What is the difference between Apple’s Developer and Enterprise app accounts?

What is the Difference Between Apple’s Developer and Enterprise App Accounts?

So you have a mobile app and need to submit it to the Apple Store…but there are some decisions you will have to make before that happens. Deciding on what developer account to set-up with Apple is critical, but don’t be intimidated, the decision is actually very simple.

We have laid out the difference in your two options, when to use them, and why below.

What Are My Options?

Apple offers two account types: the Apple Developer Program & the Apple Developer Enterprise Program. Now, which one should you use for your application?

Apple Developer Program
Select this license if you plan on submitting your app to the Apple app store for anyone to download & use.

Apple Developer Enterprise Program
Simply put: Apple’s Developer Enterprise Program lets enterprises develop and distribute proprietary iOS apps across the company outside of the App Store.

So, select this license if you don’t plan on submitting your app to the Apple app store and need to restrict downloads to internal employees only.

Pricing Difference
As of March 1, 2020, the Apple Developer Program annual fee is 99 USD and the Apple Developer Enterprise Program annual fee is 299 USD, in local currency where available. Prices may vary by region and are listed in local currency during the enrollment process.

For the latest pricing and information around billing, visit: https://developer.apple.com/support/purchase-activation/

Enterprise Account Details

This license is intended for companies who need to limit app distribution to employees. Enterprise applications can be downloaded via website, Mobile Device Management (MDM), or AppCenter.

Pros

• Devices don’t need to be provisioned for installation access. (User’s device doesn’t need to be registered & associated with a build before installing the application)
• Apps aren’t subjected to Apple’s review process
• As apps don’t need to be set-up in the Apple app store, you do not need to fill out the full app description, create images to promote the app or create public privacy policies, etc.
• In-App purchases aren’t subject to Apple’s processing fee
• Apps will not be indexed by Google and cannot be found via standard search engines

Cons

• Users will need to reinstall the app once a year before the profile expires (unless an MDM solution is used)
• Users will need to manually trust the developer license on their device rather than it automatically being trusted since the app wasn’t downloaded from the official app store. This process involves the user navigating to Settings > General > Profiles and Device Management in order to trust the new application.
• Higher yearly cost ($299/yr as of 3/1/2020)

Developer

This license is intended for developers or companies who want to allow distribution via the App Store to anyone; public or employee. Builds released during the development process are still installed via AppCenter.

Pros

• The app is available to the public
• Development builds can be made available to 100 of each device type, which is useful for employee reviews and user testing.
• Applications can be downloaded from the official app store
• Searching for the application on Google will direct users to the app store
• Lower yearly cost ($99/yr)

Cons

• During development, individual devices need to be provisioned for installation access. (Each device would need to be registered and associated with the build before it can be installed during the development process)
• Public access and awareness – this is a con for internal applications where you may not want competitors seeing your app’s capabilities
• In-app purchases must go through Apple’s payment center and are subject to a 30% fee

If you’re reading this and still not sure which one is best for your mobile application, feel free to contact us using the form below and we would be more than happy to help guide you in the right direction!

Jacob Haskins

Jacob has always had an interest in learning and problem solving. Whether working with Objective C, PHP, Actionscript, FLEX, JavaScript or any other language, he finds that there is always something new to learn. He enjoys development projects most when getting to use new technologies.