Apple Cuts European App Store Commission, Reaches Settlement with EU
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Apple scrapped its European "Core Technology Fee" and cut the standard commission from 30% to 26%, settling its Digital Markets Act dispute with Brussels — the first time Apple has made a substantive concession on its App Store fee structure under regulatory pressure.
What exactly did Apple change?
The headline move: Apple killed the Core Technology Fee — a charge previously levied on EU developers who distributed apps outside the App Store — and replaced it with a 5% commission on in-app digital transactions made through alternative distribution.
The standard in-app purchase commission drops from 30% to 26%. Developers in Apple's partner programme or offering auto-renewing subscriptions keep the 15% rate.
This means → Apple is no longer using the Core Technology Fee as a wall to keep developers inside the App Store. Instead, it takes a lower — but still present — cut to protect revenue.
What new options do developers get?
Apple will let European developers offer alternative payment methods alongside Apple's own checkout inside apps.
It is also expanding the pool of European businesses eligible to distribute and monetise iPhone apps outside the App Store.
In plain terms = developers who once had almost no way around Apple's fees now have at least two exits — use someone else's payment rail, or list on another store.
The new pricing and policies take effect October 1.
Why was the EU able to force Apple's hand?
In 2024 the European Commission opened a standalone probe into whether Apple's changes to comply with the Digital Markets Act — a law targeting monopolistic behaviour by large platforms — actually met the rules.
In 2025 Brussels fined Apple €500 million for blocking developers from linking to sales outside the App Store.
This July Apple lost a court challenge seeking to overturn the EU's finding of non-compliance.
This reflects a negotiating position steadily weakened by fines and courtroom defeats. The concession looks more like cutting losses than voluntary openness.
Can third-party stores actually take a slice?
Several third-party app stores already operate in Europe, including one backed by Epic Games — the developer behind the hit game *Fortnite*.
Apple was previously accused of deliberately raising barriers across the EU to make it hard for developers and consumers to use distribution channels outside the App Store.
This means → the rules have changed on paper, but Apple's actual enforcement is what matters. The European Commission has made clear it will continue monitoring implementation after October 1.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.