Last year, Apple’s U.S. App Store brought in an astounding over $10 billion in revenue, as revealed in a fresh analysis by app intelligence firm Appfigures.
According to their estimates, the revenue from App Store commissions in the U.S. has skyrocketed, more than doubling between 2020 and 2024. Back in 2020, Apple earned around $4.76 billion from App Store commissions, and this number is set to exceed $10.1 billion by 2024.
Using Appfigures’ insights, developers on the U.S. App Store generated an impressive $33.68 billion in gross revenue from their apps and games through Apple’s payment system in 2024, pocketing $23.57 billion after Apple took its share.
Image Credits:Appfigures
While Apple often keeps its App Store revenue figures under wraps during earnings reports, a report from May 2023 revealed that globally, the App Store generated an estimated $104 billion for digital goods and services in 2022.
On the other hand, Appfigures discovered that the App Store globally earned $61.5 billion in 2022, which is anticipated to rise to $91.3 billion in 2024. From this, Apple reportedly made over $27.39 billion in commissions worldwide last year, as stated by Appfigures.
This raises some interesting discrepancies between Appfigures’ findings and Apple’s reported figures.
One key aspect from Apple’s report explains this inconsistency. It clarifies that its “billings and sales” numbers are “not the same as App Store billings.” This distinction is crucial.
In its report, Apple aimed to showcase just how significant the App Store is, merging its revenue with figures generated outside the App Store to come up with its total for the “Billings and Sales” category.
Apple calculated the share of an app’s revenue facilitated by the App Store, even if the purchase occurred elsewhere. For example, if someone subscribes to Hulu through the web but uses Apple devices for 60% of their viewing time, Apple attributes 60% of that spending to itself. This usage data was gathered from third-party sources, including market research firms to analyze how much time was spent across various devices.
Additionally, Apple allows enterprises to distribute apps with in-app purchases, yet these transactions aren’t visible in the App Store.
“Grave Irreparable Harm?”
The exploration of U.S. App Store revenue is particularly significant following a recent court ruling that prevents Apple from charging a 27% commission on transactions occurring outside the App Store.
In response to the court’s injunction stemming from its antitrust clash with Epic Games, Apple initially sought to adjust its operations in a way that wouldn’t impact its profits too severely.
To this end, Apple introduced a way for developers to request exceptions to App Store rules, enabling them to include web links within their apps that redirect customers for external purchases. However, Apple still enforced a 27% commission on these purchases and set strict guidelines on how these web links should be presented, including “scare screens” to caution users about the risks of buying outside the App Store.
Recently, a judge found that Apple was in “willful violation” of the 2021 injunction by persisting in charging fees on external app purchases and creating new barriers to entry.
This ruling necessitated updates to Apple’s U.S. App Store regulations, now allowing developers to link to alternative purchasing methods without any hurdles or commission fees. Following this change, several apps, including Spotify, Amazon Kindle, and Patreon, began to leverage this new option for web payments. Even a smaller game emulator, Delta, is now supporting itself through Patreon memberships.
However, Apple is appealing the ruling, claiming in its recent filing that it could suffer “grave irreparable harm” as a result.
“These restrictions, which will result in considerable annual losses for Apple, are based on actions that have never been legally challenged as unlawful,” stated Apple’s filing. “Instead, they were imposed to penalize Apple for alleged non-compliance with an earlier state-law injunction, which is itself invalid.”
This defense might not resonate well with developers, many of whom believe that Apple should have reduced commissions for all developers long ago, not just for the smaller businesses.
According to Appfigures’ analysis, U.S. App Store revenue from apps and games contributed approximately $6.28 billion and $3.83 billion, respectively, in 2024.
Together, these numbers emphasize just how vital App Store revenue is to Apple’s financial health, explaining why the company is so eager to maintain its dominance.
