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Google finally lowering in-app payment fees after years of developer complaints

Published: 05 Mar. 2026, 18:38 Updated: 05 Mar. 2026, 19:19

The Google logo is seen during Kering Innovation Day 2026 at the company’s headquarters in Paris on Jan. 22. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Google will lower in-app payment fees for apps on its app marketplace Google Play and allow third-party payment options, a move that could improve profits for content companies that have long complained about the fees.

Google will cut in-app payment fees for Android apps from the current 30 percent to between 15 to 20 percent, Sameer Samat, president of the Android ecosystem at Google, announced on Wednesday. Fees for subscription services will fall to 10 percent.

Google previously required developers to pay a 30 percent in-app payment fee on annual revenue exceeding $1 million. Under the new policy, developers will pay 20 percent when users make purchases.

Developers who participate in Google programs such as the Apps Experience Program or Games Level Up will pay a 15 percent fee on transactions involving newly installed apps, 5 percent lower than the standard 20 percent rate.

Developers who use Google’s payment system will pay an additional 5 percent processing fee, while those who use their own payment systems or direct users to external websites for payments will not pay the extra charge.

Google will also make it easier for users to install third-party app marketplaces by adding a feature that allows them to download apps more easily from platforms outside Google Play.

Samat framed the policy change as a move to make the Android ecosystem more open and give developers and users more choice.

The new policy will take effect in June in the United States, the European Union and Britain, followed by Australia in September, and Korea and Japan in December.

Years of complaints over app fees

Content companies around the world have complained that Google Play and Apple’s App Store charge high in-app payment fees by taking advantage of their monopolistic market position.

A 3D printed Google logo is placed atop an Apple Macbook in this illustration created on April 12, 2020. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Several governments have responded with regulations aimed at limiting the market power of large technology companies. Korea introduced an amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act to ban unfair in-app payment practices, while the European Union introduced the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Game developer Epic Games also filed lawsuits against Google and Apple in the United States, Britain and Australia after the companies removed the popular game Fortnite from their app stores in 2020 when Epic Games introduced its own payment system.

Google’s overhaul of its in-app payment system effectively ends the dispute between Google and Epic Games that had gone on for several years.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney even wrote “Thanks Google!” on his X account on Wednesday.

Korean industry watches impact

The policy change will likely also reduce the fee burdens for Korea’s content industry.

In June last year, Korean game distributors filed a class-action lawsuit in a federal court in California against Google’s U.S. headquarters and other entities, seeking compensation and asking the court to stop what they described as unfair business practices. The companies argued that the 30 percent commission was too high.

A Wordle game is seen on a mobile phone on July 15, 2022 . [AP/YONHAP]

To offset in-app payment fees, some content companies raised prices for Android users or introduced their own payment systems.

“If app store fees fall, game companies will likely see immediate improvements in profitability,” analyst Lim Hee-seok of Mirae Asset Securities wrote in a research report in November last year.

Industry officials welcomed the policy change but remained cautious about its impact.

“Each company has different contracts with app marketplaces, so the impact of the policy change will vary,” a Korean content industry representative said. “Even if companies benefit from lower fees right away, they may hesitate to lower consumer prices because policies could change again.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HONG SANG-JI [[email protected]]