Today, Patreon announced major changes to its iPhone app. To comply with Apple’s App Store rules, the company will have to switch to the iOS in-app purchasing system starting in November to avoid being removed from the App Store, which will result in Fortnite was removed from the App Store a few years ago.
According to the company, Apple will charge a 30% fee for all new memberships purchased through the Patreon iOS app. This fee could be reduced to 15% after a year, but Patreon says developers may have to increase their prices on iPhones so they don’t lose out on revenue. Existing members, however, won’t have to deal with this change.
Based on developer feedback, Patreon says it has developed an optional tool that can automatically increase prices in the iOS app to offset the cost of Apple’s fees. The company says: “While automatic price increase is the default option, you also have the option to keep your prices the same and pay the 30% fee from your earnings. We don’t recommend this, as it means you would earn less per membership in in-app iOS transactions – but ultimately, we believe it’s important to give you the ability to make your own decisions.”
The platform reiterates that pricing will remain the same on the web and in the Android app. It also recommends that developers send a help article to subscribers so that they understand that this is not on the developer’s side, but on Apple’s..
Additionally, Patreon has initiated a 16-month migration process to move all developers to subscription billing by November 2025. Otherwise, Apple told the platform that if developers use unsupported billing models or the platform disables transactions in the iOS app, the company’s app may be removed from the App Store.
Unlike Epic Games and Spotify, Patreon does not oppose these changes, but instead encourages clear communication between its user base and the general public.
In recent years, Apple has increased its fees for in-app purchases. Even Facebook has to pay this fee for its ads. BGR will continue to track Apple’s optimizations of in-app purchases inside and outside the App Store worldwide.
