Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Apple paid out around $60 billion to App Store developers in 2021

Apple paid out around $60 billion to App Store developers in 2021

Despite facing numerous antitrust lawsuits and tighter regulations in certain markets, Apple today reported new figures indicating record App Store growth in 2021.
The company in a press release said it has now paid out more than $260 billion to app developers since the App Store first launched in 2008, a number that’s up from the $200 billion Apple reported at the end of 2020 - meaning, in 2021 alone, Apple paid developers a total of at least $60 billion.

That number is a lot larger than the payouts reported in previous years.

For comparison, Apple by the end of 2019 had paid developers a total of $155 billion since the App Store’s debut. The year prior, it had said that figure was around $120 billion. Reading between the lines, that means payouts to developers jumped by $35 million from 2018 to 2019, then grew by another $45 billion from 2019 to 2020.

Unfortunately, the payouts number Apple shared no longer helps to provide clarity into the state of the overall App Store’s economy, as the percentages paid by individual apps will vary.

In more recent years, Apple has adjusted its commission structure to reduce its own cut of developer revenue amid increased regulatory scrutiny of its App Store business practices, antitrust complaints and lawsuits — including the ongoing case with Epic Games, now under appeal.

With the launch of Apple’s Small Business Program announced in November 2020, the company reduced its commission from 30% to 15% on qualifying apps (those that earned up to $1 million per year). In 2021, Apple also dropped commissions for select news publishers’ apps if they chose to participate in its Apple News Partner Program. Apple hasn’t said how many developers and publishers have actually taken advantage of these opportunities, only that a “vast majority” of apps would qualify for the small business discount.

In announcing another App Store record, Apple seems to be toeing a fine line between its usual self-promotion and not calling too much attention to its outsized gains. The company noted App Store customers had spent “more than ever” between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in 2021, driving double-digit growth from last year.

However, Apple didn’t offer any hard numbers to document this milestone as it had last year, when it had then noted consumers spent $1.8 billion on digital goods and services during the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve 2020, driven largely by spending on games.

Today’s figures follow what has otherwise been a transitional year for the App Store.

The company has seen more developer pushback over App Store scams, which became a topic for a Congressional hearing, as well as the ongoing difficulties with the App Review process. Apple this year was also ordered to make App Store changes that would have permitted links to third-party payment options as a result of the Epic lawsuit ruling, but was later granted a last-minute reprieve from the court order while the case is appealed. However, Apple has had to loosen its grip over the App Store in other markets, like Japan and South Korea, where regulators pushed Apple to allow links to external websites and took other measures to curb its commissions.

In addition to its App Store figures, Apple also offered updates on its other services businesses, including Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Podcasts, Apple Books, Apple Pay and Wallet, Apple Maps and iCloud+.

Of note, Arcade now features more than 200 games, Apple Music now has 90+ million songs in lossless audio, Apple TV+ has won 190 industry awards, Apple Fitness+ has grown to include nearly 2,000 sessions of workout content, Apple News remains the No. 1 news app everywhere it’s available, Apple Pay has reached nearly 60 countries and regions, and customers used 30 million NFC tickets in Apple Wallet in 2021.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×