Apple’s EU app fees blunt the DMA’s promise of real choice, documents show
Daniel Simon ·
Apple’s plan for Digital Markets Act compliance still erects financial barriers to real app distribution choice in the European Union. Commission case files and Apple’s published developer terms show a fee structure that keeps alternative stores on the margins and sustains Apple’s services margin.
On 25 March 2024 the European Commission opened formal proceedings to assess Apple’s compliance with the DMA on steering, alternative app stores and choice screens. The case focuses in part on whether Apple’s new business terms undermine the law’s goal of enabling rival distribution and payments, according to the Commission’s announcement of proceedings.
Apple’s EU developer documentation, published in January 2024 and updated in the spring, introduced a core technology fee of 0.50 euro per first annual install in the EU after the first one million installs per account per year. The fee applies when a developer opts into the DMA framework for alternative distribution or third party payments, and it accrues regardless of whether the download occurs in Apple’s store or via an alternative marketplace.
H2: What the filings show
The Commission’s opening decision cites concerns that design and pricing choices could render new options ineffective. Apple’s terms require notarization, impose eligibility screens on marketplace operators and place the core technology fee on high volume distribution, according to Apple’s posted Business Terms for Apps in the EU.
Spotify and Epic Games filed public submissions in 2024 arguing that the fee architecture makes free or low cost apps uneconomic at scale. Those submissions point to scenarios where a popular free app would face a per install levy once it crosses the threshold, even if it processes payments off platform.
Apple’s 2023 Form 10 K shows services net sales of 85.2 billion dollars, up from 78.1 billion dollars in 2022. Services carry higher gross margins than hardware, which underscores the incentive to defend App Store economics as regulatory change arrives in the EU.
H2: Who pays and how
Independent developers that rely on volume or advertising face the sharpest trade offs. A mass market utility app that clears one million annual EU installs could owe hundreds of thousands of euros in core technology fees without the cushion of in app purchase commissions.
Alternative marketplaces must also absorb compliance costs and reputational risk. Apple must review marketplace operators and can revoke credentials for violations, which concentrates power over distribution even as formal exclusivity ends.
For consumers, the menu of choice exists but the price signals do not favor switching. The fee design keeps Apple’s default channel attractive for high volume developers and raises the break even point for new distribution entrants.
The Commission can issue non compliance decisions and fines of up to 10 percent of a gatekeeper’s global turnover, with periodic penalty payments for ongoing breaches. It can also impose behavioral remedies if it finds systemic circumvention.
The Apple proceeding remains a first test of whether cost based compliance satisfies the DMA. A decision on pricing structure and design constraints would set a template for how far platforms can push fees while claiming alignment with the law.