Apple filed a court proposal Thursday asking to collect a 5 to 15 percent commission on purchases made through external payment links inside iOS apps, even when Apple never processes the transaction.
The filing landed in the US District Court of Northern California as part of the company's years-long legal battle with Epic Games over App Store commissions. The Supreme Court that same day rejected Apple's bid to pause the lower-court proceedings, forcing the company's hand.
Under the proposal, standard apps would owe Apple a 15 percent cut on external sales. Apps in the News Partner Program, Video Partner Program, and Mini Apps Partner Program would pay 10 percent, as would subscription renewals. Developers in Apple's Small Business Program would pay just 5 percent.
The fee covers transactions Apple doesn't touch
The proposal's most contested element is its scope. Apple wants a commission on sales it never processes, never refunds, and never supports, money that flows directly from a customer to a developer's own website.
The company's rationale is that the fee pays for platform access, not transaction handling. Apple argues developers benefit from the iOS ecosystem, its customer base, and its distribution infrastructure, and that those benefits justify a fee even when no Apple system touches the payment.
Buried in the same filing, Apple acknowledged that under the court's own definition of necessary costs, its actual expenses on these outside purchases run close to zero.
Apple also pointed to Google's Play Store as a benchmark. Apple argues Google still charges developers for purchases completed outside its app store, despite allowing external payment links.
What's at stake for developers and the case
Developers spent years fighting for the right to direct users to external checkouts specifically to escape Apple's in-app commission, which runs 15 to 30 percent. Companies like Spotify and Netflix pulled in-app purchasing entirely rather than pay the full rate.
A mandatory external fee would follow those companies out the door they thought they'd closed. For apps with high margins the savings over in-app rates could still be meaningful, but for thin-margin businesses the math gets harder.
Apple previously imposed commissions of up to 27% on external purchases. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers later found the company in contempt for violating her broader injunction on app-store restrictions.
Epic Games said it has roughly 60 days to submit its own expert testimony challenging Apple's proposed rates. The judge's ruling will determine whether external payments become a genuine alternative to Apple's billing system or simply a differently priced version of the same toll.
