U.S. readers subscribing to paid Substack publications in the iOS app may now be offered a choice: pay through Apple or follow a link to the publication’s web checkout. The web route can be cheaper, especially when a publication offers a web discount, but it is not always the lower-priced option. Apple billing remains available, and Substack says publications with payments enabled cannot turn it off.
What changed in Substack’s iOS app?
Substack added a second checkout path for paid subscriptions in its iOS app. The company announced the expanded flow on August 18, 2025; its support guidance, updated July 30, 2026, says the external web-link option is available to U.S. readers.
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This is not a switch from Apple billing to web-only subscriptions. A reader may be able to pay through Apple inside the app or open the publication’s Substack page and pay there. Existing web subscribers can continue reading in the app after signing in to the Substack account associated with their subscription.
| Detail | Apple in-app purchase | Substack web checkout |
|---|---|---|
| Where payment happens | Inside the iOS app, through Apple | On the publication’s Substack web checkout page |
| Who bills the reader | Apple | Substack’s web payment flow, connected to the creator’s Stripe account |
| Who manages renewal and cancellation | Apple’s subscription settings | Substack’s web account and billing tools |
| Price and offers | May reflect an adjusted App Store price; web offers do not apply | Publication’s web price and any eligible web offer |
| Availability from the iOS app | Available where the publication supports paid subscriptions | U.S. external-link route; readers elsewhere may not see it |
Substack says Apple in-app purchase must remain available for publications with payments connected. A writer can adjust pricing, but cannot simply disable Apple checkout while keeping paid subscriptions active. Substack’s announcement and its current iOS payment guidance describe the two routes.
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Why can web checkout cost less?
Apple charges a service fee on qualifying in-app purchases. Substack describes the fee as 15% to 30%, depending on the applicable arrangement and subscription circumstances; it is not one universal rate. A web purchase is processed through Substack’s regular web payment flow rather than Apple’s in-app purchase system.
Substack separately says it takes 10% of each paid transaction from creators. That fee is distinct from payment-processing costs or taxes. For example, on a hypothetical $10 monthly web subscription, Substack’s stated 10% fee leaves about $9 before other processing costs or taxes. If a writer chooses adjusted iOS pricing, Substack raises the app price to approximate the writer’s web earnings. If the writer keeps the same nominal price in both places, an Apple purchase can mean a lower payout to the writer.
That example is not a standard Substack price or a promise that an iOS subscription will cost a fixed percentage more. The actual total depends on the publication’s settings, Apple’s available price points, billing term, taxes, and applicable fees.
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Why the two displayed prices may not match
- Writer pricing: A publication may use adjusted iOS pricing or choose the same nominal price as its web subscription.
- App Store price points: Apple’s supported price tiers may not match the web price exactly, and the app price may be rounded up to an available point.
- Offers: Web discounts and special offers do not apply to subscriptions purchased through Apple.
- Other differences: Taxes, currency conversion, localization, and monthly versus annual billing can affect the final comparison.
Compare the final checkout totals for the same plan and billing period, rather than assuming the web route is always cheaper. Substack explains adjusted and same-price settings in its iOS payment guidance.
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- Open the publication in the Substack iOS app and tap its subscribe or upgrade option.
- If you are in the United States and the publication supports paid subscriptions, review the payment choices shown. Labels and screens may vary.
- Choose Apple’s in-app purchase for Apple billing, or follow the web link to the publication’s Substack checkout page.
- On the web, select an available plan and complete checkout using a payment method offered there. Depending on the publication and device, plans may include monthly, annual, founding-member, or free options; Apple Pay may also be offered on Apple devices.
- Return to the app and sign in using the same Substack account associated with the purchase.
Substack describes the available web plans and payment methods in its reader payment guidance. If the paid subscription does not appear in the app, first check whether the web checkout used a different email address or account.
Which route should a reader choose?
- Choose web checkout if its final total is lower, a web offer applies, or you prefer to manage billing outside Apple.
- Choose Apple if familiar App Store billing, centralized subscription settings, or Apple’s receipt and refund workflow matter more than a possible price difference.
- If prices are the same, choose based on which billing account you want to manage and where you want to handle cancellation or support.
Who handles billing, cancellation, and refunds?
Subscriptions bought through Apple
Apple collects payment and sends the receipt. Renewal management, cancellation, and refund requests go through Apple’s subscription-management system, not the normal web billing controls. Substack says Apple-purchased subscriptions are identifiable in a creator’s subscriber dashboard, including renewal information associated with the App Store purchase.
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Subscriptions bought on the web
Web purchases run through Substack’s web checkout and the creator’s Stripe-connected payment system. Readers manage those subscriptions through Substack’s web account and billing tools, rather than Apple’s App Store settings. Substack distinguishes the two routes in its iOS subscription payment guidance.
If you cannot access a subscription after paying, check which email address and account you used, whether checkout was completed through Apple or the web, and whether the confirmation came from Apple or Substack. Also check for a pending, failed, refunded, or canceled payment. Cancel through the same billing system that collected the payment; canceling on Substack’s website should not be assumed to stop an Apple renewal.
What writers should know about pricing and revenue
Adjusted pricing or the same price?
Substack’s adjusted-pricing setting raises the iOS price to approximate the creator’s web-level earnings after Apple’s fee. Writers can instead keep the same nominal price in the app and on the web, where supported, but then accept a potentially lower payout on Apple purchases. Adjusted pricing may protect the writer’s margin; a single public price may be simpler for readers. Substack recommends adjusted pricing, but writers choose the setting.
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Payout timing and subscriber records
Web payments follow the normal process into the creator’s Stripe account. For Apple-managed subscriptions, Apple collects the payment and remits it to Substack, which then pays the creator’s Stripe account. Substack says this can happen up to 45 days after the end of the month in which Apple received the payment. That timing makes Apple subscriptions different to plan around for cash flow.
Apple-purchased subscribers also bring separate renewal, cancellation, and refund handling. Substack says writers can identify these subscriptions in the subscriber dashboard, but Apple remains the billing manager.
Can writers opt out of Apple checkout or move subscribers later?
No: Substack’s current guidance says a publication cannot disable iOS in-app purchases while payments are connected. Writers can change pricing, not make the iOS app web-only through a normal publication setting.
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Substack says it provides tools for creators to access or export information about Apple-managed subscriber relationships if they leave the platform. That should not be read as automatic transfer of recurring billing: Apple still manages those subscriptions, and readers may need to subscribe again through another system.
At launch, Substack said the change primarily affected new subscriptions; it did not mean existing web subscribers were automatically converted to Apple billing. The company also reported that more than 30,000 publications had in-app purchases enabled at the time of its August 18, 2025 announcement. That is a launch-era figure, not a current publication count. Substack reported that early tests increased paid sign-ups but did not publish detailed conversion figures, so the result is its own report rather than independently verified evidence. See the announcement and TechCrunch’s launch coverage.
Where the web option is available
Substack’s July 30, 2026 guidance specifies the external-link checkout for U.S. readers using the iOS app. Readers outside the United States may see Apple’s in-app payment option without the web route. Apple has separate external-link frameworks and requirements in regions including the European Union and United Kingdom; those arrangements should not be treated as an extension of Substack’s U.S. flow. Apple’s reader-app documentation describes its framework and regional context.
Even in the United States, do not assume every reader will see identical screens. The external option may be absent if the publication has not enabled paid subscriptions, the reader is not at a new-checkout point, or the relevant app flow is not available on that account or app version.
Why this change happened
The U.S. option followed legal and policy pressure over Apple’s restrictions on links to external purchases. Contemporary reporting tied the change to App Store rule changes after litigation involving Epic Games. The practical point for a Substack reader is narrower: eligible U.S. app users can be directed to web checkout while Apple’s in-app purchase remains an option. For the launch context, see TechCrunch’s report and Associated Press coverage.
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