Apple proposes 5% to 15% fees on purchases made outside the App Store

Apple has submitted a proposal to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California outlining the fees it wants to charge for purchases made through external links in iOS apps, MacRumors reports.

The proposed fees would apply when a user follows a link from an iOS app and completes the purchase on the developer’s website. A Spotify user, for example, could leave the app through a link and subscribe directly on Spotify’s website.

Apple has proposed a three-tier fee structure:

• 15% for standard apps that would normally pay a 30% commission on in-app purchases
• 10% for participants in the News Partner Program, Video Partner Program and Mini Apps Partner Program, as well as subscription renewals
• 5% for developers in the Small Business Program with annual revenue below $1 million

Apple says the proposed rates are based on expert analysis and are lower than the fees Google charges for similar external purchases in its own legal dispute with Epic Games.

An appeals court previously suggested that any fee could be limited to the direct costs of supporting external purchase links, an approach that could bring the rate down to zero. Apple argues that a zero-percent fee would fail to account for the value its platform provides to developers.

For now, the App Store rules in the U.S. remain unchanged. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will decide what commission, if any, Apple can reasonably charge. She is the same judge who found Apple in contempt of court in April 2025 and barred the company from collecting fees on purchases made through external links. Before that ruling, Apple charged commissions ranging from 12% to 27% on such transactions.

Apple also failed to pause the fee proceedings while it waits for the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the broader case. Gonzalez Rogers rejected the request on August 11, followed by Justice Elena Kagan on August 13. The Supreme Court is expected to consider the case during its term beginning in October.

Durov’s Code previously reported that Apple had filed another appeal in its legal battle with Epic Games, challenging the ruling that requires the company to allow developers to direct users to alternative payment methods.