Apple is overhauling its business terms for apps distributed in the European Union, replacing its per-install Core Technology Fee with a 5% commission on digital transactions for apps distributed outside the App Store and introducing a single fee structure for developers operating across the bloc. The changes will take effect on October 1, 2026.
The new framework follows discussions between Apple and the European Commission over the company’s implementation of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). European regulators had previously raised concerns that Apple’s terms, including the Core Technology Fee, could discourage developers from using alternative distribution and payment channels. The Commission told Reuters that it welcomed the latest changes and would monitor their implementation.
Under the revised model, Apple will replace the Core Technology Fee (CTF) — which charged qualifying developers based on annual app installs — with a Core Technology Commission (CTC). Apps distributed through alternative app marketplaces, as well as apps distributed directly through a developer’s website using Web Distribution, will be subject to a 5% commission on sales of paid apps and digital goods and services.
The 5% commission also applies to alternative app marketplaces themselves when they generate qualifying digital transactions. It covers one-time purchases and auto-renewing subscriptions, including digital goods or services required to access or download alternatively distributed apps or app catalogs.
Apple is simultaneously restructuring commissions for apps that remain on the App Store. Apps using Apple In-App Purchase will pay a 26% commission, while participants in the App Store Small Business Program, Mini Apps Partner Program or Video Partner Program will pay 15%. The 15% rate also applies to qualifying auto-renewing subscriptions after their first year.
Developers that distribute through the App Store but process payments through an alternative payment provider within their app will face a 20% commission. The reduced rate for qualifying program participants and subscriptions after the first year will be 10%.
A separate commission applies when an App Store app directs a user to make a purchase elsewhere through an actionable link. Apple will charge 15% on qualifying out-of-app transactions completed within seven days of a link tap, falling to 10% for qualifying program participants and auto-renewing subscriptions after their first year.
The overhaul eliminates two components of Apple’s previous EU fee system: the Initial Acquisition Fee and Store Services Fee. Apple says moving to the new commission-based structure will create one set of business terms for all developers distributing apps in the EU.
Developers will also gain more flexibility in how payment options are presented. Under the new terms, App Store apps in the EU can offer Apple In-App Purchase alongside alternative payment processing and out-of-app offers. Developers can direct users to a website, another app or an alternative app marketplace to complete a transaction. However, once developers select their combination of payment options, they must maintain that choice across EU storefronts for 12 months.
Apple is introducing additional requirements when alternative payment methods are used by younger users. Apps in the Kids category must place purchases made through alternative processors behind a parental gate and cannot offer links to external purchases. Similar parental-gate requirements apply based on the user’s age, with thresholds adjusted where individual EU storefronts use a higher age of parental consent.
The changes extend beyond payments. Apple is also loosening eligibility requirements for operating alternative app marketplaces in the EU. Starting October 1, developers will be able to qualify through several routes, including meeting a financial-stability threshold, being publicly traded, receiving venture funding from an established investment firm, completing a financial audit, qualifying as certain government, educational or nonprofit organizations, or providing a $1 million standby letter of credit.
Apple is separately preparing changes to the installation experience for alternatively distributed apps. Beginning this fall, the company says it will update how users install alternative app marketplaces and apps distributed directly from developer websites. It will also introduce an API allowing developers to initiate downloads of their web-distributed apps from within another app.
EU users will additionally be able to install alternative app marketplaces and alternatively distributed apps for up to 90 days while traveling outside the EU, extending access beyond the bloc for users who have temporarily left the region.
The new terms do not take effect immediately. Developers can agree to the updated Apple Developer Program License Agreement now, but their accounts will move to the unified EU framework starting October 1, 2026, or the date they accept the terms if later. Existing alternative distribution and payment arrangements can continue under the current terms until the transition.
The changes arrive after sustained regulatory pressure over Apple’s compliance with the DMA. EU regulators had criticized Apple’s previous conditions on alternative distribution, including the Core Technology Fee, on the grounds that they could discourage developers from using competing channels.
Epic Games remains critical of the revised structure. The Fortnite maker described Apple’s new commissions as “junk fees” and argued that they do not sufficiently open the mobile app ecosystem to competition under the DMA.
For developers, the October overhaul represents a substantial restructuring of the economics of distributing and monetizing iOS and iPadOS apps in Europe. The per-install Core Technology Fee will disappear, alternative distribution will move to a transaction-based 5% commission, and developers using the App Store will operate under revised rates depending on whether purchases are processed by Apple, inside the app through another provider, or through external purchase links.
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