Aug 13, 2024 11:23:00

Apple requires Patreon to use in-app purchases and pay a 30% 'Apple tax'

Patreon , a creator support platform, has announced that in-app purchases will be mandatory for iOS apps from November 2025. This means that creators who use per-product billing will have to switch to subscription-based billing. In addition, Apple will take a 30% commission when registering a new subscription within Patreon's iOS app.

Apple's requirements to hit creators and fans on Patreon
https://news.patreon.com/articles/understanding-apple-requirements-for-patreon

Apple Requiring Patreon to Use In-App Purchase and Pay 30% Fee for Memberships - MacRumors
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/08/12/patreon-in-app-purchase-fees/

In January 2024, Patreon introduced in-app purchases and paid a 30% commission, also known as the 'Apple tax,' on in-app purchase sales. However, when subscribing to a membership plan to support creators on a regular basis on Patreon, Patreon led users to a different purchase flow that avoided payment on the App Store, and the 30% commission was not collected.

Starting in November 2024, new memberships on the Patreon iOS app will require in-app purchases and will be subject to a processing fee. Therefore, the monthly price of paid memberships for creators will be increased by default on the iOS version to cover the processing fee. However, the processing fee on subscription sales will be 30% in the first year and will drop to 15% from the second year onwards.

Additionally, the in-app purchasing system using the App Store does not support monthly or per-app billing plans, so iOS users will have to switch to purchasing a paid membership subscription.

'While automatically increasing the price of paid memberships is the default option, you can choose to keep the price the same and take a 30% commission on sales,' Patreon said. 'We don't recommend this as it would mean less membership revenue from the iOS app, but ultimately we think it's important that you have the power to make your own decisions.'

According to Patreon, if it does not adopt in-app purchases for all transactions in its iOS app, it may be kicked out of the App Store. Patreon is currently transitioning creator plans to subscription-based billing due to the in-app purchase mandate, and this process is scheduled to be completed by November 2025.

At the time of writing, Patreon charges 8% to 12% of paid membership subscription sales, including payment processing fees, and 5% of individual work sales. 'It's worth noting that Apple's 30% commission is higher than the commission Patreon receives from creators,' says MacRumors, an Apple-related news site.