Apple’s 30% App Store fee will soon hit Patreon subscriptions

Soon, new Patreon memberships purchased on the iOS app will be subject to Apple’s 30% App Store fee in the coming months, the crowdfunding platform announced Monday in a blog post.

Patreon has to implement the change by November or risk being kicked off the App Store. That would have devastating effects since Patreon CEO Jack Conte ">said in a YouTube video discussing the changes that iOS is now the most used platform for communities on Patreon.

Creators will have to switch to Patreon’s subscription billing method in order to fit constraints imposed by Apple’s in-app purchase system. Because of the rule, Apple will automatically start taking a 30% cut on purchases. Patreon built an optional tool that will automatically increase a creator’s prices within the iOS app to offset the cost of Apple’s fees in order for creators to earn the same amount per membership as on other platforms. Still, creators can turn off the automatic payment raise and choose to take on the burden of the 30% fee themselves so that customers won’t have to pay more for memberships. 

“Obviously, neither of these solutions are ideal,” Patreon said in the post. Prices on the web and in the Android app will remain unaffected. 

These changes have been in the works for a while. Patreon announced in December that Apple was requiring the platform to start using its in-app payment system. At the time, Patreon said it expected Apple would start charging the 30% fee on recurring subscriptions sometime in 2024.

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