Mac App Store vs selling your Mac app directly
Updated · Dmytro Virych
Comparison · 1 min read · facts checked
The Mac App Store takes a commission on each sale (15% for small developers) and handles everything; selling directly costs a merchant-of-record fee instead, and you keep the customer relationship and your own licensing.
Both routes are legitimate, and plenty of apps use both. The facts below are the ones that differ, each with its source, checked on the date above.
| Mac App Store | Selling directly | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission on a sale | 15% under the Small Business Program; the standard rate above its threshold | The merchant of record's fee: Creem 3.9% plus a fixed fee; Polar from 5% plus a fixed fee, more for non-US cards |
| Who handles sales tax | Apple | The merchant of record (Creem, Polar) |
| Distribution | Through the store | A Developer ID-signed, notarized download from your site |
| Licensing and trials | The store's model | Your own licence keys, device limits and offline rules |
| Updates | Through the store | Your own, for example with Sparkle |
| Customer relationship | Apple's | Yours: you have the buyer's email |
The commission
Apple's Small Business Program gives developers who earned up to one million US dollars in proceeds in the prior calendar year a 15% commission; above that threshold the standard rate applies. Selling directly, a merchant of record charges per transaction instead — Creem publishes 3.9% plus a fixed fee; Polar's plans start at 5% plus a fixed fee, with 1.5% more for cards issued outside the US. Follow the sources for the current figures.
What you take on by selling directly
You sign and notarize the app yourself, host the download, run the licence checks and ship the updates. That is the plumbing the template exists to provide. What you get in return is the customer: an email address, your own pricing and trials, and no review queue between you and a fix.