app-store-pricing

App Store Pricing

Strategic guidance for App Store pricing using Apple's official 900-price-point system, global equalization, subscription management, and regional pricing decisions.

All guidance is based on Apple's official pricing capabilities (March 2023 onwards). Do NOT reference pre-2023 fixed tier tables or third-party price matrices — they are outdated.

When to Use

• Do use when the user asks about App Store pricing, IAP pricing, subscription pricing, regional pricing, price changes, proceeds calculations, or base storefront selection
• Do use when setting up introductory offers, promotional offers, or offer codes
• Do use when planning a price increase or decrease for subscriptions
• Don't use for general SaaS pricing theory (Van Westendorp, MaxDiff, etc.) — those frameworks don't apply to Apple's constrained price-point system
• Don't use for payment processing outside the App Store

Apple's Pricing System (Official)

900 Price Points

Apple offers 900 price points per currency (800 default + 100 higher on request up to $10,000). Price increments are:

Price Range	Increment	Example Prices
$0.29 – $9.99	$0.10	$0.29, $0.39, $0.49 ... $9.99
$10.00 – $49.99	$0.50	$10.00, $10.50, $11.00 ... $49.99
$50.00 – $199.99	$1.00	$50, $51, $52 ... $199.99
$200.00 – $499.99	$5.00	$200, $205, $210 ... $499.99
$500.00 – $9,999.99	$10–$50	$500, $510, $520 ... $9,999.99

Pricing Conventions

Apple supports multiple price endings per region. Common conventions:

Convention	Range	Best For
.99	$0.99 – $9,999.99	Standard app/IAP pricing
.00	$1.00 – $10,000	Clean numbers, annual plans
.90	$0.90 – $99.90	Discounts, promotions
.95	$0.95 – $49.95	Psychological pricing

China has additional conventions ( endings in 8, 9, .80, .90). Choose the convention that matches your market positioning.

Proceeds Calculation

Developer Proceeds = (Customer Price − VAT/Applicable Tax) × (1 − Apple Commission)

• Apple Commission: 15% for Small Business Program / 30% standard
• Tax: Apple collects and remits VAT/sales tax in most territories. The App Store Connect pricing tool displays tax-inclusive prices by default.
• Base storefront: The one territory where Apple will NEVER auto-adjust your price

Global Equalization Strategy

Base Storefront Selection

The base storefront is the anchor for all 174 other storefronts. Apple auto-generates equalized prices based on FX rates and taxes.

Scenario	Recommended Base	Rationale
US-centric business	United States	Largest market, stable currency
EU-centric business	Germany or France	Euro anchor, largest EU markets
Global but price-sensitive	Your home market	Familiar with local purchasing power
Subscription parity desired	Germany	Apple's default for global parity examples

Critical rule: Apple never changes the base storefront price. All other 174 storefronts may auto-adjust when FX rates move 10%+ sustained over quarters, or 25%+ quickly. You receive 14-day email notice before auto-adjustments.

Manual Override Strategy

When you manually set a price for a specific storefront, Apple stops auto-adjusting that storefront forever (unless you reset via global price change).

Approach	When to Use	Risk
Full auto (recommended for most)	Let Apple manage all 174 storefronts	Prices drift with FX; always equalized
Key market parity	Manually lock US/UK/EU to same number (e.g., $7.99 / £7.99 / €7.99)	You must monitor FX and adjust manually
Emerging market discount	Manually lower prices in India, Indonesia, etc.	Lose auto-adjustment; must maintain manually
Full manual	Enterprise apps with territory-specific contracts	High maintenance burden

Decision tree:

1. Is your app sold in >20 territories? → Use full auto
2. Do you care about price parity across US/UK/EU? → Auto + manual override on those 2–3 storefronts
3. Do you have localized cost structures? → Manual for those territories only

Subscription Pricing Specifics

Subscriptions behave differently from one-time purchases:

Behavior	One-Time IAP / Paid App	Auto-Renewable Subscription
Auto FX adjustment	Yes	No
Tax/FX change impact	Apple auto-adjusts	You must update manually
Price change for existing subscribers	N/A (one-time)	Optional: preserve current price
Consent required for increase	N/A	Yes, in certain markets and for large increases

Subscription price changes:

• You can preserve the current price for existing subscribers when increasing
• Apple handles consent flows via email, push notification, and in-app messaging (iOS 13.4+)
• Large or frequent increases trigger consent requirements
• Price decreases apply to all subscribers immediately

Subscription Offer Types

Offer Type	Eligibility	Duration	Use Case
Introductory Offer	New customers only	1 week – 1 year	Acquisition
Promotional Offer	New, existing, lapsed	Flexible	Retention, win-back
Offer Code	New, existing, lapsed	Flexible	Marketing campaigns

Introductory Offer Configurations

• Pay as you go: Discounted recurring price (e.g., $0.99/mo for 3 months)
• Pay up front: One-time discounted price for a period (e.g., $4.99 for 6 months)
• Free: Free trial (3 days – 1 year)

One introductory offer per subscription group per customer lifetime.

Promotional Offers

• Requires generating an offer identifier in App Store Connect
• You present the offer in-app using SKPaymentQueue with the promotional offer identifier
• Used for retention (e.g., "come back for 50% off 3 months")

Offer Codes

• Up to 1 million redemptions per app per quarter
• Can be customized: customer eligibility, timing, territories, pricing, duration
• Redeemable via App Store, in-app, or custom URL

Pricing Workflows

Workflow A: Set Initial App Pricing

1. Choose base storefront — Select the territory you know best
2. Select base price — Pick from 900 price points using the most common convention for that territory
3. Review global equalization — Apple generates prices for 174 storefronts; review and manually override only key markets if needed
4. Confirm — New pricing takes effect immediately

Workflow B: Plan a Subscription Price Increase

1. List current subscriptions — Use asc_list_subscriptions to find subscription IDs
2. Determine new price — Pick from 800 price points (or request higher tier access)
3. Decide on preserved pricing — Will existing subscribers keep their current price?
4. Check consent requirements — Large increases or increases in certain markets require user consent
5. Schedule the change — Set start date; Apple notifies subscribers 30 days in advance
6. Monitor churn — Watch subscription metrics after the change

Workflow C: Set Up Introductory Pricing

1. Create subscription (if not exists) — Use asc_create_subscription
2. Set standard price — Establish the normal subscription price first
3. Add introductory offer — In App Store Connect, set offer type, duration, and price
4. Localize — Use asc_set_subscription_localization for each market's offer text
5. Implement in-app — Use StoreKit to display introductory pricing eligibility

Workflow D: Regional Availability Strategy

1. App-level availability — Distribute app globally or restrict to specific storefronts
2. IAP-level availability — Restrict specific in-app purchases to territories where you have content rights
3. Subscription-level availability — Control per-subscription territory availability

Important: When removing an existing subscription from a territory, provide advance notice to existing subscribers.

Common Pricing Mistakes

Mistake	Why It Hurts	Fix
Ignoring tax-inclusive display	You think you earn $0.70 on $0.99, but VAT reduces proceeds in EU	Use App Store Connect's proceeds estimator
Manual override on too many storefronts	You lose auto-equalization and prices drift out of sync	Override only 2–3 key markets
Forgetting subscription auto-adjust doesn't exist	You expect FX changes to auto-update sub prices	Set calendar reminders to review sub pricing quarterly
Wrong tax category	Books taxed differently than software; video has special rules	Assign correct tax category in ASC
Price increase without preserved pricing	Existing subscribers churn unexpectedly	Preserve pricing for existing subscribers on increases
Intro offer without localization	Offer text shows in wrong language	Localize via asc_set_subscription_localization

Tax Categories

App Store Connect lets you assign tax categories based on content type. This affects tax rates in each territory.

Category	Content Types
Software	Default for most apps
Books	E-books, audiobooks
News / Magazines	Periodical subscriptions
Video	Streaming video, movies

Action: Review and set the correct tax category in App Store Connect → App → Pricing and Availability → Tax Category. Incorrect categorization means incorrect tax calculation and lower/higher proceeds than expected.

MCP Tools Reference

Tool	Purpose
asc_get_app_pricing	Get current app pricing schedule (manual + automatic prices)
asc_list_iaps	List in-app purchases for pricing review
asc_list_subscriptions	List subscriptions to check current pricing
asc_list_subscription_groups	List subscription groups for tier strategy
asc_create_iap	Create a new IAP with pricing to be set in ASC
asc_create_subscription	Create a subscription with period and group level
asc_update_subscription	Update subscription metadata (not price — done in ASC)
asc_set_iap_localization	Localize IAP name/description for pricing display
asc_set_subscription_localization	Localize subscription name/description

Note: Setting actual prices requires App Store Connect web UI or the App Store Connect API. The MCP server covers IAP/subscription creation and metadata; price scheduling is managed through ASC's pricing tool directly.

Quick Reference: Price Selection

App Pricing Conventions

Price	Signal	Typical Use
Free + IAP	Freemium	Most common; lowest barrier
$0.99	Impulse buy	Simple utility apps
$1.99–$2.99	Value app	Tools, productivity
$3.99–$5.99	Premium utility	Pro features, no subscriptions
$9.99+	Professional	Niche professional tools

Subscription Pricing Conventions

Monthly Price	Annual Equivalent	Category
$0.99–$1.99	$9.99–$19.99	Budget/utility
$2.99–$4.99	$29.99–$39.99	Consumer/prosumer
$5.99–$9.99	$49.99–$79.99	Premium consumer
$10.99–$19.99	$89.99–$149.99	Pro/professional
$20+	$150+	Enterprise/niche

Annual Plan Psychology

Annual plans should be priced at roughly 8–10 months of the monthly price (17–20% discount). Too small a discount won't drive annual commitment; too large erodes lifetime value.

Cross-References

• asc-submission — Prepare app metadata and screenshots for review
• ios-build — Build validation before pricing changes go live
• apple-review — Review compliance including IAP restore mechanisms and pricing display