Every EU App Fee Just Got A Firm Deadline: October 1

What Actually Changed

Apple's newsroom confirmed on August 18, 2026 that from October 1, apps distributed through alternative marketplaces or directly from the web in the EU pay a flat 5 percent Core Technology Commission. Apps that stay in the App Store but link out to an external checkout pay 15 percent, cut to 10 percent for developers enrolled in Apple's reduced-rate programs. Apps that keep using Apple's own in-app payment system inside the App Store pay 20 percent, again reduced to 10 percent for small businesses under Apple's existing revenue threshold. The old Core Technology Fee, charged per install above a free threshold, and the separate Store Services Fee tier are both gone.

The Maze This Replaces

The system Apple built after the Digital Markets Act took effect stacked three different charges that could each apply depending on where an install came from, whether a user had installed the app before, and which store distributed it. A German or Dutch publisher trying to decide whether to launch on an alternative marketplace had to model per-install fee exposure against uncertain future installs, with the schedule itself still under active European Commission challenge. That legal uncertainty, not just the fee level, is what kept most publishers from trying alternative distribution even when the headline numbers looked competitive.

Why The Settlement Matters More Than The Percentage

Bloomberg and the Financial Times both frame this as Apple resolving its stand-off with the European Commission, not just cutting a price. A negotiated settlement means the fee schedule is far less likely to be struck down or revised again in the next enforcement cycle, which is the input every finance team actually needs to build a multi-year plan. Apple's own services revenue has already dropped double digits in the US year to date on regulatory pressure, so this is Apple choosing certainty over further litigation risk as much as it is a concession to developers.

What To Do Before October 1

Any EU publisher currently paying Apple's old in-app commission should run three numbers side by side before the deadline: staying in-app at 20 percent (10 percent if eligible for the small business program), linking out from the App Store at 15 percent (10 percent reduced), or distributing outside the App Store entirely at a flat 5 percent plus the cost of building and supporting an alternative checkout. For a subscription business with recurring EU revenue, that 5-percent option is now simple enough to model in an afternoon, which was never true under the old schedule.

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