Over $10 billion — that’s how a lot income Apple’s U.S. App Retailer raked in final yr, based on a brand new evaluation by app intelligence supplier Appfigures.
The agency’s estimates point out that U.S. App Retailer income from commissions greater than doubled between 2020 and 2024. In 2020, Apple’s share of App Retailer commissions was roughly $4.76 billion, rising to over $10.1 billion by 2024.
Based mostly on Appfigures’ information, U.S. App Retailer builders generated $33.68 billion in gross income from their apps and video games utilizing Apple’s funds system in 2024, and took dwelling $23.57 billion after Apple’s reduce.
Although Apple doesn’t sometimes get away its App Retailer income throughout earnings, it did publish a report in Could 2023 the place it mentioned the App Retailer globally generated $104 billion in estimated billings for digital items and providers in 2022.
Nevertheless, Appfigures’ evaluation discovered the App Retailer made $61.5 billion globally in 2022, which grew to $91.3 billion in 2024. From this, Apple made greater than $27.39 billion in commissions globally final yr, Appfigures additionally mentioned.
That results in a discrepancy between Appfigures’ evaluation and Apple’s personal.
This may be defined by an vital caveat present in Apple’s report. Below Apple’s chart, it states that its “billings and gross sales” figures are “not the identical as App Retailer billings.” That’s vital right here.
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When Apple wrote its report, the corporate was attempting to point out how huge the App Retailer is and the way key it’s to the general economic system, so it merged App Retailer income with income generated exterior the App Retailer to generate its complete for the “Billings and Gross sales” class.
Within the report, Apple calculated the portion of an app’s complete income that’s facilitated by the App Retailer, even when the acquisition was made elsewhere. As an example, if a consumer buys a subscription to Hulu on the internet, however then spends 60% of their time streaming Hulu on Apple gadgets, Apple credit itself with facilitating 60% of that consumer’s spend. (To find out utilization, the report relied on third-party sources, like market analysis companies, to estimate how a lot utilization occurred on smartphones versus tablets, desktops, or TVs.)
Apple additionally permits enterprises to distribute apps with in-app purchases, however these aren’t seen within the App Retailer.
“Grave Irreparable Hurt?”
Inspecting the numbers round U.S. Apple App Retailer income is extra related than ever within the wake of the latest courtroom ruling that now prevents Apple from charging a 27% fee on transactions that happen exterior the App Retailer.
Apple initially tried to adjust to the courtroom’s injunction ensuing from its antitrust battle with Fortnite maker Epic Video games by making adjustments that wouldn’t hurt App Retailer earnings.
To take action, Apple final yr gave builders a technique to apply for an exception to its App Retailer guidelines so they might add net hyperlinks inside their apps that directed prospects to exterior purchases. Nevertheless, Apple continued to cost a 27% fee on these purchases and dictated how the web site hyperlinks ought to seem. (This even included the usage of “scare screens” to warn shoppers of the hazards of constructing purchases exterior the App Retailer.)
Final week, a decide dominated that Apple was in “willful violation” of the 2021 injunction by persevering with to gather charges on purchases made exterior apps and by creating new anticompetitive obstacles.
This determination compelled Apple to replace its U.S. App Retailer guidelines, which now permit builders to hyperlink out to different methods for shoppers to make purchases, with out obstacles or commissions. Since then, a number of apps have taken benefit of the flexibility to introduce net funds, together with Spotify, Amazon Kindle, and Patreon. One small recreation emulator referred to as Delta is now supporting itself by way of Patreon memberships, too.
Apple is interesting the choice, arguing in its most up-to-date submitting that the ruling causes Apple “grave irreparable hurt.”
“These restrictions, which can price Apple substantial sums yearly, are based mostly on conduct that has by no means been adjudicated to be (and isn’t) illegal,” Apple’s submitting acknowledged. “Fairly, they had been imposed to punish Apple for purported non-compliance with an earlier state-law injunction that’s itself invalid.”
This argument received’t seemingly go over properly with builders, as many imagine Apple ought to have lowered commissions for everybody years in the past, not only for small enterprise builders.
Appfigures’ evaluation additionally broke down U.S. App Retailer income by apps and video games, which generated Apple roughly $6.28 billion and $3.83 billion, respectively, in 2024.
Collectively, these figures spotlight how crucial App Retailer income stays to Apple’s backside line, and why it’s preventing so laborious to retain management.
