Sooo if you can freely distribute your apps on iOS now and you can steer people to your website for purchases (eg outside the Appstore) - doesn’t that mean that you can get away from paying the 5%?
“By January 1, 2026, Apple plans to move to a single business model in the EU for all developers. Under this single business model, Apple will transition from the Core Technology Fee (CTF) to the CTC on digital goods or services. The CTC will apply to digital goods or services sold by apps distributed from the App Store, Web Distribution, and/or alternative marketplaces.
“As of January 1, 2026, the CTC may be explicitly charged as a separate commission or, in certain cases, may be identified as a component of another commission and will apply to sales of digital goods or services usable in an app on Apple’s platforms. Additional details regarding this transition will be provided at a later date.”
I.e. this applies to all apps, regardless of distribution channel. Apple will likely control this via the app review that still happens as part of the Notarization process, in conjunction with the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement.
I think there are SMB exemptions for the fees, though.
