The Android Toll: Google to Charge $2.85 Per Install for External App Links

In the legal dispute between Epic and Google, U.S. judges have signaled a clear inclination to require Google to alter its existing Google Play Store bundled billing model. In essence, Google would be compelled to open its app marketplace, decouple its payment system from the store itself, and allow developers to provide links that redirect users from Google Play to external sites for downloading apps and completing payments.

While Google has stated its willingness to comply with the court’s demand to open up Android, it has introduced an alternative billing and external linking framework so complex that it would impose substantial additional costs on developers—unless the court were to accept Google’s proposed settlement with Epic.

Under Google’s current plan, the new alternative billing and external content linking scheme is scheduled to take effect on January 28, 2026. Developers may opt into this model and submit their participation for Google’s review, but they must satisfy a range of conditions to qualify under the new billing rules. Although Android already allows apps to be installed via sideloading, the “external download links” referenced by Google specifically mean that developers may add links on their Google Play Store app listing pages to direct users to a browser or third-party app store for downloading.

Google argues that this approach allows developers to leverage the reputation and reach of Google Play to promote their apps, and therefore justifies charging what is, in effect, a toll rather than offering free promotion. This rationale underpins the installation fees and revenue sharing outlined below. When developers guide users via links to download apps or games outside Google Play, Google plans to charge $2.85 per app install or $3.65 per game install.

Any installation completed within 24 hours of a user clicking such a link is attributed to Google. In other words, if an app or game is installed within that 24-hour window, the developer must pay Google the corresponding fee.

If developers choose to use their own in-app payment systems, Google will take a 20% commission on each purchase, or 10% in the case of auto-renewing subscriptions.

Developers are also required to use Google APIs for tracking and must report all transactions—even zero-dollar trials—to Google. Google has capped part of these fees at 10% for a developer’s first $1 million in revenue. Compared with Google’s existing 15% model, this represents a nominal saving of 5%. However, once the costs of integrating third-party payment systems are factored in—estimated at around 2.5% in payment processing fees—the actual savings may shrink to roughly 2.5%.

To realize even these modest savings, developers would need to build systems compatible with Google’s requirements and evaluate, integrate, and maintain third-party payment solutions. This complexity may deter many developers altogether. Indeed, Google’s underlying objective may be precisely that: to comply with judicial mandates without making it easy for developers to leave its ecosystem. Epic has already engaged Google in discussions over a potential settlement, but it has voiced strong opposition to the future service fees Google intends to impose. Epic has warned that if the plan takes effect on January 28, it will mount a legal challenge.

Apple previously faced lawsuits over similar issues, and its response closely mirrors Google’s approach—indeed, Google may well have drawn lessons from Apple’s playbook. Apple’s attempt to charge a 27% fee on external payments was ruled by the court to constitute contempt, as it amounted to little more than cosmetic change.

Google maintains that the fees associated with its external content linking program reflect the value it provides through Android and the Google Play ecosystem, and that they are necessary to sustain continued investment in both platforms. For now, however, Google says it is not charging any fees and does not require participating developers to report transactions or downloads under this program.

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