Apple still wants a cut when an iPhone user leaves an app and completes a purchase on the web.
In a new court proposal tied to its long-running fight with Epic Games, Apple is asking to charge US developers between 5% and 15% on purchases completed after users follow external links from iOS apps. The rates are not final and must still be reviewed by a federal judge.
The decision could determine whether web checkout gives developers a meaningful break from App Store economics or simply replaces Apple’s current commission with a smaller one.
Apple proposes three rates for external purchases
The Verge said that Apple proposed a 15% commission for standard apps that would normally pay 30% on App Store purchases. Apps in Apple’s News Partner, Video Partner, and Mini Apps Partner programs would pay 10%, along with subscription renewals.
Developers enrolled in the Small Business Program would pay 5%. Those developers normally pay Apple 15% through its own billing system.
The fee would kick in when a customer follows a purchase link from an app and completes the transaction on the developer’s website. MacRumors gave Spotify as an example: if an iPhone user follows an in-app link to Spotify’s website and subscribes there, Apple says it should still receive a commission.
For users, external checkout could still offer a cheaper route than paying inside an app, but only if developers pass some of the lower fees on to customers. Apple’s proposal does not require that, so the impact on consumer prices would vary by app and service.
Apple said its direct “necessary costs” for allowing external purchases would be “essentially zero,” according to The Verge. The company argued that the proposed rates would still leave developers room to benefit from linking customers to the web.
“It appears that large numbers of US developers collectively accounting for the lion’s share of App Store revenue will be able to link out profitably,” Apple said in the filing, according to The Verge.
For standard apps, Apple’s proposed 15% rate is half its usual 30% commission. Developers would save on Apple’s fee by sending customers to the web, although they would still have to account for their own payment-processing costs.
Epic pushes back on Apple’s proposed commission
The Verge noted that Epic has already rejected Apple’s proposal, calling it “far outside of the bounds” of the court’s guidance.
The dispute goes back to a 2021 order requiring Apple to let developers direct customers to outside payment options. Apple later charged commissions of 12% to 27% on those purchases.
The Mac Observer noted that Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in contempt in April 2025 and barred it from collecting link-out commissions. An appeals court upheld the contempt finding but ruled that Apple could receive compensation for its intellectual property, sending the question of an appropriate fee back to the district court.
Apple and Google take different paths on outside payments
Apple is not alone in being pushed to loosen its control over mobile payments. Engadget reported that Google opened the Play Store to external billing on June 30 and reduced its commission to 10% regardless of which payment system customers use.
Google also began allowing third-party app stores on Android in July.
Apple’s 5% to 15% proposal is not final. Rogers must review Apple’s request and Epic’s response before setting the commission Apple can charge in the US.
For developers and businesses selling digital services through iOS, the percentage the court settles on will decide whether external checkout provides a substantial break from App Store fees or simply trades the current commission for a smaller Apple cut.
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