Guide
How much does it cost to create Apple Wallet passes?
Creating an Apple Wallet pass can cost nothing, $99 a year, or a few hundred dollars a month - it depends on whether the pass is for you or your customers, whether you build it yourself, and how the platform you pick charges. This guide puts real numbers on each route, with Google Wallet included.
Last updated November 5, 2026. Facts about Apple Wallet and Google Wallet were checked against Apple’s and Google’s own documentation, linked in the sources.
The short answer
- A pass for yourself: free, in Apple Wallet on iOS 27 or Google Wallet’s “Everything else”.
- Building passes yourself: $99 a year for Apple’s developer program, plus the development, hosting and upkeep. Google Wallet passes are free to issue.
- A pass platform: from $0 for a handful of passes to several hundred dollars a month. For 500 loyalty cards on both wallets, the first year ranges from about $490 to $910 across the platforms below.
- With WalletPassBuilder: WalletPassBuilder is $49 a month or $490 a year with 1,000 pass credits, every feature and both wallets, and Apple Wallet setup handled for you. Updates and notifications are free. It’s free to start with no credit card: design your pass before you sign up, and new accounts get free pass credits.
Free: passes for yourself
If you just want your own gym, library or store card on your phone, Apple Wallet on iOS 27 can create a pass from the card’s barcode or QR code, and Google Wallet in the US can do the same from a photo. These passes are snapshots: they don’t update, and the business didn’t issue them. For the full steps, see free options for personal cards.
Building passes yourself
A business can issue its own passes without a platform. The costs are:
- Apple Developer Program: $99 a year, needed to create the Pass Type ID certificate that signs every Apple Wallet pass.
- Development: generating and signing .pkpass files, a web service that Apple Wallet calls for updates, push notifications, and the Google Wallet API for Android.
- Hosting and upkeep: servers for the web service, renewing the certificate every year, and keeping up with Apple’s and Google’s changes.
Google charges nothing to issue Google Wallet passes. If you have developers and a large programme, building it yourself can be the cheapest per pass; for most businesses the development time costs far more than a platform. Our guide to the .pkpass file format shows what’s involved.
How pass platforms charge
Flat plan
One price with a set number of passes included. WalletPassBuilder: $49 a month or $490 a year with 1,000 pass credits; more credits from $100 per 1,000 down to $40 per 1,000. A credit is used once per pass, and updates don’t use credits.
Platform fee plus a fee per pass, every month
PassKit charges a platform fee by team size (from $39.50 a month for one person) with 250 long-life and 250 single-use passes included, then a tiered fee per pass. Long-life passes like loyalty cards are billed every month you keep them.
A fee per saved pass, every month
Passcreator is free for 5 passes saved to a phone, then charges per saved pass each month - about $55 a month for 500 and $160 for 2,000, excluding VAT.
Credits per action
Pass2U sells credits: 3 to issue a pass, 10 for a punch card, 3 for each update, with 8,000 credits for $50. A Monthly Premium plan per pass design ($39 or $79 a month) makes updates unlimited.
A fee per design plus per active pass
PassNinja charges $21 a month per pass template plus $0.11 a month per installed pass.
Plans by templates and total passes
PassEntry prices in pounds: the Pilot plan is £199 a month, or £167 billed annually, for one template and 500 passes in total, and Custom plans for more start at £200 a month, excluding VAT.
What 500 and 2,000 cards cost
The first year of a loyalty card programme on each platform, from its published prices: one pass design, one team member, all cards issued at the start and kept for the year, annual billing where offered. US dollars except where marked £, excluding VAT.
| Platform | 500 cards | 2,000 cards | Apple Wallet setup |
|---|---|---|---|
| WalletPassBuilder | $490 | $590 | Handled for you |
| Pass2U | About $520 | About $570 | Not stated |
| PassKit | About $710 | About $1,520 | Your own account - $99 included in totals |
| Passcreator | About $760 | About $2,020 | Your own account - $99 included in totals |
| PassNinja | About $910 | About $2,890 | Its certificate to start |
| PassEntry | About £2,000 | From £2,400 | Not stated |
For side-by-side details on each platform, see WalletPassBuilder compared and PassKit alternatives.
Costs people miss
- The Apple developer account. $99 a year on platforms that need your own certificate, and someone has to renew it.
- Team members. Some platforms charge more for each person who needs access.
- Updates. On credit-based plans, every stamp, points change or balance update can cost credits.
- Passes you keep. Monthly per-pass fees keep charging for every card on customers’ phones, not just new ones.
- Sending. Some platforms charge per email or text that delivers a pass.
- VAT. European platforms often quote prices without it.
The cheapest option for you
| If you… | Cheapest route |
|---|---|
| Want your own card on your phone | Apple Wallet or Google Wallet’s built-in pass creation, free |
| Issue a handful of passes | A free plan, such as Passcreator’s |
| Send one-off passes that never change | Pass2U’s credits |
| Run loyalty cards or memberships on both wallets | WalletPassBuilder or Pass2U |
| Issue tens of thousands of passes with your own developers | PassKit’s volume rates, or building it yourself |
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to create an Apple Wallet pass?+
A pass for your own use is free: Apple Wallet on iOS 27 can create one from a card’s barcode. A business issuing passes either builds them itself - Apple’s developer program is $99 a year, plus the development and hosting - or uses a pass platform, which costs from nothing for a handful of passes to a few hundred dollars a month. WalletPassBuilder is $49 a month or $490 a year with 1,000 pass credits and Apple Wallet setup included.
What is the cheapest way to create Apple Wallet passes for customers?+
It depends on the passes. For a handful of passes, Passcreator’s free plan can cost nothing. For one-off passes that never change, Pass2U’s credits are very cheap. For loyalty cards or memberships that update on both Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, WalletPassBuilder’s $490 a year with 1,000 pass credits and free updates is among the lowest totals, with Apple Wallet setup handled for you.
Does Apple charge per pass?+
No. Apple doesn’t charge per pass issued or saved. Issuing passes yourself needs an Apple Developer Program membership, which costs $99 a year; pass platforms either use their own certificate or ask you to bring yours.
Is Google Wallet free for businesses?+
Google doesn’t charge to issue or save Google Wallet passes, and doesn’t need a paid developer program. You do need a Google Wallet issuer account and an integration with the Google Wallet API, or a pass platform that provides them.
Do I need an Apple developer account to create passes?+
If you build passes yourself, yes, and some platforms, such as PassKit and Passcreator, issue passes under your own account. On WalletPassBuilder, Apple Wallet setup is handled for you, and you can add your own Pass Type ID if you want passes under your own developer account.
Sources
Apple’s newer developer pages load dynamically, so where a number comes from Apple it is taken from its Wallet Developer Guide and support pages. If Apple’s or Google’s current documentation differs, follow theirs.
- Apple: Apple Developer Program
- Apple: Wallet Passes documentation
- Google: Google Wallet API for passes
More guides
- How to add an insurance card to Apple WalletHow to add a health, car or other insurance card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet - from your insurer’s app, with iOS 27’s Create a Pass, or with Google Wallet - and how insurers and agencies can issue official digital ID cards.
- Wallet pass notifications: how they workHow lock-screen notifications from Apple Wallet and Google Wallet passes work, the limits each wallet sets, what to send and when, and how to avoid customers turning them off.
- How to create a customer loyalty planA step-by-step plan for a small-business loyalty and rewards program: goals, the right reward, the numbers behind it, launch, messaging and measuring - and how to run it on a digital wallet card.
- Samsung Wallet vs Google WalletHow Samsung Wallet and Google Wallet differ for loyalty cards, tickets and passes, whether Galaxy owners can use both, and which one a business should issue passes to.