The news
Apple EU App Store fees will be overhauled from October 1, 2026, Apple (AAPL) said on August 18, 2026, replacing its per-install Core Technology Fee with tiered commissions of 5% to 26% after talks with the European Commission.
Apple said the changes, reached after close collaboration with the Commission, resolve its disagreements with the regulator over business terms and alternative distribution. Every developer distributing apps in the European Union moves to a single set of terms. Developers could sign the updated agreement from August 18, and the terms take effect on October 1.
App Store apps that use Apple In-App Purchase (IAP) will pay a 26% commission, or 15% for members of the Small Business, Mini Apps Partner and Video Partner programs and for auto-renewing subscriptions after their first year. Apps that process payments themselves pay 20%, or 10% at the reduced rate. Apps that link out to a website pay 15%, or 10%, on sales made within seven days of the link tap, according to Apple's developer guidance. Apps distributed through rival app marketplaces or the web pay a 5% Core Technology Commission on digital sales, and the new terms eliminate Apple's initial acquisition fee and store services fee.
For the first time in the EU, developers can offer Apple's IAP alongside other payment options in the same app, subject to presentation rules, and must keep their chosen mix for 12 months. Apps in the Kids category cannot link out for purchases, users under 18 must pass a parental gate before paying outside IAP, and users under 13 cannot be sent to websites to buy. Apple also widened who may run an alternative marketplace or distribute apps on the web, while keeping its notarization review for all such apps.
"The Commission welcomes Apple's changes to their business terms," the Commission said in a statement, according to AFP. A spokesperson said the Commission was not considering periodic penalty payments at this stage and would monitor the new terms. Epic Games said the terms violate the Digital Markets Act (DMA) because the law requires link-outs to be allowed free of charge, AppleInsider reported.
The numbers
- App Store commission with Apple IAP
- 26% (15% reduced rate)
- App Store apps using alternative payment processing
- 20% (10% reduced rate)
- App Store apps linking out to the web
- 15% (10% reduced rate), on sales within 7 days of the tap
- Core Technology Commission, apps distributed outside the App Store
- 5%
- Minimum period to keep chosen payment options
- 12 months
- Commission fine on Apple, April 2025
- €500 million
Why CEOs should care
CFOs at companies selling software, subscriptions or digital goods on iOS in Europe should model each channel before October 1. The Motley Fool noted that the standard rate falls to 26% from 30%. Processing payments in-house costs 20% plus your own processor fees, a web link-out costs 15% on sales within seven days of the tap, and distribution outside the App Store costs 5%. Because the payment mix is locked for 12 months, pick it with finance, product and legal in the room. Developers on Apple's earlier EU alternative terms must sign the updated agreement, and Apple says fees already owed under those terms remain payable.
Product and compliance teams have new obligations. Offering Apple's IAP next to your own checkout comes with presentation rules, and apps that take payments outside IAP need a parental gate for under-18 users and must block link-outs for under-13s. Teams should confirm they have reliable age signals and a way to log compliance. Security teams managing company iPhones and iPads in the EU should decide which alternative marketplaces and web-distributed apps, if any, their mobile device management policy will allow.
Boards should treat the settlement as a truce, not a final ruling. The Commission welcomed the terms and said it will monitor them, while Epic Games argued they still breach the DMA's free-steering rule. Directors should ask whether the EU pricing plan still works if the Commission or a court later forces link-out fees lower, and whether similar fights elsewhere could change App Store economics again.
The bigger picture
The terms follow a two-year fight. The Commission fined Apple €500 million in April 2025 for stopping developers from steering customers to cheaper offers outside the App Store, and warned of periodic penalties that could exceed €50 million a day, AFP reported. Apple, which appealed the fine, submitted proposals in June 2025 and then negotiated with the Commission. AFP also reported that an EU court dismissed Apple's challenge arguing that stricter DMA rules should not apply to iOS and the App Store in July 2026.
The direct revenue at stake is limited. Apple's then-finance chief Luca Maestri said on a 2024 earnings call that the EU was roughly 7% of global App Store revenue, according to The Motley Fool.
What happened next
In an open letter reported on September 9, 2026, 18 organizations, including the Coalition for App Fairness, whose members include Epic Games, Match Group and Spotify, the European Games Developer Federation and the European Publishers Council, said the terms still fail the DMA. They objected to the 15% fee on steering and the 5% Core Technology Commission, and asked the Commission to clarify its position, consult affected businesses and issue a formal, reasoned conclusion, Mobilegamer.biz reported.
What to watch: the terms take effect on October 1, 2026, with each developer's account moving over then or on the date it signs, whichever is later. Watch whether the Commission issues a formal decision in response to the letter, and whether Apple's appeal of the 2025 fine continues.
