What is the price for publishing an app on the Play Store?

Publishing an app on the Google Play Store requires a one-time $25 registration fee to open a Google Play Console developer account, according to Google's own Play Console Help documentation. That fee covers the account itself, not each individual app you submit.

Is the $25 fee charged once or per app?

The $25 is paid a single time when the Play Console account is created, whether it's a personal or an organization account. Once the account is active, any number of apps can be submitted without paying the fee again. Google accepts Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and Discover (US only) for this payment; prepaid cards are not accepted, and the fee is non-refundable even if identity verification fails or no app is ever published.

Are there other costs or requirements before an app goes live?

The $25 fee is not the only hurdle. Developers who create a personal account after November 13, 2023 must run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in continuously for 14 days before they can apply for production access. Google introduced this requirement in November 2023 with a 20-tester threshold, then lowered it to 12 in December 2024. Organization accounts and personal accounts created before that date are exempt. Separately, if the app sells anything through Google Play's billing system, whether a paid app or in-app purchases, Google takes a service fee: 15% on the first $1 million a developer earns per year, rising to 30% on revenue above that, and a flat 15% on auto-renewing subscriptions regardless of revenue. Developers who qualify for programs such as the Play Media Experience Program can get a lower rate. This is not a publishing fee; it only applies once an app generates revenue through Play's billing system, so a free app with no in-app purchases never pays it.

Budget for the $25 registration cost once per account, and if setting up a new personal account, plan for the 14-day closed testing window before production access can be requested, since that runs in parallel with any remaining store listing work.

Published at: 2026-07-20