Apple’s new European Union App Store terms are a meaningful clean-up, not a retreat from taking a cut. From October 1, developers distributing apps in EU storefronts move to one business model. The notorious Core Technology Fee—a per-install charge triggered at exceptional scale—gives way to a 5% Core Technology Commission on relevant digital transactions for apps distributed outside the App Store.
That is a better unit of account. An install fee can turn a successful free app into a liability before it has earned a cent; a transaction commission rises with revenue instead. But calling this a five-percent App Store would be wrong. The rate depends on where an app is distributed, how it takes payment and which programme a developer qualifies for. Apple also requires developers to report certain alternative-distribution transactions, while a payment option selected for an EU app must generally remain in place for 12 months.
For people who use apps rather than sell them, this is the part that matters: EU app choice is becoming less theoretical. A developer can put Apple In-App Purchase and an alternative payment route in the same app, and more organisations can qualify to run a marketplace or distribute from the web. Whether that creates noticeably cheaper subscriptions will depend on the developer, not simply on the existence of a new rate card.
The old fee’s biggest problem was the thing it counted
Apple says the Core Technology Fee will be replaced by a 5% Core Technology Commission (CTC) for digital transactions in apps distributed via alternative marketplaces or Web Distribution. The company says the per-install fee, Initial Acquisition Fee and Store Services Fee disappear under the unified terms.
That is a real structural change. A fee tied to installs makes the marginal cost of a popular free download hard to predict. A transaction commission is still a platform charge, but it follows a commercial event. It is much easier for a subscription service or game studio to model against its revenue, taxes and payment-processing costs.
Apple’s developer documentation adds an important limit: the CTC concerns paid apps and digital goods or services in alternative distribution, including one-time purchases and auto-renewing subscriptions. It is not a blanket statement that every interaction with an alternative app costs 5%. The documentation also says that web offers opened from alternative distribution can be within scope for seven days after a link tap.
The EU payment map, in plain English
The new terms take effect on October 1, 2026, or later if a developer agrees after that date. Apple says developers can review and agree to them now. Here is the practical map from Apple’s announced terms—not an estimate of a developer’s total checkout cost.
| Route for an EU app | Apple’s announced commission | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| App Store with Apple In-App Purchase | 26%; 15% for qualifying programmes and qualifying renewal subscriptions | Apple’s standard in-store payment route remains, with a lower rate for eligible developers and subscriptions after year one. |
| App Store with alternative payment processing | 20%; 10% for qualifying programmes | An app can offer a non-Apple payment option alongside Apple In-App Purchase. |
| App Store app linking to a purchase elsewhere | 15%; 10% for qualifying programmes | A developer can point customers to an external purchase path, subject to Apple’s presentation and reporting rules. |
| Alternative marketplace or Web Distribution | 5% Core Technology Commission | Replaces the previous per-install Core Technology Fee for the digital transactions described in Apple’s terms. |
The rows are not interchangeable, and they do not include a third-party processor’s fee, tax, fraud handling, refunds or customer support. That is why the lowest percentage is not automatically the cheapest route. A small developer may value Apple’s payment handling enough to accept a higher commission; a larger service with mature commerce operations may see a stronger case for owning checkout.
Choice is broader, but it comes with product commitments
Apple now says EU storefront apps can offer Apple In-App Purchase alongside alternative in-app payment methods and external offers. That removes a particularly awkward choice between Apple’s familiar purchase flow and a developer’s own route. The catch is that developers select their payment options and must maintain them for 12 months.
That condition is not merely a contract footnote. It discourages a developer from using a short-lived external-payment experiment, then pulling the route when support or conversion gets inconvenient. For users, it should make an available option somewhat more dependable. For product teams, it turns billing architecture, customer service and compliance into a long-lived decision.
There are safety limits too. Apple says Kids-category apps cannot include web links for transactions; alternative payment handling is placed behind a parental gate. For users under 13, external website purchase offers are not allowed, and apps using alternative payments must use a parental gate. The safeguards can scale in EU storefronts where the applicable parental-consent age is higher.
More potential distributors, not a free-for-all
Apple is expanding eligibility for alternative marketplaces and Web Distribution. Its list includes companies that meet a financial-stability standard, public companies and their owners, recipients of established venture funding, organisations with a licensed-accountant audit, and government, educational and nonprofit bodies. Apple also says a company no longer needs to be legally established in the EU for these routes.
That could bring more credible specialist storefronts, enterprise channels and institutional distribution paths into the picture. It does not mean that iPhone apps become unreviewed downloads. Apple says every alternatively distributed app will still go through Notarization, its baseline review for functionality and protection against serious threats.
The policy context matters. The European Commission said in April 2025 that Apple’s contractual terms for alternative app distribution were, in its preliminary view, inconsistent with the Digital Markets Act. The Commission’s developer portal says the DMA lets developers direct users to other ways to buy digital content inside and outside an app. Apple’s announcement says its new terms follow collaboration with the Commission, but that is not the same as a guarantee that every pricing detail will escape further regulatory scrutiny.
The consumer benefit is possible, not prepaid
Lower platform charges can improve a developer’s economics. They do not force a lower consumer price. A service might reduce a subscription, invest the margin in features, cover its payment costs or keep the difference. The competitive outcome will vary by category, size and how much an audience trusts a payment flow outside Apple’s own checkout.
Still, the direction is worth watching. EU users may encounter more apps with a choice of payment methods and more legitimate routes for obtaining software outside the App Store. That dovetails with the wider interoperability fight already affecting the iPhone; our iOS 27 developer-beta coverage explains why the same regulatory climate can shape feature availability as well as storefront rules.
The bottom line: Apple’s October terms make alternative distribution easier to budget for and harder to dismiss as an edge case. They do not eliminate Apple’s role—or its commission—in EU app commerce. Developers should compare the whole operating cost of each route. Users should welcome more genuine choice, then judge it by the price, protection and support that actually show up in the app.