Apple Proposes 5–15% Commission on Sales Made Outside the App Store

Apple has submitted a new proposal to a U.S. court seeking to charge developers a 5% to 15% commission on app services and products sold through third-party or their own platforms outside the App Store. The U.S.-based technology giant made the proposal as part of its ongoing legal battle with Epic Games, the developer of the popular game Fortnite.

Under Apple's proposal, apps that normally pay a 30% commission on purchases made within the App Store would be subject to a 15% commission when transactions are made through external payment links.

Apple has proposed a 10% commission for its News Partner, Video Partner and Mini Apps Partner programs, as well as for subscription renewals.

Lower Commission for Small Developers

For developers participating in Apple's Small Business Program, the proposed commission would be just 5%.

Apple said that the vast majority of developers using its platform qualify for the small-business concession.

Apple and Epic's Legal Battle

The legal dispute between Apple and Epic Games began in 2020. In 2021, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered Apple to allow developers to provide external or third-party payment links within their apps, enabling them to avoid Apple's mandatory 30% commission.

Apple subsequently continued to seek fees ranging from 12% to 27%, prompting Epic Games to accuse the company of violating the court's order.

An appeals court later upheld the judge's earlier ruling but overturned the requirement preventing Apple from charging any fee on external payments. The court must therefore determine what level of commission would be reasonable for external transactions.

Epic Games has rejected Apple's latest proposal.

Court Also Tightens Rules on Google

Google is simultaneously engaged in a separate legal battle with Epic Games.

In June, Google introduced an external billing system on the Play Store and reduced its commission to 10%. In July, it also allowed third-party or alternative app stores to be used on the Android platform.

Epic Games subsequently complained to the court that Google had made the process of installing another app store on Android unnecessarily complicated.

The court took the complaint into consideration and ordered Google to remove the barriers and restrictions that make it difficult to install alternative app stores.

//DBTechBMT/OR//