Apple Asks Court to Allow 5-15% Cut From External App Store Payments

Apple's Proposed 5-15% Fee on External App Store Payments

In a filing in the Northern District of California, Apple has asked the judge overseeing its antitrust fight with Epic Games to approve a new commission schedule for App Store payments that occur outside Apple's own billing system. The proposal would let Apple collect up to 15 percent of the price of a qualifying transaction, with lower rates for certain developer programmes and for subscription renewals.

The tiered schedule in the filing is 15 percent for developers that currently pay the standard 30 percent App Store commission; 10 percent for participants in the News Partner Programme, Video Partner Programme and Mini Apps Partner Programme, and for subscription renewals; and 5 percent for developers in the Small Business Programme. Apple says the vast majority of its developers are in the Small Business Programme, which has paid a 15 percent commission on in-app purchases since 2020.

This is only a proposal: the court now has to determine a fair commission for out-of-app payments. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers initially ordered Apple in 2021 to allow external payment links so developers could avoid the 30 percent cut, but subsequent rulings found Apple's then 12-to-27 percent charges on those transactions put it in contempt and barred any fee for a period. An appeal upheld the contempt finding but struck down the total fee ban, leaving the current fee-setting question before the court.

Meanwhile, Google's parallel fight has moved forward: the Play Store began supporting external billing on June 30 with a 10 percent commission, and in July opened Android to third-party app stores. A court has now separately ordered Google to reduce "anticompetitive friction" after Epic demonstrated that installing rival Android app stores requires several steps.

Why Apple's Fee Tiers and Google's 10% Benchmark Matter

How Apple's Proposal Tracks Its Existing Fee Structure

The proposed 15, 10 and 5 percent rates are best read as an extension of Apple's current App Store tiers, but from a lower base. Developers on standard 30 percent terms would pay half that rate for an external transaction; participants in special partner programmes and renewals would pay 10 percent; and Small Business Programme members would pay 5 percent. By anchoring the proposal to its existing categories, Apple has given the court a schedule that is easy to administer and preserves the relative advantages of the programmes it already uses to shape developer behaviour.

The Contempt Ruling Reshapes the Stakes

The fee-setting phase follows an awkward legal position for Apple. Judge Gonzalez Rogers in 2021 said developers could steer users outside Apple's billing system to avoid the 30 percent commission, but Apple's response was to impose a 12-to-27 percent charge on those external transactions. The court later found that non-compliant and held Apple in contempt, while an appeal both upheld the contempt finding and removed the total prohibition on fees. That mixed outcome is why the central question now is not whether Apple may charge, but how much.

Google's 10 Percent Benchmark Looms Over the Ruling

Google has already set a visible reference point. Its Play Store opened to external billing with a 10 percent commission and soon began allowing third-party stores on Android, though the same judge has now told Google to remove avoidable steps when users install rival stores. If the court accepts Apple's higher top rate of 15 percent for standard developers, Apple would remain more expensive than Google's flat 10 percent external-billing rate; if the court lands near Google's number, Apple's proposal would likely be scaled back for its largest developers.

What Developers Should Do Before the Court Rules

The practical implications depend on which App Store programme a developer is in and whether the company sells outside Apple's billing system.

• Developers on Apple's standard 30 percent terms should model a 15 percent external-payment fee against current usage and against Google's flat 10 percent rate, because the court could still land closer to Google's number.
• Small Business Programme members should treat the proposed 5 percent as a negotiating benchmark, not a final price; the judge has not yet set the fee and has previously blocked external-payment fees entirely for a period.
• Developers in the News, Video or Mini Apps programmes should verify how renewal transactions are classified, since the filing groups renewals with programme members at 10 percent regardless of the top-tier 15 percent rate.
• Android developers should reassess third-party store installation workflows after the judge's order to remove friction; a smoother rival-store experience could change distribution costs more than the billing fee itself.