Apple announced new fee structures for third-party app stores operating within the European Union, effective Oct. 1, replacing a more complex proposal introduced last year to address the Digital Markets Act.
The revised commission schedule creates stark economic incentives: apps using Apple's payment system pay 26 percent on digital goods and services, while developers processing payments directly pay 20 percent. Apps directing users to external websites incur 15 percent. The key change: a 5 percent Core Technology Commission on apps distributed via third-party app stores or the web—a fee Apple frames as compensation for infrastructure but that functionally preserves leverage over sideloaded distribution.
Program participation can halve certain fees, introducing opaque margin variability that mirrors the economic complexity of cloud pricing tiers.
Historically, Apple applied a 30 percent or 15 percent commission on all iPhone in-app purchases and mandated that all non-enterprise iPhone applications be installed exclusively through its App Store. The European Commission enacted the Digital Markets Act in 2022, requiring large technology companies designated as "gatekeepers" to open platforms including the App Store and Siri to third-party access.
Apple has consistently maintained that App Store guardrails are essential for trust and security, citing enforcement of rules against inappropriate applications. The company has faced global scrutiny over the past decade through lawsuits and government regulations, with critics arguing it operates a monopoly on iPhone software distribution.
Europe is the only region permitting users to install iPhone software directly from the web. Japan and Brazil also mandate Apple enable third-party app stores capable of selling iPhone applications.
In the U.S. Apple faces ongoing litigation with Epic Games over restricting users from linking to web-based payments. The company proposed a 15 percent commission for link-out payments in the U.S. market.
The App Store contributes substantial revenue to Apple's Services division, though the company did not highlight it as a primary driver of services growth in its most recent quarter—a shift by Morgan Stanley for the first time since 2023. CFO Kevan Parekh attributed slower growth to factors including mobile gaming.
