Apple's US App Store Commission Revenue Down 18% This Year

[MacRumors]

The commission Apple earns from the App Store is shrinking in markets where it has been forced to relax its grip on in-app purchases, based on new analytics data.

According to Appfigures, cited by the Financial Times ($), Apple's U.S. commission revenue has fallen 18 percent since the start of 2026. It also found App Store revenue declining in Brazil and Japan since both countries introduced new regulations.

Separately, Sensor Tower said U.S. consumer spending through the App Store was down 6 percent in the second quarter, compared to 9 percent growth a year earlier.

The figures follow Apple's admission during last month's earnings call that regulatory changes have started to weigh on its Services growth. Apple reported services revenue of $30.7 billion for the June quarter, a record for the period but short of the $31.4 billion that analysts expected.

Apple traditionally has taken 15 to 30 percent of digital purchases made inside apps on the App Store. However, a U.S. injunction won by Epic Games now forces the company to let developers steer users to outside payment options without taking a cut. Sensor Tower said the U.S. slowdown had been heavily affected by the ruling. Apple has not collected fees from link-outs in the U.S. since April 2025.

Article Link: Apple's US App Store Commission Revenue Down 18% This Year

 

[zahuh]

I hope after they lose they have to pay developers back billions and billions they stole for this internet tax

 

[foobarbaz]

So one company says -6%, the other says -18%?

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I hope after they lose they have to pay developers back billions and billions they stole for this internet tax

They'll never volunteer that, and no developer will risk suing Apple and losing access to the app store.

 

[tonmischa]

no developer will risk suing Apple and losing access to the app store.

Tim Sweeney: "Hold my beer."

 

[tonmischa]

So one company says -6%, the other says -18%?

Customer spending and commission revenue. Two separate things.

 

[Plutonius]

I hope after they lose they have to pay developers back billions and billions they stole for this internet tax

I still don't understand how this is stealing if the developers agreed to the price structure ?

 

[Mojohanna32]

I hope after they lose they have to pay developers back billions and billions they stole for this internet tax

Who's infrastructure did those developers use?

 

[LV426]

That's torn it! Subscription rises incoming...

 

[CarAnalogy]

They'll never volunteer that, and no developer will risk suing Apple and losing access to the app store.

Well...except Epic. Which is why as much as I personally don't really care for Tim Sweeney, someone eventually had to bring this issue up.

Personally I don't care about their commissions on IAP in games, they should be allowed to take whatever they want of that.

It's their chokehold on useful software distribution and the fact that they not only have to approve the app's safety and functionality (at which they frequently fail) but also whether they want to allow it at all for anticompetitive reasons.

 

[tridley68]

Keep raising prices and see how much more revenue you loose because of greed Apple .

 

[chrono1081]

I hope after they lose they have to pay developers back billions and billions they stole for this internet tax

Developer here, this is not what happened. Too many people think that these app stores are free to run and they're not and can't get over the fact a fee is needed to keep things afloat.

Think of the App Store like a mall, you pay a fee to be in the mall, except the App Store also gives you payment processing, tax information, app analytics, refund handling, etc all bundled with that fee.

 

[lapstags]

Good, they will have to actually earn their money by giving consumers good services instead of just rent seeking from developers. They better start actually investing those billions into making Apple services better instead of financial engineering.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I still don't understand how this is stealing if the developers agreed to the price structure ?

What alternative did I have? My option was to sell my app via Apple or not at all.

I, like most others, subsequently chose not at all. It's why the Apple Watch and Apple TV have almost no app library compared to iOS - after Apple burned everyone on the iOS App Store, nobody put the effort into making apps for any other Apple platform.

 

[triumvirate]

Well, since the corporate line must always go up and must never just remain the same, won’t be surprised if much more frequent price hikes on multiple things become the norm with Apple. They’ve already priced me out on most things (and not because they’re not affordable for me).

 

[ApostolisApo]

So the biggest blow not from Apple's arch nemesis (EU) but the US of A?? 🤪
Hopefully this makes Apple focus more on what they do best, hardware and ecosystems and leave those poor 3rd-party developers do their thing without too many restrictions.

 

[SnowCrocodile]

So Google can afford allowing 3rd party stores because their revenue is primarily from advertising, so they don’t care as much who gets the cut for an app or service as long as it keeps the customers using their ad serving platform.

Is Apple being pushed into the same direction?

 

[Wx_Man]

Great…expect more price increases on hardware and services, more subscriptions and higher prices on said subscriptions. Apple will NOT tolerate decrease gross or net revenues. And neither will Wall Street.

 

[jayducharme]

IMO, it was fine for Apple to charge higher commissions when the App Store was just beginning and was the only option. It was an experiment and no one was sure how it would play out. But as it became more established and there was more competition (mainly from Google), Apple should have gradually lowered its commissions. If they had, they probably wouldn’t be in this current mess.

 

[Wx_Man]

So Google can afford allowing 3rd party stores because their revenue is primarily from advertising, so they don’t care as much who gets the cut for an app or service as long as it keeps the customers using their ad serving platform.

Is Apple being pushed into the same direction?

Check Apple Maps after iOS 27…..

 

[neuropsychguy]

So one company says -6%, the other says -18%?

No. Those are different metrics. One set of data is "Apple's U.S. commission revenue has fallen 18 percent since the start of 2026"

The -6% is: "U.S. consumer spending through the App Store was down 6 percent in the second quarter".

The first is over 7 months, the second is over 3 months. The first is commission revenue. The second is consumer spending on apps.

Different metrics for different, but related, things.

 

[germanbeer007]

I hope after they lose they have to pay developers back billions and billions they stole for this internet tax

Don't worry, they'll just pass the cost onto you the consumer.

 

[germanbeer007]

Check Apple Maps after iOS 27…..

"Apple should keep Apple Maps free, despite having thousands of cars driving in most cities, hundreds of employees, and many engineers updating the global data every year to compete against Google who has billions in Maps budget"

is a ridiculous assertion.

 

[neuropsychguy]

IMO, it was fine for Apple to charge higher commissions when the App Store was just beginning and was the only option. It was an experiment and no one was sure how it would play out. But as it became more established and there was more competition (mainly from Google), Apple should have gradually lowered its commissions. If they had, they probably wouldn’t be in this current mess.

Apple did lower their commissions. Most developers pay either nothing or 15% instead of the original nothing or 30%.

Also, since it bears repeating on articles like this, Apple's break even commission for the App Store is likely about 8-9% (calculation is based on data from reporting of the Epic v. Apple suit). If Apple is allowed to make money from the App Store, its commission will need to remain higher than that.

 

[germanbeer007]

What alternative did I have? My option was to sell my app via Apple or not at all.

Sell on Android, larger global marketshare.

I, like most others, subsequently chose not at all.

That's just proving free market is still working.

It's why the Apple Watch and Apple TV have almost no app library compared to iOS - after Apple burned everyone on the iOS App Store, nobody put the effort into making apps for any other Apple platform.

Have you tried gaming on the Watch?

Just how exactly do you expect one to play candy crush or freemium games on a watch?

TV - games do exist but people already have consoles if they really want to game. They boot Apple TV if they want to watch something.