How iOS in-app purchases work for fans

  • Updated

If you are a creator looking to educate your fans on the impact of Apple’s App Store Fee, you can send or reference this article.

Apple is requiring Patreon to use its in-app purchasing system for purchases made in the iOS app in order for it to remain on the App Store for all fans and creators. This article details what’s changing and how it impacts memberships and sales initiated on the Patreon iOS app starting in November 2024.

What’s changing

Beginning in November 2024, new purchases, including new memberships and digital goods made in the Patreon iOS app, are subject to Apple’s 30% App Store Fee.

The App Store fee does not apply to existing memberships and memberships made on other platforms.

How this impacts creators’ pricing

This change is required by Apple to keep the Patreon app on the App Store, meaning that this change will impact all creators. Creators control how Apple’s fee is applied to their membership tiers and digital goods prices in the iOS app by choosing one of the following options:

  • Increase the prices of the membership tiers and digital goods sold in the iOS app. This will help creators earn the same across platforms despite the Apple fee and is the default option
  • Keep prices the same across all platforms. This means that the creator absorbs the Apple App Store fee themselves and therefore earns less from sales in the iOS app

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Unless creators choose to absorb the Apple App Store Fee themselves, new transactions in the Patreon iOS app will be more expensive than the same purchase on the web because of Apple’s App Store Fee.

If a member signs up before November 4, 2024, their ongoing membership won't be impacted by the Apple fee. New members who sign up in the iOS app after November 4, 2024, may be charged a higher price in iOS for their membership since Apple charges a 30% processing fee. Creators control how the Apple App Store fee is applied to the price of their membership tiers, which means price differences may vary from creator to creator.

Example of how the Apple App Store fee affects the price of a membership sold on iOS:

Price Difference Table.jpg
Click to enlarge

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