost under €10. Revisit a web checkout only when your prices sit well above €13 and you are ready to file the VAT returns.

I price every app I ship this way. If you want a second opinion on yours, let's talk.

Sources

• Apple: Updates for apps in the EU
• Apple: App Store Small Business Program
• Apple: Auto-renewable subscriptions
• AppleInsider: Apple's proposed US link-out commission
• Google Play Console Help: Service fees
• Android Developers Blog: Expanded billing choice and lower fees on Google Play
• Stripe pricing (EEA)
• Stripe Billing pricing
• Agencia Tributaria: VAT rates