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Apple has revised its EU App Store rules after the European Commission found that its anti-steering restrictions breached the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission fined Apple €500 million on April 23, 2025, over rules that limited how developers could tell users about and direct them to purchases outside Apple’s in-app payment system. Apple’s revised terms allow broader external links, alternative payments and other app-distribution options, but do not eliminate every Apple commission or technology charge.
For developers, the practical question is whether the additional choice is worth the fees and operating work attached to it. For users, more routes to buy or install apps do not guarantee lower prices—and can mean different checkout, refund and security experiences.
The short version
- The Commission found Apple in breach of the DMA’s anti-steering rule, Article 5(4), not that every App Store commission or the entire App Store was unlawful.
- Apple’s earlier EU rules restricted external purchase links and communications and attached conditions and charges to steering users outside Apple’s payment system.
- Apple subsequently revised its EU terms. Developers can use broader external-purchase links, alternative payment processing and, subject to requirements, alternative marketplaces or web distribution.
- Alternative terms can still include a 10% or 17% commission, an optional 3% Apple payment-processing fee, and technology-related charges whose applicability depends on the term, date and distribution model.
- The DMA-related framework described here concerns distribution to users in the EU; it is not a general worldwide change.
How the dispute unfolded
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| September 5, 2023 | The Commission designated Apple a DMA gatekeeper for iOS, the App Store and Safari. Apple’s DMA information. |
| April 29, 2024 | iPadOS was designated as an additional Apple gatekeeper service. |
| June 24, 2024 | The Commission issued preliminary findings that Apple’s App Store rules breached the anti-steering obligation. It also opened a separate investigation into contractual requirements for alternative distribution and the Core Technology Fee. Commission announcement. |
| April 23, 2025 | The Commission found Apple in breach of Article 5(4) and imposed a €500 million fine. It also issued preliminary findings in a separate matter concerning conditions for alternative app stores and web distribution. Decision announcement; separate distribution announcement. |
| June 26, 2025 | Apple’s documentation says its 5% Core Technology Commission applies in specified external-purchase-link circumstances from this date. |
| January 1, 2026 | Apple said it planned to transition to a single EU business model, replacing the Core Technology Fee with the Core Technology Commission for relevant sales. The precise charge depends on the applicable terms and circumstances; it is not a universal fee on every download. |
What the Commission said Apple got wrong
Article 5(4) of the DMA requires Apple to let App Store developers inform users about offers outside the App Store, steer users to those offers and conclude transactions outside Apple’s in-app purchasing system. In practical terms, a developer should be able to tell a customer that a digital subscription or other offer is available elsewhere and provide a workable route to it.
The Commission’s final decision said none of Apple’s then-available EU business terms complied with that obligation. It identified restrictions on how developers could communicate external offers, limits on links and conditions and charges that made external purchasing less useful. The decision summary, for example, describes a limit of one link per app and per EU Member State. The Commission concluded that the combined rules constrained developers’ ability to steer customers effectively. Read the Commission’s decision.
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This was an anti-steering finding. It was not a blanket ruling that Apple’s App Store must be free, that all commissions are illegal, or that Apple can no longer review apps. Apple disputed the Commission’s approach and has argued that its controls support privacy, security and user experience. Those are Apple’s stated rationales, not the Commission’s legal conclusion.
What Apple changed in the EU
External links and purchase information
Apple’s revised framework gives developers broader options to communicate and promote offers for digital goods and services outside the App Store, including by linking users to external purchasing pages. That is the core area addressed by the anti-steering decision. The detailed rules and charges depend on the developer’s selected terms and the kind of transaction. An external link is not, by itself, a guarantee that Apple charges nothing.
Apple’s external-offer documentation describes the applicable conditions and its Core Technology Commission rules.
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Alternative payment processing
Developers may use an alternative payment service provider within an app or send users to a website to pay. Under Apple’s published alternative-term structure, using Apple’s payment processing can add a 3% fee. A developer using an external provider or a website does not pay that separate Apple payment-processing fee, but a commission or other technology charge may still apply. “No Apple payment-processing fee” therefore does not mean “no Apple fee.” Apple’s fee and tax documentation sets out the distinctions.
Alternative marketplaces and web distribution
Qualifying developers and marketplace operators can distribute iOS and iPadOS apps through alternative app marketplaces in the EU. Apple also supports web distribution for eligible developers, subject to its conditions and contractual requirements. The DMA requires Apple to permit alternative app distribution, but that does not make installation unrestricted: Apple retains eligibility, security, user-consent and other processes. See the Commission’s explanation of app distribution, Apple’s EU developer overview and its web-distribution requirements.
Apple’s documentation describes changes to alternative marketplace and web-install experiences beginning with iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6. The exact installation flow depends on the operating-system version and the route used.
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Other DMA-related changes
Apple’s broader EU changes also include more default-app controls and browser choice, additional options involving marketplaces and contactless-payment defaults, interoperability request procedures, expanded developer analytics and user-data portability tools. These are part of the wider DMA compliance framework; they are not the specific anti-steering conduct addressed by the €500 million decision.
EU fee structures: compare the applicable terms, not just the headline rate
Apple’s published EU materials describe more than one business-term structure and a transition in technology charges. The table summarizes the alternative-term figures in the dossier; it should not be read as a single fee schedule applying to every developer, app or transaction. Check the current terms and the developer’s chosen entitlement before calculating costs.
| Charge | Published alternative-term structure | Scope and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | 10% or 17% | The rate depends on the developer’s program and transaction circumstances. It is not a universal replacement rate for every developer or sale. |
| Apple payment processing | Additional 3% | Applies when Apple’s payment processing is used under the relevant terms. |
| External provider or website payment | No separate Apple payment-processing fee | Apple may still charge a commission or technology-related amount. |
| Core Technology Fee (CTF) | €0.50 per first annual install above one million | Applies under the relevant earlier alternative-term structure. It is not a €0.50 charge on every download; Apple’s definition and counting rules matter. |
| Core Technology Commission (CTC) | 5% in specified external-purchase circumstances | Apple says this applies from June 26, 2025 in defined circumstances. Its planned 2026 transition replaces the CTF with the CTC for relevant sales under the applicable model. |
Apple’s EU DMA overview, commission and tax guidance, and CTF overview describe the terms and definitions. The one-million threshold and first-annual-install calculation are features of the relevant CTF structure, not a rule that every download always incurs a fee. Apple’s fee-estimation tools can help eligible developers model their own situation.
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Developers should distinguish among the legacy or existing App Store terms, the alternative EU terms, external-link entitlements, distribution method, transaction type and effective date. A percentage from one arrangement cannot safely be compared with a percentage from another without including the other charges and responsibilities.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How developers can decide whether alternative terms make sense
Switching is a business decision, not an automatic saving. Apple says developers who do not want alternative distribution or payment can remain on existing terms. Alternative terms may be worthwhile for a developer with meaningful EU sales and established external-payment infrastructure, or one that needs an alternative marketplace or web distribution. Remaining on existing terms may suit an app that relies on Apple’s payment, refund, subscription and tax infrastructure, has little digital-goods revenue, or would find install-based costs and extra administration unattractive.
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Before choosing, estimate the full marginal cost—not merely the difference between a headline commission and a lower alternative rate:
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- Apple commission avoided, if any, and any remaining commission or CTC.
- Apple’s payment-processing charge avoided versus the external processor’s fees.
- VAT handling and other tax-administration responsibilities.
- Fraud prevention, chargebacks, refunds and customer support.
- Subscription management, reconciliation and marketplace fees.
- Legal and compliance work, engineering time and maintenance of multiple checkout flows.
- Possible changes in conversion if a customer must leave the app or use a different checkout.
Apple’s App Store Connect estimates can inform the Apple-fee side of the comparison. They do not replace an app-specific estimate of payment, tax, support and operational costs.
What EU users may notice
Depending on what an app developer chooses, a user may see an external purchase link, complete checkout with a provider other than Apple, or install an app through an alternative marketplace or an eligible developer website. These routes can involve extra steps, different account details, security prompts, and separate arrangements for refunds, subscriptions or customer support. The exact experience is not the same for every app or installation route.
More competition may give developers options to change how they sell, but it does not guarantee a lower consumer price. A developer might pass savings on, retain them, or use them to cover payment processing, tax compliance and other costs. Users should check who is taking payment and where to manage a purchase before buying.
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Apple has made substantial changes to its EU terms in the context of DMA enforcement, but the fact that it revised its rules does not establish that the Commission accepted every fee or condition as compliant. The Commission’s April 2025 anti-steering decision ordered Apple to remove the restrictions it found non-compliant; separately, the Commission issued preliminary findings concerning Apple’s conditions for alternative app stores and web distribution. Those are distinct issues. The most precise description is that Apple changed its framework in response to regulatory pressure, while the status of particular terms must be judged against the Commission’s subsequent position and the applicable rules—not inferred from Apple’s documentation alone.
For developers, the answer is to evaluate the actual contract and fee model available to their app. For users, the changes mean more potential routes to purchase and install, not the end of Apple’s role in distribution, payments or security.
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