Microsoft Store's Revenue Sharing With Developers Will Soon Significantly Undercut Apple and Google

[SBlue1]

Apple tries to justify their cut saying that they're promoting your app which is leading to some of your sales. That's total BS - 99% of my sales came from when MacWorld ran an article on an app I was selling. If Apple really did anything to drive my sales, MacWorld wouldn't have had such a major impact.

I don't think the cut is for promotion. Its for selling your products. Just like a real store selling your boxed software on CDs which will ask for far more than just 30%. Now could Apple ask for 20 or maybe even just 10% since its "just" software and no physical media? Is it fair? I don't know, but you have the choice of hosting it on your own and doing all the business stuff by yourself if this cut seems unfair.

 

[Abazigal]

95% of zero is still zero.

 

[MacBH928]

Given the current condition of the Mac App Store, Apple should charge 0% to encourage developers and sales.As more people move to the open-source world, decline in comptuer sales and move to tablets/smartphones, we will soon see the app developement scene dead for the PC/Mac.

Trying to convince people to pay for downloadable software is one of the hardest things to do. When they used to buy it on disk or CD from the computer shop it was much easier.

 

[rtomyj]

This sounds extraordinarily fair and I love it.

Apple tries to justify their cut saying that they're promoting your app which is leading to some of your sales. That's total BS - 99% of my sales came from when MacWorld ran an article on an app I was selling. If Apple really did anything to drive my sales, MacWorld wouldn't have had such a major impact.

I love that Microsoft isn't trying to argue they're driving all of your sales, and will only be taking a marketing cut when they have actual evidence that their promotion had something to do with your sale.

The 5% is still a bit... well, that's way more than what it costs Microsoft to host the store and your app and facilitate everything, but it's small enough that I don't mind (particularly when it's just 1/6th of what other stores charge.)

I really want to just host my apps myself for iOS. I'm grudgingly willing to give Apple $99/year for a signing certificate, but the 30% cut to put your app in a store where it gets less attention and fewer downloads than it could get elsewhere* really ticks me off.

*Perhaps theoretically. Apple doesn't even let you test that theory, lest you discover how useless they are.

Well as a dev you must know that you’re using other devs code. The API’s Apple provides are allowing you to interface with the phone. Now if you want to start your own OS, make your own API’s and then make your app then you’ll get closer to what Apple is providing.

As a dev myself the 30% cut isn’t THAT bad. Could it be less? Of course. Would I like it to be? Duh. But I don’t have to do much to get up and running and Goog/Apple provide a great medium for developers.

The problem here is that users always want to name their price but that’s just not possible.

 

[BiscottiGelato]

So, make a website for your app, pay for the site design and hosting and the payment processing fees. Now pay for promotion, SEO and advertising. Send a copy of your app to reviewers and influencer bloggers.

Apple doesn't do any of SEO, advertising, review by influential bloggers.

And, any app that even want any hope of being successful in this crowded landscape would need to do their landing site, do SEO, blog, content market, spend a lot on design, in addition to the App Store. So now after all those investments if by strike of lightning, lucks out and actually make a buck or two, you have to share it with Apple? No wonder they call it the 'Apple Tax'.

 

[napabar]

This sounds extraordinarily fair and I love it.

Apple tries to justify their cut saying that they're promoting your app which is leading to some of your sales. That's total BS - 99% of my sales came from when MacWorld ran an article on an app I was selling. If Apple really did anything to drive my sales, MacWorld wouldn't have had such a major impact.

I love that Microsoft isn't trying to argue they're driving all of your sales, and will only be taking a marketing cut when they have actual evidence that their promotion had something to do with your sale.

The 5% is still a bit... well, that's way more than what it costs Microsoft to host the store and your app and facilitate everything, but it's small enough that I don't mind (particularly when it's just 1/6th of what other stores charge.)

I really want to just host my apps myself for iOS. I'm grudgingly willing to give Apple $99/year for a signing certificate, but the 30% cut to put your app in a store where it gets less attention and fewer downloads than it could get elsewhere* really ticks me off.

*Perhaps theoretically. Apple doesn't even let you test that theory, lest you discover how useless they are.

Blah, Blah, Blah.....

 

[Futurix]

Don’t forget that, unlike Microsoft or Google, Apple employs a large number of reviewers to manually vet the apps. That costs a lot of money.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

So, make a website for your app, pay for the site design and hosting and the payment processing fees. Now pay for promotion, SEO and advertising. Send a copy of your app to reviewers and influencer bloggers.

I'd love to, but Apple doesn't allow that. Payment processing must be handled by them. Hosting must be handled by them. Total non-starter, can't even reach those next steps.

 

[69650]

If Microsoft wanted to hurt Apple, all they have to do is remove Office from Mac & iOS.

 

[Marshall73]

I'd love to, but Apple doesn't allow that. Payment processing must be handled by them. Hosting must be handled by them. Total non-starter, can't even reach those next steps.

This is about the Mac App Store vs Microsoft App Store. You can sell desktop apps any way you like. I’m guessing you turned this into a whine about the iOS App Store.

 

[jdsingle]

This sounds extraordinarily fair and I love it.

Apple tries to justify their cut saying that they're promoting your app which is leading to some of your sales. That's total BS - 99% of my sales came from when MacWorld ran an article on an app I was selling. If Apple really did anything to drive my sales, MacWorld wouldn't have had such a major impact.

I love that Microsoft isn't trying to argue they're driving all of your sales, and will only be taking a marketing cut when they have actual evidence that their promotion had something to do with your sale.

The 5% is still a bit... well, that's way more than what it costs Microsoft to host the store and your app and facilitate everything, but it's small enough that I don't mind (particularly when it's just 1/6th of what other stores charge.)

I really want to just host my apps myself for iOS. I'm grudgingly willing to give Apple $99/year for a signing certificate, but the 30% cut to put your app in a store where it gets less attention and fewer downloads than it could get elsewhere* really ticks me off.

*Perhaps theoretically. Apple doesn't even let you test that theory, lest you discover how useless they are.

Asking out of ignorance. Is there a material benefit to hosting on Apple's Mac Store versus online if you exclude the "potential exposure"? The only time I open the App Store is to do updates on my Mac.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Asking out of ignorance. Is there a material benefit to hosting on Apple's Mac Store versus online if you exclude the "potential exposure"? The only time I open the App Store is to do updates on my Mac.

Gatekeeper may be set to block apps from running if they're not downloaded from the Mac App Store, so if you want to reach users with those settings, you'll have to be on the MAS.

Other than that, I suppose not.