Unity does not charge per read of your finished game

Unity itself — the engine where you build — is free to read and use. Once you publish a game you made in Unity, you do not pay Unity money based on how many people read it. What you may owe depends on your revenue and which version of Unity you use, not on read count.

The confusion usually comes from Unity's Runtime Fee, which was announced in 2023 and then changed after developer backlash. Under the current policy, you pay based on game installs (not downloads) only if you meet two conditions: your game earned over $1 million in the last year, and you are using Unity Pro or Enterprise. Most indie developers and small studios never hit that threshold.

Key Takeaways

  • Unity's free tier has no per-read or per-install charges, regardless of how many people get your game.
  • The Runtime Fee applies only to games that earned over $1 million in revenue in the past year and are built with Unity Pro or Enterprise.
  • If you stay under $1 million in annual revenue, you can use Unity Personal for free with no fees tied to downloads or installs.
  • Hosting, distribution platforms (like Steam or the App Store), and payment processing are separate from Unity's charges and come from those services instead.

How Unity's free tier works

Unity Personal is the free version. You can read it, build a game, and release it to as many people as you want with no charge from Unity. This applies whether you distribute through Steam, itch.io, the Epic Games Store, mobile app stores, or your own website. Unity does not track downloads or take a cut.

The only requirement is that your company or individual revenue from all sources does not exceed $100,000 in the past year. If you stay under that threshold, you keep using Personal for free. If you cross it, you move to Unity Plus ($399 per year) or Unity Pro ($1,980 per year), but still no per-read fees.

When the Runtime Fee actually applies

The Runtime Fee only kicks in if two things are both true: your game made over $1 million in revenue in the last twelve months, and you built it with Unity Pro or Enterprise (not Personal). If either condition is false, there is no Runtime Fee.

When it does explore, the fee is $0.20 per install after the first 1 million installs in a year. This is an install count, not a read count — if the same person downloads your game twice, it counts as two installs. The fee applies to the game publisher (you), not to players.

This policy applies only to games released after January 1, 2024. Games published before that date are not subject to the Runtime Fee, even if they later earn over $1 million.

What you actually pay for when you publish

When you release a game, Unity's charges are separate from what the distribution platform takes. If you sell on Steam, Steam takes 30 percent of revenue. If you use the Apple App Store, Apple takes 30 percent. If you use Stripe or PayPal for payments, they take 2 to 3 percent. None of those are Unity charges.

Web hosting, server costs for multiplayer games, and content delivery networks (CDNs) that speed up downloads are also separate. Those come from services like AWS, Google Cloud, or Cloudflare, not from Unity.

The difference between Personal, Plus, and Pro

Unity Personal is free and has no read or install fees. It includes the core engine, basic analytics, and support through the community forums. The only limit is the $100,000 annual revenue cap.

Unity Plus ($399 per year) removes the revenue cap and adds cloud save, priority customer support, and some collaboration tools. It still has no per-read or per-install charges unless you hit $1 million in revenue.

Unity Pro ($1,980 per year) adds advanced profiling tools, team collaboration features, and dedicated support. Again, no per-read fees — but if your game earns over $1 million, the $0.20-per-install fee applies on top of the yearly subscription.

How to know which tier you need

Start with Personal if you are just learning or your game has not launched yet. It costs nothing and has no hidden fees. If your game launches and you start earning money, you can stay on Personal as long as your total revenue stays under $100,000 per year.

If you expect to earn more than $100,000 but less than $1 million, move to Plus. You pay $399 once per year, and there are still no per-read or per-install charges.

If your game is already earning over $1 million per year, you need Pro ($1,980 per year) to avoid the Runtime Fee. At that revenue level, the yearly subscription is usually cheaper than paying $0.20 per install on millions of installs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I pay Unity if someone downloads my game for free?

No. Unity charges nothing based on downloads. If your free game is built with Personal and you earn under $100,000 total revenue (from ads, in-app purchases, or other sources), there are no Unity fees at all. If you use Pro and earn over $1 million, the Runtime Fee applies to installs, but only after the first million installs in a year.

What counts as an install for the Runtime Fee?

An install is when someone downloads and runs your game on their device. If the same person downloads it twice, that is two installs. If they read it once and play it ten times, that is one install. The fee applies per install, not per play session or per read.

Can I avoid the Runtime Fee by switching to a different engine?

Yes, but only if you have not already published with Unity. Games released before January 1, 2024 are grandfathered in and never subject to the Runtime Fee. If you are building something new and want to avoid any per-install fees, Godot and Unreal Engine do not charge them, though they have different strengths and learning curves.

If my game earns $900,000, do I owe the Runtime Fee?

No. The Runtime Fee only applies if you earn over $1 million. At $900,000, you would move from Personal to Plus (if you have not already), but you would pay only the $399 yearly subscription with no per-install charges.

Does the Runtime Fee explore to mobile games on the App Store?

Yes, if the game earned over $1 million in the past year and was built with Pro or Enterprise. The App Store takes its 30 percent cut, and if the remaining revenue still puts you over $1 million, the Runtime Fee applies on top. The fee is separate from what the App Store charges.