Apple's New Fee: Up to 15% for External Link Payments

Apple's New Fee for External Links

In a significant shift, Apple will now charge developers a commission on purchases made through external links, directly responding to a court order that mandates allowing such links. This new fee structure applies a 12-15% commission on transactions that occur when a user leaves the App Store to complete a purchase on the developer’s own website. The move is a direct consequence of a legal ruling that required Apple to permit developers to steer users toward external payment methods, a practice previously prohibited. While Apple has complied with the court’s directive to remove the anti-steering restrictions, it has introduced this fee to recoup revenue it would have otherwise lost. The commission rate is notably lower than the standard 15-30% charged for in-app purchases, but it still applies to all digital goods and services sold through these external links. This decision aims to balance the court’s mandate with Apple’s business model, ensuring the company continues to benefit from its ecosystem even when transactions occur off its platform.

How the Fee Works

The new fee is triggered when a user taps an external link and makes a purchase within a 7-day window. This applies to any digital goods or services bought through that link, regardless of whether the user completes the purchase immediately or returns later within that timeframe.

Developers must use Apple’s official API or link generator to create these external links. This ensures Apple can track the transaction and apply the correct fee. The fee itself is tiered based on the developer’s business size. Small businesses—those earning under $1 million per year from Apple platforms—pay a reduced rate of 12%. All other developers pay 15%.

Notably, the fee is calculated on the purchase price before any taxes are applied. Apple has stated that this structure is designed to “maintain a fair commission” for links that originate from their ecosystem, even when the sale occurs off-device. The 7-day window is a key change from earlier proposals, which had suggested a 30-day period.

Developer and User Reactions

Developer criticism has been swift and pointed, with many describing the new fee as excessive and burdensome. The core argument is that the charge actively discourages the use of external links, undermining the very purpose of directing users outside of Apple’s ecosystem. For smaller developers who rely on such links to avoid commission, the fee can represent a significant new cost, effectively penalizing them for steering users away from in-app purchases.

Users, meanwhile, may face a more immediate consequence in the form of warning prompts. These alerts, which appear when leaving the app, could deter people from following external links altogether. The friction introduced by these warnings risks breaking the seamless experience users expect, potentially reducing the click-through rates that developers depend on. While Apple frames the fee and warnings as necessary safeguards, the developer community largely views them as a barrier to open commerce.

Context and Legal Background

The fee is a direct outcome of the ongoing legal battle between Apple and Epic Games. In a 2021 ruling, the judge determined that Apple must allow developers to include external links to alternative payment methods. Crucially, the same ruling permitted Apple to charge a fee for this privilege, which it now exercises.

Apple’s compliance with the court order is widely viewed as minimal, implementing the change in the most restrictive way possible while still technically meeting the legal requirement. Epic Games has publicly criticized the move, calling it bad-faith compliance. The company argues that the new fee effectively nullifies the benefit of external links, as it charges a 27% commission on purchases made through them—nearly identical to the standard 30% App Store commission.