App Store prices increasing in Canada, Mexico and more thanks to exchange rates

By Joseph Keller
published

Apple will soon be increasing the prices of paid apps and in-app purchases in a handful of countries due to exchange rate changes. App Stores affected by the change will be those in Canada, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, and South Africa. Those using in-app subscriptions in Russia and South Africa will need to resubscribe.

These sorts of adjustments are not uncommon. The changes in pricing are expected to take place across these countries in the next 72 hours, according to an email sent to developers by Apple:

When foreign exchange rates change, we sometimes need to update prices on the App Store. Within the next 72 hours, prices for apps and In-App Purchases will increase in the following territories:Canada Israel Mexico New Zealand Russia Singapore South AfricaSubscriptions will not be interrupted in Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, and Singapore. Shortly before their existing subscription renews, subscribers in these territories will receive an email from us to let them know about the price increase with the option to turn off their subscription. Subscribers in Russia and South Africa will need to resubscribe at the new price. Israel will not be impacted, as auto-renewable In-App Purchase subscriptions are not supported there.Two new low-price tiers will be available for the Canadian and New Zealand App Store: Alternate Tier A and Alternate Tier B. We'll automatically update the prices for existing apps and In-App Purchases that already use the Alternate Tier A and Alternate Tier B price tiers.Proceeds for the Romanian App Store have increased to account for the VAT (Value Added Tax) decrease from 24% to 20% effective Jan 1, 2016. Retail prices on the Romanian App Store have not changed.The Rights and Pricing section of My Apps will be updated with the new prices within 72 hours. You can also download the updated price tier chart.If you have any questions, contact us.Best regards, The App Store Team

Joseph Keller
Joseph Keller

Joseph Keller is the former Editor in Chief of iMore. An Apple user for almost 20 years, he spends his time learning the ins and outs of iOS and macOS, always finding ways of getting the most out of his iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.

4 Comments
  • Interestingly, I don't recall Canada App Store pricing being the same as U.S. App Store pricing even when the Canadian dollar was at and even above par of the US$ for a period of time a few years back. I also don't recall pricing every coming down once it goes up as is typical with any price hike.
  • App pricing always was 0.99$ in Canada since the AppStore opened... Last year Apple increased the price to 1.19$ to account for weaker Canadian dollar and now it will probably be around 1.35$ or 1.39$ since The Bank of Canada expect the dollar to end 2016 around 0.60$ USD ! Also few countries get price drop since the USD is only increasing (although slowly) since the last 5 years... But some few lucky countries did get price drop, just google it
  • And you never will. Just an excuse to cash in.
  • That kind of ticks me off. I mean I know Apple's not in the business to give things away. But raising an app from $1.19 to $1.39 is ridiculous considering it used to be .99 cents. Especially considering that when the price of the Canadian dollar goes back up (which it will), the app price won't come back down.