APP STORE October 5, 2026 · 4 min read

Apple's October Reset: New EU Fees Live, Multiseat Subscriptions Coming Oct 22

Apple's revised EU commission structure (5-20% depending on payment path) is now live, and Volume Purchasing for subscriptions launches October 22. Two changes that require active decisions from iOS developers this month.

By the AppsOps news desk · October 5, 2026 · Original source ↗

Two significant App Store changes land this October — and unlike most platform updates, these ones require active decisions. Apple's revised EU commission structure became effective October 1, and Volume Purchasing for subscriptions goes live October 22. Whether you sell to European users or enterprise customers, the month is already underway.

EU Commission Rates: What Changed on October 1

Apple's overhauled EU fee structure — announced in August following continued DMA negotiations — replaces the much-criticised per-install Core Technology Fee with a cleaner, transaction-based model. The old CTF made alternative distribution economically unworkable for high-volume free apps; a €0.50 charge per install adds up fast when you're doing any real volume. The replacement is a 5% Core Technology Commission applied only to actual digital transactions. For developers choosing other payment paths in the EU, the new rates are:

Payment path	Standard rate	Qualifying dev rate
Apple In-App Purchase (App Store)	26%	13% (small dev program)
Alternative in-app payment provider	20%	10%
Out-of-app purchase link (transaction within 7 days)	15%	10%
Alternative marketplace or web distribution	5% CTC	5%

For most indie developers selling in the EU, the default Apple IAP path remains the simplest — no new payment integrations, no additional review requirements. The 15% out-of-app link path is interesting for subscription apps that already have a web acquisition funnel: if your users regularly subscribe on your website anyway, you may be paying 11 extra points for nothing. That said, reports suggest Apple's child safety requirements for alternative payment providers add review complexity, so budget time if you're considering a switch.

Who should model the alternative paths?

The clearest win is for enterprise or B2B apps distributing at scale via the web in the EU — the 5% CTC on web-distributed apps makes that route newly viable. For consumer subscription apps, the calculus depends on how much of your EU subscriber base comes from in-app conversion versus web. If you have solid PPP pricing already set up for EU markets (see AppsOps PPP tool), use those territory revenue breakdowns to model the payment-path decision before switching anything.

Volume Purchasing and Multiseat Subscriptions: October 22

Apple's other big October announcement is squarely B2B-facing. Starting October 22, organisations using Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager will be able to purchase app subscriptions by the seat through a single In-App Purchase and distribute access via their MDM provider. A second model — Group Purchases, where an individual subscriber buys multiple seats and invites colleagues — is also coming, reportedly later this winter.

What this means in practice:

Enterprise and education verticals just got easier to address. If your app is used by teams but you've had no formal multi-seat story, this is the moment to build one into your product page and pricing.
Multiseat is enabled by default for subscriptions in App Store Connect as of September 16. If your app is not ready to handle org-purchased seat assignments, log into App Store Connect and opt out or restrict availability until you're ready.
StoreKit 2 is required. The multiseat flow depends on StoreKit 2 APIs. If your subscription handling still runs on the original StoreKit, this is another push to migrate — and a concrete deadline to work toward.

ASC API support

Apple's developer documentation confirms an ASC API surface for configuring multi-seat subscriptions for organisations. For teams managing multiple apps via the ASC API — programmatically pushing pricing, managing territories, and reading subscriber data — this is worth watching. The relevant endpoints should come live around the October 22 date alongside the storefront launch.

Two decisions to make this week

EU developers: Identify which payment path your app currently uses and model whether the new rates change the economics. Apple's official newsroom post has the full tier breakdown and qualifying criteria.
All subscription developers: Check App Store Connect now. Multiseat is already on by default — confirm that's intentional, or disable it until your support is in place.

Both changes reflect the broader unbundling of Apple's App Store relationship with developers. More payment and distribution options mean more decisions — but also more ways to fit the economics to your actual business. October 2026 is a good month to run the numbers. If you need a side-by-side view of what your subscription pricing looks like across EU and non-EU markets, the AppsOps territory explorer and pricing calculator are useful starting points.