How to publish an app
on the Apple App Store

• An Apple Account for the developer membership (use a company one for a business)
• US$99 a year for the Apple Developer Program, or a fee waiver if you qualify¹
• A D-U-N-S number if enrolling as an organisation
• A Mac with a current Xcode — or a cloud build service — to build and upload
• A privacy policy URL and a support URL
• Screenshots for the required iPhone (and iPad, if supported) display sizes

Enrol as an individual or an organisation. Organisations show the company name as the seller and need a D-U-N-S number; individuals show their own name. The membership costs US$99 a year, or local-currency pricing where available¹. Enrolment can take from a day to a couple of weeks for organisations while Apple verifies details.

See Apple developer account fee in India for whether it is worth it and who qualifies for a waiver.

In App Store Connect, create a new app with its name (up to 30 characters), primary language, bundle ID (which must match your Xcode project) and SKU. Set up agreements, tax and banking if you will charge for anything.

Archive the app in Xcode and upload it to App Store Connect. Apple requires apps to be built with a recent Xcode and SDK — currently Xcode 26 or later³ — and raises the requirement each year. No Mac? Cloud services such as Xcode Cloud can build and upload for you, and cross-platform frameworks such as Flutter and React Native let you write most of the code anywhere.

During upload you will also answer export compliance questions about encryption. Most apps that only use standard HTTPS qualify for an exemption, but answer accurately.

Before review, share the build through TestFlight⁵. Internal testers on your team can install immediately; external testers — by email or a public link — can install after a short beta review. Use it to find crashes on real devices and real networks, not just the simulator.

Choose the build, answer the remaining questions and submit. Apple says App Review works around the clock and typically reviews at least 50% of submissions within 24 hours and 90% within 48 hours².

1. Give reviewers access: a demo account with sample data, plus any codes or hardware they need.
2. Write clear review notes: what the app does, where key features are, anything non-obvious.
3. Remove placeholders: no "lorem ipsum", test buttons or broken links.
4. Check payments: digital goods inside iOS apps generally must use in-app purchase, with exceptions set out in the guidelines.
5. Check login rules: apps offering third-party sign-in must follow the login-services guideline.

Read the App Store Review Guidelines once end to end before your first submission⁷. In Apple's latest transparency report, App Review handled more than nine million submissions and rejected more than two million, with performance — crashes, bugs and incomplete apps — the largest category by far⁶. Our guide to App Store rejection reasons covers each one and its fix.

When approved, release manually, automatically or on a scheduled date. For updates, a phased release spreads automatic updates over seven days so you can pause if something goes wrong.

If you sell digital goods or subscriptions, Apple's commission is 30%, or 15% under the App Store Small Business Program and for qualifying subscriptions¹. Physical goods and services, such as food delivery or rides, use your own payment gateway.

App Store Connect — Apple's portal for managing apps, builds, listings and sales. Bundle ID — the unique identifier of your app. TestFlight — Apple's beta testing service. App Review — Apple's human and automated review of each submission. Phased release — rolling an update out gradually over seven days. App privacy details — the privacy "nutrition label" on your product page.