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Copyright 2026 ArcTouch
Understand the pros and cons of third-party payment platforms vs. Apple’s in-app purchases
9 min. read - May 21, 2025
"Is there a way around Apple’s cut of in-app purchases?"
That’s one of the most common questions we get from our clients when building their apps. For years, app owners have had no real alternative to paying Apple’s 15-30% commission on in-app purchases (IAP) of digital goods and services if they wanted to provide the best customer experience.
To put it in real terms: We have a client planning to add in-app subscriptions for their premium services. However, these services start at $1,000 per year — so, a minimum 15% commission translates to $150 each time a subscription renews, a significant hit.
However, a recent court ruling has made web payments a viable alternative to Apple’s native in-app purchase flow in the U.S. This means potentially lower transaction fees, a welcome change for many. However, it's not without drawbacks — going outside of Apple’s commerce platform leads to additional development costs, ongoing operational costs, and potential user experience (UX) challenges.
In this post, we’ll cover the pros and cons of using web payments for iOS in-app purchases — and we’ll get into some of the implementation factors that design and development teams need to consider.
The landscape of Apple’s App Store commerce has shifted. A recent court ruling allows developers to bypass Apple's in-app purchase system and direct users to web-based payment options. This stems from the Epic Games v. Apple case, filed in 2020, which challenged Apple's control over the App Store.
Apple initially complied with a 2021 injunction by introducing the StoreKit External Purchase Link API. However, this solution was largely ineffective for app owners and created a worse user experience for their customers. It required that they present users with "scare screens" using language dictated by Apple. These screens warned users about the risks of leaving the app and buying from outside of the Apple ecosystem, even though web payments are no less secure (when implemented properly using a payment platform, like Stripe). Furthermore, Apple still imposed a 27% commission to app owners for these off-platform web payment transactions. The transaction cost savings wasn’t enough to justify the potential drop in sales from the inferior user experience.
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The new ruling allows app owners to guide users to external payment pages with much greater control over the user experience and in-app messaging. App owners can promote their digital goods and subscriptions in the native app flow, and then direct users to a website to complete the purchase, and then return to the app after the transaction is complete.
While Apple is challenging the ruling, Spotify has already received approval from Apple to use external payment links in its U.S. app.
This ruling presents a significant opportunity to reshape your app’s business model. The most obvious benefit is potential cost savings. Instead of paying Apple's 15-30% commission, app owners could choose their own e-commerce platform, such as Stripe, and pay a transaction fee like 2.9% + $0.30 per sale.
At scale, the potential transaction cost savings can translate into increased profit margins, allowing you to reinvest in product development, offer lower prices to customers, or both. Furthermore, web payments enable you to build direct relationships with your users by controlling the payment experience. You gain flexibility in payment options, pricing models, and promotional offers.
However, it's crucial to recognize that bypassing Apple's IAP doesn’t come without cost. While the transaction fees are lower, app owners are now responsible for much more of the e-commerce experience and back-end logistics. This includes managing the entire checkout flow, handling customer support related to payments, and ensuring the reliability of all the underlying components. There are greater operational costs, including the ongoing development and maintenance, security, customer service, and potential tax and accounting implications in every country you do business.
Ultimately, this is a strategic business decision. You can stick with Apple's IAP, which offers a seamless, native experience and handles much of the e-commerce and operational burden, or you can route users to your own checkout experience, gaining more control but also taking on more responsibility and the associated operational costs. As we've heard from clients, the desire to reduce the “Apple tax” for digital products like subscriptions is a major driver for exploring these alternatives, but it's essential to weigh the potential benefits against the added complexity and responsibility.
To help you weigh the pros and cons of each approach, we've created a comparison table outlining the key differences between Apple's in-app purchases and web payments. While we've used Stripe as an example web payment solution due to its popularity and robust features, there are other payment processors available. We encourage you to research and compare different options to find the best fit for your specific needs and business requirements.
