Apple proposes to take a 15% cut of purchases made outside the App Store
- ID
- 14209
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 14 Aug 2026, 10:54 PM
- Fetched
- 14 Aug 2026, 11:28 PM
- Provider
- TechCrunch
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/14/apple-proposes-to-take-a-15-cut-of-purchases-made-outside-the-app-store/
- Source URL
- https://techcrunch.com/feed/
Summary
- Score
- 6.5
- Created
- 14 Aug 2026, 11:30 PM
- Tags
- Audience
- developerssaas_founders
What happened
Apple submitted a court-ordered proposal to charge 15% commissions on purchases made via external links inside iOS apps, with 5% for small business developers, 10% for certain partner programs, and 10% for subscription renewals. The Supreme Court rejected Apple's bid to delay, forcing the disclosure after Apple had previously imposed a 27% external-link commission that the court found problematic. Apple compared its rates to Google Play's 20% standard, 15% special program, and 10% subscription renewal link-out fees.
Why it matters
If you ship an iOS app and route payments through external links, these proposed rates determine your unit economics: 5% if you qualify as a small business developer versus 15% standard. Founders should model both scenarios now and check whether their app qualifies for the small business or partner program tiers before finalizing pricing.
Discussion angle
Compare Apple's proposed external-link rates against Google Play's existing 20%/15%/10% structure and discuss whether the 5% small business tier meaningfully changes the build-vs-buy decision for payment processing in mobile apps.