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The Platform Tollbooth Problem

Apple and Google have long required apps that sell digital goods to take payment through the store’s own billing system: Apple In-App Purchase (IAP) on iOS and Google Play Billing on Android. Both stores charge a commission of up to 30% on those sales. Large app developers such as Spotify, Epic Games, and Netflix criticized this commission as excessive and anti-competitive. Apple’s anti-steering rules also stopped apps from telling users that a cheaper option existed outside the app, so the stores controlled both distribution and payment for digital goods.
A 30% commission takes a large share of revenue from digital businesses, especially subscription and SaaS apps that pay it on every renewal.

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The Epic Games Catalyst

Epic Games, led by CEO Tim Sweeney, ran a legal and public campaign called Project Liberty to challenge the app store commissions of Apple and Google. The goal was to open app distribution and payments to developers. On August 13, 2020, Epic updated Fortnite with a direct payment option that bypassed Apple IAP. Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store the same day, and Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple within hours. The Epic Games v. Apple case started a global debate about app store rules.

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The Epic v. Apple Verdict

On September 10, 2021, a U.S. District Court judge ruled:
  • Apple was not found to be a monopolist under federal antitrust law, so it kept control of app distribution on iOS.
  • Apple’s anti-steering rules violated California’s Unfair Competition Law. The court issued a permanent injunction: Apple must let developers add buttons and links that direct users to other ways to pay.
The injunction took effect in January 2024. After further appeals and a 2025 contempt ruling, Apple updated its App Store Review Guidelines in May 2025 to allow external purchase links in apps on the U.S. storefront.
The U.S. ruling added to regulatory pressure and legal action in South Korea, Japan, the EU, and other regions. Together with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), these changes gave developers more ways to take payments outside the app stores.

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Global Overview: Where Developers Can Legally Bypass Fees

The table shows what each store allows by region. Rules change often, so check the store’s current terms before you launch.
UCB stands for User Choice Billing, Google’s alternative billing system that allows developers to use third-party payment processors.
¹ EU update (effective October 1, 2026): Following Apple’s August 18, 2026 announcement, Apple replaced the previous stacked EU commission model (which produced an effective 10–17% cut) with unified business terms. Apps that link out to complete purchases now pay a flat 15% commission (10% for developers in the App Store Small Business Program, Mini Apps Partner Program, or Video Partner Program). Apps using in-app alternative payment processing pay 20% (10% for those same programs). The Core Technology Fee is replaced by a 5% Core Technology Commission for apps distributed outside the App Store.² United States: App Store Review Guideline 3.1.1(a) lets apps on the U.S. storefront include buttons and links to other purchase methods without an entitlement. In December 2025, the Ninth Circuit allowed Apple to seek a commission on linked-out purchases limited to its genuine costs, and the district court has not set that rate.³ Google Play in the United States: Since October 29, 2025, Google Play has allowed U.S. apps to use other billing systems and to link to purchases outside the app. Google charges service fees on these transactions.⁴ Japan: Under the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA), in force since December 18, 2025, Apple allows iOS apps in Japan to use alternative in-app payment processing and to link out to web purchases, and Google Play opened User Choice Billing to games.

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Pre-2025 Loopholes: How Apps Circumvented App Store Rules

Before the rules changed, some apps found workarounds to avoid the 30% commission. Most of these workarounds were risky and not fully compliant with store rules.

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Reader App Loophole

Under the reader app rule, apps such as Kindle and Netflix let users access content they had already bought elsewhere. Apple allows apps to give access to previously purchased content. As long as the app didn’t link to an external payment page or offer an in-app purchase, it was allowed on the App Store.

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Hidden Payment Redirections

Other apps hid payment redirections in their code. Some sent emails after download that asked users to pay outside the app.
Spotify took the web-payment approach. If you use Spotify on iOS in India, you can’t buy the Premium plan inside the app. You pay on the web instead.
These methods were risky and fragile, and the stores usually removed the apps once they found them. They showed that developers wanted control over their margins and their customer data.

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The Payment Gateway Trap: What Developers Often Miss

A payment gateway (PG) such as Stripe or Razorpay looks like the obvious alternative. For in-app purchases, it isn’t enough.
On iOS, outside the regions where Apple allows other payment methods (for example, India or China), adding a PG directly to your app violates Apple’s policies and risks removal from the App Store.
Where a PG is allowed, it still leaves work with you: tax compliance in each country, invoicing, refund management, and regulatory filings. A Merchant of Record (MoR) such as Dodo Payments covers that work. As the legal seller, Dodo Payments handles payments, tax, invoicing, refunds, disputes, and billing support. You collect payment globally without putting your App Store listing at risk. What it is: The app sends users to a web checkout, hosted by Dodo Payments or by you. The customer pays outside the app, and the app then grants access. Legal Status:
  • iOS: Allowed on the U.S., EU (including the Netherlands), and Japan storefronts. Reader apps in any storefront can link to account management with Apple’s External Link Account Entitlement.
  • Android: Allowed in markets where Google permits alternative billing or external links
Advantages:
  • Short integration: the app opens a checkout URL
  • Follows store rules in the regions listed
  • No card data passes through your app, which keeps PCI scope out of the app
Drawbacks:
  • Slight friction: the user leaves the app to pay

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2. In-App SDK Integration (Third-Party SDK)

What it is: A third-party payment UI, such as a native SDK, runs inside your app so users pay without leaving it. Legal Status:
  • iOS: Allowed in the EU (under DMA terms), in Japan (under the MSCA), and in South Korea (through an Apple-approved PSP in a separate Korea-only binary). Elsewhere, it violates Apple’s rules.
  • Android: Allowed in UCB markets when you follow Google’s UX and reporting requirements
Advantages:
  • Smooth checkout
  • The user stays in the app
  • Can match the IAP experience
Drawbacks:
  • More integration work
  • Compliance risk outside allowed regions
A global rollout can follow this plan:
1

U.S. Users

Use App-to-Web. Apple doesn’t charge a commission on U.S. link-outs while the court sets a rate.
2

EU Users

Use In-App SDK or App-to-Web. Under Apple’s unified EU terms (effective October 1, 2026), App-to-Web link-outs incur a flat 15% Apple commission, while in-app alternative payments incur 20% (both drop to 10% for eligible small-business/partner programs).
3

Android Users in UCB Markets

Use In-App SDK with a checkout that follows Google’s UX rules.
4

Other iOS Markets

Use Apple IAP, or don’t sell digital goods in the app.
5

Other Android Markets

Use Google Play Billing, or distribute through alternative app stores.

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The Biggest Opportunity

The U.S. App Store is the largest single opportunity. Since the May 2025 guideline update that followed Epic v. Apple, apps on the U.S. storefront can include external links to a web checkout. For U.S. customers, this means no required Apple IAP, no 30% commission today, and direct control of the customer relationship and revenue. The U.S. is one of the largest app revenue markets, so this change can raise margins for subscriptions, SaaS tools, media apps, and learning apps. For many businesses, it recovers up to 30% of revenue in their largest market.
The U.S. market is the largest opportunity for revenue recovery. With compliant external payment links, developers avoid the 30% Apple commission on those purchases.

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How Dodo Payments Enables This

As your Merchant of Record, Dodo Payments handles:
  • Global tax compliance (VAT/GST)
  • Payment processing (cards, UPI, wallets)
  • Invoicing, refunds, fraud prevention
  • SDK & hosted checkout integration
You get fewer compliance and operations tasks, and lower fees where the store rules allow payment outside the app.

Get Started

Begin your integration with Dodo Payments

Mobile Integration

Learn how to integrate payments in your mobile app

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Conclusion: A Developer-Friendly Future Is Here

For years, developers had to accept the 30% store commission or leave the store. After Epic v. Apple, new regulation, and public pressure, the stores can no longer enforce that model everywhere. Developers can now choose how they take payment in many regions. With compliant App-to-Web flows or SDK integrations and a Merchant of Record such as Dodo Payments, you keep more revenue and more control while following the rules. The app stores didn’t open these options by choice, but the options exist now in many regions.
In the regions covered above, you can take payment outside the app store and pay a lower commission, or none, while you stay compliant.
Last modified on September 9, 2026