Apple overhauls EU App Store fees, allows mixed payment options
Apple announced on August 18, 2026 that it is changing its business terms for apps distributed in the European Union, following what it describes as close collaboration with the European Commission. Apple says the changes resolve its disagreements with the Commission over business terms and alternative distribution, and move every developer distributing apps in the EU onto a single set of terms rather than the patchwork that existed before. Developers can sign the new terms starting today, and the changes take effect on October 1.
The centerpiece is a new Core Technology Commission: a flat 5 percent charge on digital transactions in apps distributed outside the App Store, replacing the old Core Technology Fee, which was a per-install charge that applied only to developers who reached extraordinary scale. Apple is also dropping the separate initial acquisition fee and store services fee entirely.
Apple is adjusting commissions across every distribution path. For App Store apps using Apple In-App Purchase, the standard commission is 26 percent, cut to 15 percent for the vast majority of developers, including those in the App Store Small Business Program, the Mini Apps Partner Program, the Video Partner Program, and for auto-renewing subscriptions after their first year. For App Store apps that use alternative payment processing inside the app, the commission is 20 percent standard, 10 percent for the same qualifying developers. For App Store apps that link out of the app to complete a purchase on the web, the commission is 15 percent standard, 10 percent reduced. Apps distributed through alternative marketplaces or the open web pay only the 5 percent Core Technology Commission.
A separate change lets EU developers offer Apple's own In-App Purchase system alongside alternative payment options at the same time, something Apple had not previously permitted in the region. Developers choose their configuration, whether Apple In-App Purchase, in-app alternative processing, link-out to the web, or a combination, and must keep that configuration in place for 12 months once selected.
Apple is pairing the new payment flexibility with child safety rules. Apps in the App Store's Kids category cannot link to external websites to complete transactions at all. For users under 18, any App Store app using alternative payment processing or web link-outs must show a parental gate requiring a parent or guardian to be involved before a purchase completes. For users under 13, App Store apps cannot link out to a website for transactions under any circumstance. In EU member states with laws requiring parental consent for digital actions by children older than 13, these protections scale to match local law.
Apple is also widening who can run an alternative app marketplace or distribute apps via the web in the EU. A company now qualifies if it meets a moderate financial-stability bar as scored by Dun and Bradstreet, is publicly traded or owned by a publicly traded company, has received venture funding from an established investment firm, has completed a financial audit by a licensed accountant, or is a government entity, educational institution, or nonprofit. Apple notes that web distribution, unique to the EU, has no marketplace operator or ongoing oversight behind it comparable to what Apple runs for the App Store, and argues this lets a bad actor operate for a long time before being caught. To limit that risk, Apple says every alternatively distributed app will still have to pass Notarization, a baseline review Apple describes as focused on basic functionality and protection from serious threats.
Key facts
- The per-install Core Technology Fee is replaced by a flat 5 percent Core Technology Commission on transactions in apps distributed outside the App Store; the separate initial acquisition fee and store services fee are eliminated.
- App Store commission for Apple In-App Purchase is 26 percent standard, cut to 15 percent for Small Business Program, Mini Apps Partner Program, and Video Partner Program developers, and for subscription renewals after year one.
- In-app alternative payment processing is charged at 20 percent standard, 10 percent reduced; link-out purchases at 15 percent standard, 10 percent reduced, under the same qualifying programs.
- For the first time in the EU, developers can offer Apple's In-App Purchase alongside alternative payment options at once, but must keep whichever configuration they pick for 12 months.
- Eligibility to run an alternative marketplace or web distribution now extends to companies meeting a Dun and Bradstreet financial-stability bar, public companies, VC-backed firms, audited firms, and government, education, or nonprofit entities; all alternatively distributed apps still require Notarization.
Why it matters
This closes out a multi-year fight between Apple and the European Commission over how the App Store treats outside payment methods and alternative distribution under the EU's digital markets rules. Instead of the layered, scale-dependent fee structure Apple ran in the EU before, every developer distributing there now sits under one set of terms, and Apple in-app purchase can finally sit next to alternative payment options in the same app, something it had blocked in the EU until now.
Who it affects
Every developer distributing apps in the EU is moved to the new terms. Large developers who previously paid the per-install Core Technology Fee at extraordinary scale now pay a flat 5 percent commission instead. Small Business Program, Mini Apps Partner Program, and Video Partner Program developers, plus anyone with renewing subscriptions past year one, get the reduced commission tiers. Minors and their parents are affected through the new parental-gate and link-out restrictions, and companies that want to run their own EU app marketplace or web storefront now have a defined path to qualify.
How to use it
Developers can sign the new terms starting the day of the announcement, with the terms taking effect on October 1. A developer picks one payment configuration, Apple In-App Purchase, in-app alternative processing, link-out to a website, or a combination, and has to keep that choice in place for 12 months. Apple says it is publishing detailed resources on its Developer Support page to help developers work out which option fits their app.
How solid is it
The source is Apple's own newsroom announcement, a primary statement of Apple's new policy rather than independent reporting, so the commission figures and effective dates come directly from the company setting them. The text does not include a matching statement from the European Commission confirming Apple's characterization that the underlying disagreements are resolved, and no individual Apple executive is named or quoted, only the company's own voice.
Risks and caveats
Apple frames web distribution, unique to the EU, as carrying more risk than the App Store because it has no marketplace operator or ongoing oversight behind it, which Apple says could let a bad actor operate for a long time before being caught; that framing is Apple's own, not an independent assessment. The announcement does not state what threshold counted as 'extraordinary scale' under the old Core Technology Fee, so there is no way to compare who benefits most from the new flat 5 percent rate. It also does not spell out the mechanics of the parental gate beyond requiring a parent or guardian to be involved before a purchase completes.
“Web distribution, which is available only in the EU, does not have a marketplace operator standing behind it or ongoing oversight like the kind Apple provides for the App Store. This means a bad actor distributing via the web can operate for a long time, harming users, before anyone catches it.”
— Apple, EU App Store announcement, August 18, 2026