Apple is requesting permission to collect commissions ranging from 5% to 15% when iPhone users complete purchases on external websites after following links from iOS applications, according to a new court filing submitted in its ongoing legal battle with Epic Games. The proposal represents the company's latest attempt to maintain revenue from transactions that occur outside its App Store, even when customers leave an app to buy directly from a developer's site. A federal judge must still approve the rates before they take effect, and the decision will determine whether web-based checkout provides developers meaningful financial relief from App Store economics or simply substitutes Apple's existing commission structure with a reduced version.
The proposal establishes three distinct commission tiers based on developer category. Standard applications that currently face a 30% App Store commission would pay 15% on external purchases, while apps participating in Apple's News Partner, Video Partner, and Mini Apps Partner programs would be charged 10%, as would subscription renewals. Developers enrolled in the Small Business Program, who presently pay 15% through Apple's billing infrastructure, would face a 5% fee. These commissions would apply whenever a customer follows a purchase link out of an app and completes the transaction on the developer's own website. For example, if an iPhone owner clicks an in-app link directing them to Spotify's site and subscribes there, Apple maintains it should still receive a cut of that transaction.
Apple acknowledged in the filing that its direct "necessary costs" for permitting external purchases would be "essentially zero," according to reporting on the proposal. Despite this, the company argued that the suggested rates would still allow developers to profit from directing customers to web-based checkout. "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 stated in the filing. Epic Games has already rejected the proposal, calling it "far outside of the bounds" of the court's guidance on what constitutes appropriate compensation.
The dispute traces back to a 2021 court order requiring Apple to permit developers to steer customers toward outside payment alternatives. Apple initially responded by charging commissions between 12% and 27% on those external transactions. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in contempt this past April and prohibited it from collecting link-out commissions, but an appeals court later ruled that Apple could receive compensation for its intellectual property while sending the question of an appropriate fee percentage back to the district court. Meanwhile, Google has taken a different approach, opening the Play Store to external billing on June 30 and reducing its commission to 10% regardless of which payment system customers choose, while also permitting third-party app stores on Android beginning in July. For developers selling digital services through iOS, the percentage Judge Rogers ultimately approves will decide whether external checkout delivers a substantial break from App Store fees or merely exchanges the current commission for a smaller Apple levy. The final ruling will set a precedent for how platform operators can monetize transactions that technically occur beyond their payment infrastructure. For businesses navigating platform economics, the outcome highlights the tension between maintaining ecosystem value and allowing competitive payment options.