App Development / App Store Commission...

App Store Commission Revenue Fell 18%, but Spending Fell Only 6%

By Daniel Haiem • October 12, 2026

By Daniel Haiem • Reviewed By Aaron Gordon • October 12, 2026 • Calculating...

Apple's US App Store commission revenue is down 18% this year. That sounds like apps are suddenly earning less, but it is not the number most app owners should react to.

Consumer spending on the App Store fell 6%, not 18%, and the gap between those two figures is where the real change sits. Below is what moved, why it moved, and the three decisions it puts in front of app owners for the rest of 2026.

App Store Revenue in 2026, by the Numbers

US App Store consumer spending fell 6% year over year in Q2 2026, after growing 9% in the same quarter a year earlier, according to Sensor Tower data reported by the Financial Times.

Metric	Q2 2026	A year earlier
US App Store consumer spending	Down 6%	Up 9%
Global App Store consumer spending	Up 3%	Up 13%
Global gaming revenue	Down 4.5%	Not reported
Apple US commission revenue (year to date)	Down 18%	Not reported

Two of these numbers do not match, and that is the useful part. Appfigures estimates Apple's US commission revenue is down 18% this year. That is about three times the drop in what people actually spent. We track these shifts across both stores in our 2026 app statistics, and the gap between those two numbers is what this article is about.

US App Store consumer spending fell 6% in Q2 2026 after growing 9% a year earlier, while Apple’s US commission revenue fell 18% from January to August 2026

Is App Store Revenue Falling, or Just Moving?

Mostly, it is moving. The drop in spending is real, but the sharper 18% fall in Apple's commission does not mean apps are earning 18% less. It mostly reflects where payments get processed now.

An external payment link is a button or web page inside an app that sends users to pay outside Apple's in-app purchase checkout. Since April 2025, US courts have required Apple to allow these links without taking its usual cut on those sales. Every dollar that goes through an external link is a dollar Apple never touches, even though the app still gets paid.

Two payment paths: in-app purchases go through Apple at a 15 to 30% commission, while external payment links send money straight to the developer

A second channel pulls the same way. Brazil and Japan have both opened the App Store to outside payment systems and rival storefronts under recent local rules, so Apple collects less there too.

None of this means your app is fine. It means the 18% measures Apple's cut, not your revenue. Mixing the two up is the fastest way to make the wrong call on how you monetize your app this year.

More Apps, Tighter Rules on Both Platforms

While Apple's cut was shrinking, the store was filling up. New app releases across the App Store and Google Play rose about 60% year over year in Q1 2026, and iOS releases climbed 80%, according to Appfigures. AI coding tools are a big part of why. More apps now compete for the same categories, keywords, and search results.

Apple is looking for new revenue

MacRumors reported that Apple's leadership wants to pull more recurring revenue out of the App Store as commission income falls. Phil Schiller, who ran the App Store for years, stepped down from that role in late August. John Gruber read the change as a sign that Apple will push harder on the store, not ease off. It fits the steady stream of iOS platform changes app teams already have to track.

Google is tightening technical limits

On Android, the pressure is technical. Starting in November 2026, Google Play will show developers how their apps compare to new Android 17 memory limits for runtime memory, image memory, and unused code. Enforcement starts in February 2027. Apps that keep exceeding the limits risk lower visibility or blocked updates, so an Android development team should be measuring memory now, not in January.

New app releases up 60% year over year and iOS releases up 80%, as Apple faces revenue pressure and Google enforces Android 17 memory limits in February 2027

Neither platform is making it easier to launch and be seen. Both are raising the cost of standing still, which leaves three decisions worth making on purpose.

Decision 1: Plan for More Than One Payment Path

Routing every purchase through Apple's in-app purchase system is no longer the only reasonable choice, and for some apps it is no longer the cheapest. For years it was the default. You sold subscriptions through StoreKit, paid the commission, and moved on.

Adding an external payment link is not free. It means:

A second checkout flow outside the app
A way to match outside purchases to what the user unlocks inside the app
Receipt validation that does not assume every sale came through StoreKit

Comparison of an iOS checkout using only in-app purchase versus in-app purchase plus an external link, with entitlements unified on your own server

The cheapest time to plan for this is before you need it. When payment and entitlement logic sit behind one internal layer instead of being wired straight to Apple's SDK, a second payment path becomes a scoped feature, not a rebuild. That is how AppMakers USA approaches payment architecture on iOS builds.

The fee Apple can charge on external-link purchases is still unsettled. It has changed more than once since the 2025 ruling, and Apple has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the contempt finding at the center of the case. Treat the margin as something to plan around, not a fixed rate in your model. Check the current terms and their tax and accounting impact with your own counsel first, as you would for any payment integration.

Already live with Apple's in-app purchase as your only checkout? AppMakers USA reviews your payment and entitlement code and tells you what it would take to add a second payment path without a rebuild.

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Payment routing gets the most attention. Discoverability is the one that quietly costs the most when you ignore it.

Decision 2: Stop Assuming Your App Will Be Found

The assumption to drop is that a good app in a normal category will surface on its own after launch. With releases up 60% and iOS releases up 80%, that is close to false now.

More launches mean more apps matching the same search terms and chasing the same featured spots. AI tools also mean "well built" no longer separates you from most of the field. Three habits help:

More apps competing for the same installs, shown as a 2024 funnel with a few apps next to a crowded 2026 funnel

Validate the idea first. Test it against a specific, underserved audience before you build, not after you launch.
Start with a soft launch. Learn what converts with a smaller audience before the big push.
Measure from day one. The right analytics tools show which channels bring users who stay.

Discoverability is an ongoing cost, like servers or support, not a launch-week checklist. Budget time for it, and money if you use paid channels. A crowded store does not punish good apps. It punishes the idea that shipping and being found are the same thing.

Decision 3: Scope Your Build for Platform Rules That Keep Moving

The math you used to plan a build two years ago rests on assumptions that no longer hold.

Old default	2026 reality
Apple's 30% commission holds steady	Commission terms are in court and have changed more than once since 2025
A decent app gets found for free	Releases are up about 60% year over year, iOS up 80%
One payment path is enough	External payment routing is a real option worth planning for

A build plan that only works if all three hold is a riskier bet than it used to be. Building bigger is not the fix. Keep the first version tight and modular, so the parts most exposed to platform change, like payments and store-driven growth, can change without touching the rest of the app.

That is also where hidden costs tend to show up, right where old assumptions break. If you are hiring app developers for a new build, ask how they would handle a commission change or a second payment path before you sign.

Apps are still launching, getting funded, and making money, including through the external payment routes above. These are the same decisions app owners have always faced, with less room to default through them.

Need your next build to survive platform rules that are still moving? AppMakers USA plans payment architecture, store positioning, and first-version scope together, not as three separate fixes after something breaks.

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The questions below cover what does not fit neatly into any one of the three decisions.

Daniel Haiem

Daniel Haiem has been in tech for over a decade now. He started AppMakersLA, one of the top development agencies in the US, where he’s helped hundreds of startups and companies bring their vision alive. He also serves as advisor and board member for multiple tech companies ranging from pre-seed to Series C.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Compare the drop against your installs, engagement, and payment mix. If installs and engagement are flat but revenue per user fell, pricing or checkout friction is the likely cause. If installs are falling too, look at demand or discoverability instead.

No. It is an option worth scoping, not a requirement, and the fee Apple can charge on those purchases is still being fought up to the Supreme Court. Confirm the current terms with your own counsel before you commit to a payment flow or revenue projection.

Not right now. Google's current pressure on developers is technical, with Android 17 memory limits shown in Play Console from November 2026 and enforced from February 2027. Apps that keep exceeding the limits risk lower visibility or blocked updates.

Nothing breaks. Apple's in-app purchase system works as it always has, and plenty of apps will reasonably stay on it. You keep paying the standard commission on every sale, while a competitor with a second payment path keeps more of the same sale.

Not automatically. More competitors chasing the same keywords usually raise acquisition costs faster than conversion. Organic positioning and retention tend to last longer, because both compound instead of resetting when you stop paying.

Final Thoughts

Apple's cut is under real pressure, the store is more crowded than ever, and both platforms are tightening from different directions in the same year. That rewards app owners who treat payment routing, discoverability, and build scope as decisions made ahead of time, not defaults they never revisited. AppMakers USA works through these tradeoffs with founders and CTOs through a discovery-first process, whether they are scoping a new build or reworking an existing one.

A free project estimate gives you a plain answer on where your app's plan is exposed. We look at your payment architecture, discoverability plan, and build scope together, and tell you where the real risk sits.

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