Definition
What an App Store pre-order is
An App Store pre-order lets customers reserve your app before it is released. Instead of the usual Get or price button, the listing shows a Pre-Order button. When you release the app, it downloads automatically to the device the customer used to pre-order, plus their other eligible devices if they have automatic downloads turned on. It is Apple's built-in way to collect committed users before launch and convert them into a concentrated day-one install spike.
You set pre-orders up in App Store Connect under Pricing and Availability. You first finish your metadata and submit a version that Apple approves, then publish the app for pre-order with a release date. For a brand-new app that release date can be 2 to 180 days in the future, so you can open pre-orders up to about six months ahead.
Free and paid, and the price commitment
Both free and paid apps are eligible. For a paid app, the customer is not charged until the release date, so a pre-order is a soft commitment that becomes a real purchase the day you go live. Apple charges the customer the lower of two amounts: the pre-order price they accepted, or the price on the release date. So the pre-order price is a ceiling you can lower but not raise for that customer.
The pricing detail is the part most launch guides miss. A pre-order price is set per storefront, which means the moment you open pre-orders you are publishing and committing to your prices in every country, not just your home one. If those prices are a raw currency conversion rather than a localized one, your international pre-order audience is signing up against a number that is often too high for their market.
Examples
Example
You finish a paid app, submit it, and Apple approves it. You publish it for pre-order with a release date 45 days out at a base price of 4.99 US dollars. Over those weeks, users in several countries tap Pre-Order. On release day, the app auto-downloads to their devices and each pre-order customer is charged, at the lower of the price they accepted or the current price.
The catch: the pre-order customers in India or Brazil accepted a price that was a straight conversion of 4.99, which sits well above local purchasing power. You collected the pre-orders, but many will not convert into an active paying user, because the price was wrong for their market before you ever opened pre-orders.
Frequently asked
How far in advance can you offer an App Store pre-order?
For a brand-new app, you set a release date 2 to 180 days after you publish the pre-order, so up to about six months ahead. For an existing app becoming available in a new region, the window can extend to 365 days.
When is a customer charged for a paid pre-order?
Not until the app's release date. Apple charges the lower of the pre-order price the customer accepted or the price on the release date, so the pre-order price is a ceiling you can lower but not raise for that customer.
Do pre-ordered apps download automatically?
Yes. On release day the customer gets a notification and the app auto-downloads to the device used to pre-order, plus their other eligible devices if automatic downloads are on.
Further reading
- App Pre-Launch Marketing: Pre-Orders, Pre-Registration, and Day-One PricesApp pre-launch marketing in 2026: how App Store pre-orders and Google Play pre-registration build a day-one install boost, and the prices it lands on.
- How to Change Your App's Price in App Store Connect (2026)How to change your app's price in App Store Connect for apps, in-app purchases, and subscriptions, plus why the auto-generated country prices are not localized.
- App Pricing Localization: What It Is and How to Get It RightApp pricing localization means setting prices that fit each country's purchasing power, not just converting currency. The cornerstone guide for both stores.