Over $10 billion — that’s how much revenue Apple’s U.S. App Store raked in last year, according to a new analysis by app intelligence provider Appfigures.
The firm’s estimates indicate that U.S. App Store revenue from commissions more than doubled between 2020 and 2024. In 2020, Apple’s share of App Store commissions was approximately $4.76 billion, growing to over $10.1 billion by 2024.
Based on Appfigures’ data, U.S. App Store developers generated $33.68 billion in gross revenue from their apps and games using Apple’s payments system in 2024, and took home $23.57 billion after Apple’s cut.
Though Apple doesn’t typically break out its App Store revenue during earnings, it did publish a report in May 2023 where it said the App Store globally generated $104 billion in estimated billings for digital goods and services in 2022.
However, Appfigures’ analysis found the App Store made $61.5 billion globally in 2022, which grew to $91.3 billion in 2024. From this, Apple made more than $27.39 billion in commissions globally last year, Appfigures also said.
That leads to a discrepancy between Appfigures’ analysis and Apple’s own.
This can be explained by an important caveat found in Apple’s report. Under Apple’s chart, it states that its “billings and sales” figures are “not the same as App Store billings.” That’s important here.
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When Apple wrote its report, the company was trying to show how big the App Store is and how key it is to the overall economy, so it merged App Store revenue with revenue generated outside the App Store to generate its total for the “Billings and Sales” category.
In the report, Apple calculated the portion of an app’s total revenue that is facilitated by the App Store, even if the purchase was made elsewhere. For instance, if a user buys a subscription to Hulu on the web, but then spends 60% of their time streaming Hulu on Apple devices, Apple credits itself with facilitating 60% of that user’s spend. (To determine usage, the report relied on third-party sources, like market research firms, to estimate how much usage occurred on smartphones versus tablets, desktops, or TVs.)
Apple also allows enterprises to distribute apps with in-app purchases, but these aren’t visible in the App Store.
Examining the numbers around U.S. Apple App Store revenue is more relevant than ever in the wake of the recent court ruling that now prevents Apple from charging a 27% commission on transactions that take place outside the App Store.
Apple initially attempted to comply with the court’s injunction resulting from its antitrust battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games by making changes that wouldn’t harm App Store profits.
To do so, Apple last year gave developers a way to apply for an exception to its App Store rules so they could add web links inside their apps that directed customers to external purchases. However, Apple continued to charge a 27% commission on those purchases and dictated how the website links should appear. (This even included the use of “scare screens” to warn consumers of the dangers of making purchases outside the App Store.)
Last week, a judge ruled that Apple was in “willful violation” of the 2021 injunction by continuing to collect fees on purchases made outside apps and by creating new anticompetitive barriers.
This decision forced Apple to update its U.S. App Store rules, which now allow developers to link out to other ways for consumers to make purchases, without obstacles or commissions. Since then, several apps have taken advantage of the ability to introduce web payments, including Spotify, Amazon Kindle, and Patreon. One small game emulator called Delta is now supporting itself via Patreon memberships, too.
Apple is appealing the decision, arguing in its most recent filing that the ruling causes Apple “grave irreparable harm.”
“These restrictions, which will cost Apple substantial sums annually, are based on conduct that has never been adjudicated to be (and is not) unlawful,” Apple’s filing stated. “Rather, they were imposed to punish Apple for purported non-compliance with an earlier state-law injunction that is itself invalid.”
This argument won’t likely go over well with developers, as many believe Apple should have lowered commissions for everyone years ago, not just for small business developers.
Appfigures’ analysis also broke down U.S. App Store revenue by apps and games, which generated Apple approximately $6.28 billion and $3.83 billion, respectively, in 2024.
Together, these figures highlight how critical App Store revenue remains to Apple’s bottom line, and why it’s fighting so hard to retain control.
Keep reading the article on Tech Crunch
In an attempt to protect a valuable revenue stream, Apple is trying to delay a court ruling that forces the company to let iOS app developers in the U.S. redirect users to external payment systems and avoid paying a commission to the iPhone maker.
The company filed an emergency motion late on Wednesday, asking an appeals court to grant a partial stay on a previous ruling.
A U.S. court last week ruled in favor of Epic Games in a long-running case against Apple, after Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found that Apple did not comply with an order that was handed down in 2021.
The new ruling forces Apple to let apps on its U.S. App Store include features that could redirect users to external systems for making purchases, stop collecting commissions on those payments, and stop showing “scare screens” — pop-up messages warning users of the dangers of making in-app purchases from non-Apple systems.
Apple is now asking for a stay on the prohibitions on “charging a cut of transactions that users make via external purchase links, and setting any conditions on the language or placement of links or other references to external purchase options.”
Apple argues that the new ruling is unwarranted, saying it “dramatically” increases the scope of the earlier injunction, as the court did not originally bar the company from charging commissions on non-Apple payment systems — Apple had not started doing that at the time.
Apple says it complied with the court’s 2021 injunction by letting developers link out to non-Apple payment systems. We must note that it charged app developers a 27% cut on those transactions anyway, in addition to showing the “scare screens” described above.
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The new order would result in significant losses, the company said. “These restrictions, which will cost Apple substantial sums annually, are based on conduct that has never been adjudicated to be (and is not) unlawful; rather, they were imposed to punish Apple for purported non-compliance with an earlier state-law Injunction that is itself invalid,” it said in the filing.
“Without a stay, these extraordinary intrusions into Apple’s business will cause grave irreparable harm,” the company said.
The iPhone maker filed an appeal against the court decision earlier this week. The company has already complied with the order and is allowing developers to link users out to complete purchases outside the App Store ecosystem. Companies like Spotify and Amazon have already updated their apps to redirect users to their own websites for payments.
Keep reading the article on Tech Crunch
A game emulator called Delta is taking advantage of the recent court decision around Apple’s App Store to support its business by linking to its Patreon membership page. The update, approved Wednesday for release on the U.S. App Store, allows Delta users to join the Delta team’s Patreon directly from the mobile app, without giving Apple a cut of its subscriptions.
The move follows last week’s court ruling that forced Apple to fully open its U.S. App Store to external purchases, after a years-long fight with Fortnite maker Epic Games. Though Apple largely won that antitrust lawsuit, a judge ruled that the tech giant had not properly followed the court’s orders in one key area: in-app purchases.
Apple previously vetted which apps could link out to their websites and added screens to scare users away from making purchases through external payment mechanisms. All the while, it was still charging a commission on those web sales of 27%, down from its usual 30%.
After Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple had failed to comply with her original injunction, Apple changed its App Store rules for the U.S. Since then, businesses like Spotify, Amazon Kindle, and Patreon have updated their iOS apps to add links to their websites where consumers can pay directly, without using Apple’s in-app purchases.
While this is a win for larger companies that now get to keep more of their profits by skirting Apple’s commission, Delta’s update is an example of how the ruling makes way for new business models for monetizing mobile apps.
That change could give the App Store the boost it needs at a time when indie app development has been declining and every iOS release “sherlocks” (copies) more third-party apps. Smaller developers often struggle to make a living after paying a 30% commission to Apple, but now have the option to keep more of their profits thanks to the expanded support for web payments.
In the updated version of Delta’s game emulator app, users are prompted to “Join our Patreon” from the app’s Settings screen. Here, they can then click a button to subscribe to Delta’s $3 per month Patreon membership, which provides access to exclusive features and other perks.
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The web page opens inside the app, allowing users to link their Patreon accounts and choose a membership tier, like monthly or annual. (Before, users could only link a Patreon account in the app, but they couldn’t subscribe directly.)
“We can now freely mention our Patreon without giving Apple 27% of donations,” noted Delta creator Riley Testut in a post on social media, adding, “Goodbye scare screens” — a reference to the previously required warnings that nudged users away from external purchase links.
Delta still includes a way to pay through Apple’s in-app purchases, as is still required. However, it’s tucked away under an “Alternative Payment Methods” menu in the Settings screen — an option many users will likely never seek out.
Hiding pro-consumer options deep within layers of menus is a trick that Apple itself has used to its advantage over the years.
For instance, if you want to turn off Apple’s personalized ads (essentially the Apple version of its required “Do Not Track” pop-up authorization for apps), you have to delve into your iOS Settings, go to Privacy & Security, scroll down to the very bottom of the page, tap Apple Advertising, then toggle off Personalized Ads. Or, if you want to clear the app usage data that personalizes your App Store experience, you have to go to Settings > Apps > App Store > scroll to the bottom of that page, tap Personalized Recommendations, then tap Clear App Usage Data on the screen that appears.
Apple surely can’t be mad at developers for adopting its own tactics?
Given that Delta’s app has now received approval from Apple’s App Review, it seems to follow that we’ll soon see other Patreon-supported apps emerging in the near future.
Keep reading the article on Tech Crunch
A game emulator called Delta is taking advantage of the recent court decision around Apple’s App Store to support its business by linking to its Patreon membership page. The update, approved Wednesday for release on the U.S. App Store, allows Delta users to join the Delta team’s Patreon directly from the mobile app, without giving Apple a cut of its subscriptions.
The move follows last week’s court ruling that forced Apple to fully open its U.S. App Store to external purchases, after a years-long fight with Fortnite maker Epic Games. Though Apple largely won that antitrust lawsuit, a judge ruled that the tech giant had not properly followed the court’s orders in one key area: in-app purchases.
Apple previously vetted which apps could link out to their websites and added screens to scare users away from making purchases through external payment mechanisms. All the while, it was still charging a commission on those web sales of 27%, down from its usual 30%.
After Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple had failed to comply with her original injunction, Apple changed its App Store rules for the U.S. Since then, businesses like Spotify, Amazon Kindle, and Patreon have updated their iOS apps to add links to their websites where consumers can pay directly, without using Apple’s in-app purchases.
While this is a win for larger companies that now get to keep more of their profits by skirting Apple’s commission, Delta’s update is an example of how the ruling makes way for new business models for monetizing mobile apps.
That change could give the App Store the boost it needs at a time when indie app development has been declining and every iOS release “sherlocks” (copies) more third-party apps. Smaller developers often struggle to make a living after paying a 30% commission to Apple, but now have the option to keep more of their profits thanks to the expanded support for web payments.
In the updated version of Delta’s game emulator app, users are prompted to “Join our Patreon” from the app’s Settings screen. Here, they can then click a button to subscribe to Delta’s $3 per month Patreon membership, which provides access to exclusive features and other perks.
Techcrunch event
Berkeley, CA
|
June 5
The web page opens inside the app, allowing users to link their Patreon accounts and choose a membership tier, like monthly or annual. (Before, users could only link a Patreon account in the app, but they couldn’t subscribe directly.)
“We can now freely mention our Patreon without giving Apple 27% of donations,” noted Delta creator Riley Testut in a post on social media, adding, “Goodbye scare screens” — a reference to the previously required warnings that nudged users away from external purchase links.
Delta still includes a way to pay through Apple’s in-app purchases, as is still required. However, it’s tucked away under an “Alternative Payment Methods” menu in the Settings screen — an option many users will likely never seek out.
Hiding pro-consumer options deep within layers of menus is a trick that Apple itself has used to its advantage over the years.
For instance, if you want to turn off Apple’s personalized ads (essentially the Apple version of its required “Do Not Track” pop-up authorization for apps), you have to delve into your iOS Settings, go to Privacy & Security, scroll down to the very bottom of the page, tap Apple Advertising, then toggle off Personalized Ads. Or, if you want to clear the app usage data that personalizes your App Store experience, you have to go to Settings > Apps > App Store > scroll to the bottom of that page, tap Personalized Recommendations, then tap Clear App Usage Data on the screen that appears.
Apple surely can’t be mad at developers for adopting its own tactics?
Given that Delta’s app has now received approval from Apple’s App Review, it seems to follow that we’ll soon see other Patreon-supported apps emerging in the near future.
Keep reading the article on Tech Crunch