Issue #27: How to Cut Your Subscription Costs by 30%
Stop overpaying for app subscriptions. Learn how hidden app store fees quietly inflate prices by up to 30%, and sometimes even more, and what you can do to avoid them.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Most people buy subscriptions through the App Store or Google Play. It’s quick. It’s convenient. But it’s also quietly draining your wallet.
Let me explain.
Apple, Google, and other app stores charge developers a 30% commission on in-app payments. So if a company wants to make $10 from the thing you're buying— whether it’s a subscription, a premium feature, or a one-time upgrade, they can’t just charge you $10. They have to raise the price to $13 so that after the 30% cut, they still walk away with their $10.
And who ends up paying that markup?
You do. Every single time.
Real Example: YouTube Premium
The individual plan costs $13.99 on the website but $18.99 in the app. That’s a 35.7% markup! Over a year, you pay $227.88 instead of $167.88 or an extra $60 for no reason.
Same story with the family plan. It’s $22.99 on the website and $29.99 in the app, a 30.4% markup. You don’t get extra features. It’s just a “convenience markup” for saving five minutes when you first subscribed.
The Solution
Check your active subscriptions purchased through your smartphone’s app store.
Visit the official website of each service to compare prices (they’re usually lower).
Cancel the in-app subscription.
Re-subscribe on the website using the same account to save up to 30% with zero loss in service.
Not Every App Offers a Way Out
This only works for companies that built their business outside the app store.
If the company is just a solo developer or a small team with no proper website, or if their site just sends you back to the App Store, then there’s no way around the markup.
In those cases, the only real way to save is to find discounted App Store or Google Play gift cards and use them instead of your credit card.
So keep that in mind. Not every app gives you a choice.
Thank you so much for reading! See you next week.