An Apple-funded study says developers using the App Store generated $1.3T globally in billings and sales in 2024, 90% on which developers paid no commission
Ahead of its Worldwide Developer Conference on June 9, Apple on Thursday offered a new update on its global App Store business …
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple has repeatedly used commissioned research to quantify commerce associated with its marketplace, from $519 billion in App Store-facilitated commerce in 2019 to about $643 billion in the 2020 ecosystem. The new global figure continues that measurement series rather than announcing a change to App Store terms.
The immediate precursor was a US-only estimate of $406 billion for 2024. Expanding the framing to global billings and sales, while emphasizing that most of that activity was not commission-bearing, gives Apple a broader account of the platform’s economic role.
First-order effects
- Apple gains a current, Apple-funded data point to support its case that the App Store enables far more commerce than the transactions on which it collects a commission.
- No new developer fee or distribution policy is reported; the immediate change is in the evidence Apple and developers can cite, including the claim that 90% of measured sales were commission-free.
Second-order effects
- The 90% figure shifts debate over App Store economics toward the distinction between total ecosystem commerce and commissionable in-app transactions, increasing the value of comparable disclosures from platform operators.
- Developers and policymakers assessing platform fees have a larger headline metric to weigh, but the study’s Apple funding means its methodology and definitions will remain central to how persuasive the figure is.
Third-order effects
- If this recurring reporting pattern continues, platform governance debates are likely to focus less on a single nominal take rate and more on which transactions are counted as platform-enabled, commissionable, or outside the platform’s payment flow.
- The series points to a more formalized contest over marketplace economic measurement: operators will use ecosystem-scale estimates to defend distribution models, while critics may press for independently comparable accounting.
The trend: This is one data point in the broader trend of regulated app marketplaces using ecosystem-economic metrics to contextualize scrutiny of platform take rates.