Manage subscription pricing
Subscriptions can be priced by country or region using a wide range of price points in each currency.
After you have set a starting price for your subscription, you can schedule one future price change at a time, per country or region. Price changes must be scheduled at least two days in advance. If you schedule a second price change when you already have a change scheduled, the planned price change will be overwritten by the most recent change.
Decrease the subscription price
If you decrease the price of your auto-renewable subscription, existing subscriptions will automatically renew at the lower price. You don’t have the option to preserve the higher price for existing subscribers.
Increase the subscription price
If you choose to increase the price of your subscription, you have the option to preserve prices for existing subscribers.
If you increase the price of a subscription without preserving prices, existing subscribers may need to consent to the new price before their next renewal date, based on certain criteria below. If they do not consent to the new price or take no action, their subscription expires at the end the last billing cycle at the former price.
Subscribers on free trials will renew for at least one more billing period at the price that was displayed when they subscribed, to ensure their notice or request for consent for the new price is sent at least 30 days in advance.
Consent needed
If any of the following apply, subscribers must consent to the price increase before their next renewal date in order for the subscription to renew. Apple will automatically contact subscribers to request consent if:
- The subscriber is located in a region that requires consent for any price changes.
- The price increase is more than 50% of the current price and the difference in price exceeds approximately US$5 per period for non-annual subscriptions, or US$50 per year for annual subscriptions. (International equivalents for prices not in USD are based on current exchange rates with specific thresholds which are subject to change based on changes in taxes or foreign exchange rates.)
- The subscriber experienced a price increase for that subscription within the past 12 months.
After your price increase goes into effect, Apple will automatically inform existing subscribers and request consent to the higher price. The timing of these notifications depends on the length of the subscription, and there is a minimum required notice. If a price increase occurs within the minimum required notice period, subscribers will renew at their existing price for one more billing period, and will be notified before the end of their next billing period.
| Subscription Duration | First Email Notification | Minimum Required Notice |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | 29 days prior to renewal date | 27 days prior to renewal date |
| Annual subscription | 60 days prior to renewal date | 30 days prior to renewal date |
If a subscriber doesn’t agree to the new price or takes no action, Apple will continue to request consent until their subscription expires at the end of their current billing cycle. Subscribers in a free trial will renew at the price that was displayed when they bought the subscription for one additional billing period, and will need to provide consent prior to their next renewal date.
Consent not needed
If none of the criteria apply, Apple will automatically notify subscribers of the price increase with no additional request for consent. Notifications are sent 30 days before the next renewal date.
If a price increase occurs within the minimum required notice period, subscribers will renew at their existing price for one more billing period and will be notified before the end of their next billing period.
Note: Price changes only apply to active subscribers. If a subscription is recovered in the billing retry or grace period state, it will renew at the existing price for one more billing period. Thirty days before the renewal date, the subscriber receives notice of the price change, and the subscription renews at the next renewal date at the new price. Subscribers won’t receive a notification if the subscription isn’t going to renew.
How to schedule a price change
- In Apple Podcasts Connect, select the show or channel with a subscription.
- Under Pricing and Free Trial, select the pricing that you’d like to edit.
- Click View or Edit Price.
- Click Schedule Price Change.
- Select the countries or regions where you’d like to apply this price change.
- Choose the date you want your price change to begin. Anyone in the selected countries or regions who subscribes on or after this date will pay the new price.
- Define a base territory and new price.
- Review the prices for all countries and regions, make any additional edits, and click Next.
- Choose whether you’d like to maintain the original price for current subscribers or apply the price change to all subscribers.
- If you’re lowering the price, it will automatically apply to all subscribers.
- If you preserve the original price for current subscribers, they’ll continue to pay the original price. Listeners who subscribe after the price change will pay the new, higher price.
- If you’re raising the price for all subscribers, existing subscribers may need to consent on their next billing cycle in order to renew at the higher price. Subscriptions will automatically expire if customers do not consent or take action.
- After a price change goes into effect, you won’t be able to undo it. You can plan a new price change to lower it, but previous subscribers that chose not to renew your subscription will need to resubscribe.