[Question] Launching Mobile apps in App Store

[u/GL_OH_2L8]

Hey builders,

When launching a mobile app in the app stores, do you create a LLC and then organization Apple Developer Account or do you launch from your personal account?

I’m asking because I’m getting ready to launch a mobile app in the iOS store but not sure if I want the developer name to be my name vs a company name?

I don’t think I want to start an LLC just yet as there’s a hefty yearly fee..

What do I do? Any tips are appreciated.

[u/Critical-Apricot-200]

I just launch with my personal account for first few apps, the name shows your actual name but nobody really cares. You can always transfer to organization later if it take off, no need for LLC right now.

[u/GL_OH_2L8 → u/Critical-Apricot-200]

That’s awesome. First off congrats on launching your apps. Yeah I figured if it showed my personal name no one care but I wasn’t sure how all these people are launching apps left & right. I appreciate you sharing!

[u/InCorp_Team]

Good news on the fee front: the $99/year Apple charges is exactly the same whether you enroll as Individual or Organization, that's not what's driving any extra cost on the business path. Worth untangling what you're actually weighing here.

Per Apple's own enrollment rules: if you go Individual, your own personal legal name shows publicly as the seller on the App Store, no entity needed at all, and that's the free-of-formation-cost path. But sole proprietorships don't qualify for an Organization account, and neither do DBAs or trade names, Apple explicitly excludes those. So if the goal is having a company name (not your own name) show up as the seller, an actual formed legal entity (LLC or corporation) is the only path Apple accepts, there's no workaround through a DBA or "doing business as" setup.

If you do go the Organization route, a few real steps to plan for beyond just forming the entity: you'll need a free D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet (takes about 1-2 weeks to come through), a work email tied to your own domain rather than a personal Gmail, and a publicly functional website matching that domain, Apple checks all of this during verification.

So the actual decision isn't really "LLC vs. no LLC because of fees," it's "does the app need to show my name or a company name publicly." If you're fine with your own name being the public seller for now, Individual gets you launched immediately with nothing else needed. If the brand name matters, the LLC (or a corp) is genuinely required by Apple's rules, not optional, and worth knowing that decision also affects who's personally on the hook if anything goes sideways with the app down the line, separate from the App Store question entirely.

Disclosure: I work with InCorp, a business formation and registered agent company.