Apple’s changes to its terms and fees for developers distributing in the European Union is a premonition of reduced commissions for developers that could soon come to the United States.
Apple is waging two wars over the App Store, on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, it’s dealing with the European Commission and the European Union demanding changes to how the App Store earns income, especially for transactions outside the App Store.
There has already been massive change, in the form of the Digital Markets Act, forcing Apple to allow alternative app stores in the E.U. The fees Apple can extract from transactions, however, are still up for debate.
Over in the United States, it’s going through a similar thing via the courts. Following its lawsuit with Epic, Apple has had to reconsider its commission rates for external purchases.
While the situations are different, it does mean Apple has to consider new ways to operate its App Store. As Apple is also fairly keen to keep things the same in as many countries as possible, it may feel a need to homogenize the App Store fees and rules across the two continents.
What gets changed in the E.U. could eventually make its way across the water to the U.S.
This is not, however, Apple’s first time attempting to appease the E.U. over its fees and business dealings. It has previously tried to offer what it considers an appropriate deal to developers in the E.U., but it wasn’t enough.
Apple’s new terms for developers distributing in the EU, as issued on August 18, are a big simplification from what Apple had previously put forward in June 2025.
Fee adjustments
The headline alteration is how fees are structured for transactions outside of the App Store. In the June 2025 change, Apple’s 27% Core Technology Fee was switched out for a series of smaller fees, which varied in amount.
This was made up of the Initial Acquisition Fee of 2% for goods and services paid for up to six months from the initial app’s download. For members of the Small Business Program and for tenured accounts, it was set at 0%.
A second Store Services Fee varied depending on what the developer needed from the App Store. This was a 5% charge for “Tier 1,” which meant it covered the cost of mandatory services from the App Store.
For example, live moderation, App Review, antifraud, content disputes, privacy nutrition labels, App Store charts, and even the product page for the app itself.
“Tier 2” was 13%, 10% if you were under the Small Business or tenured accounts category. This fee enabled other non-essential App Store features, ranging from app insights and appearing in App Store Featuring sections, Apple Business Manager, and even automatic app updates.
Lastly, the Core Technology Fee cost 0.50 Euro per transaction if developers signed up to Apple’s EU terms. If they were under the Standard Terms, it would be a 5% Core Technology Commission.
Under the new August 2026 rules, the fees have been considerably changed.
For a start, Apple will charge 26% for apps using Apple’s in-app purchase system, instead of 30%. For developers enrolled in assistive programs, such as the small business program, this can go down to 15%.
When it comes to alternative payment processing for apps sold in the App Store, they instead pay just 20%, or 10% when under a program.
For links to perform an external purchase for those same App Store apps, the Initial Acquisition and Store Services fees have been combined to one 15% fee, reduced to 10% for developers in programs.
Apps distributed outside of the App Store entirely, such as a third-party app storefront, will still get charged a Core Technology Commission fee of 5%. No 50 cent charge anymore.
While the fees are the important bit, Apple has made other alterations that affect both developers and users.
Other changes
Some of the changes are child safety-related, such as Kids category apps being unable to include links to websites to complete transactions. Apps for users aged under 13 years old also can’t link out to external websites, either.
Apps that link out to an alternative payment processing system must also include a form of parental gate, for users aged under 18.
None of these alterations applied to the year-ago version of the EU rules.
Another change for 2026 is how Apple judges if a developer is eligible to sell through the web distribution route.
A year ago, Apple required a developer to be an organization based or registered in the EU, or have an EU subsidiary listed in App Store Connect. They also had to be in good standing in the Apple Developer Program for at least two years, and agree to various terms.
These included only offering apps from the developer account, being responsive to Apple’s communications, publish transparent data collection policies, follow applicable laws, and to be responsible for handling government requests.
The 2026 revision of the web distribution rules follow a similar path. You do have to be in the Apple Developer Program, follow laws, respond to Apple’s communications, and be transparent. However, you don’t need to have two years of good standing.
You do, however, have to meet one item from a longer list of eligibility criteria:
- Two years of good standing and an app that has more than one million first annual installs worldwide in the prior calendar year.
- Provide Apple with an accredited three-year financial audit.
- Provide Apple with a stand-by letter of credit to the amount of $1 million or the local currency equivalent from a financial institution that’s at least BBB- rated. The letter must be maintained for at least six months after the app is available to consumers.
- The developer is funded by a venture capital firm on the Midas List, Midas List Europe, Invest Europe, or the HEC-Dow Jones Venture Capital Performance Ranking. There is no minimum funding amount required by Apple.
- A stock exchange listing on an exchange listed on the World Federation of Exchanges or a Euronext exchange.
- A Global Business Ranking score from Dun & Bradstreet that puts the developer in the “Low Risk” or “Below Average Risk” categories.
- A non-profit, educational institution, or government entity that has already been approved for the Apple Developer Program fee waiver.
A preview for the U.S.
At the moment, these rules only apply in the European Union, against companies based or operating within the territory. It’s not something that affects U.S. companies that operate within the App Store without dealing with alternative storefronts.
That said, some of these elements could well arrive in the United States soon.
As part of the App Store fight with Epic Games, Apple has had to provide Epic with a list of potential external commission rates. That is, affecting apps that link out to perform a purchase elsewhere.
So far, the proposal from Apple that is under review by Epic changed from a 27% commission initially to a lower 15% for standard apps. It’s 10% for those under the Video Partner Program, the News Partner Program, the Mini Apps Partner Program, and subscription renewals.
Developers under the Small Business Program would get the smaller 5% rate. This last one is mostly comparable to the EU Core Technology Commission fee.
The situation is quite different, in that the Epic activity is about linking out, while the E.U. fee changes add on third-party storefronts. But it would provide Apple a model for rolling out similar rules in other countries where it’s persuaded to allow other stores to exist in iOS.
Epic Games has also been keen to get its own storefront onto iPhones instead of passing everything through the App Store. For Epic, external linking is the next best thing it can use.
There’s nothing stopping Apple from bringing the E.U. rules and fees over to the U.S. They just won’t be as fully implemented.
Epic’s courtroom and social media antics aside, the new E.U. update is a lot clearer and better for developers. It’s not as intimidating or hard to understand as the previous attempt.
Not by a long shot.
