Apple Inc. has unequivocally cemented its monopoly over the global app marketplace, as its App Store has consistently raked in more than $20 billion per year in revenue. The year before, 2024, the firm estimates that Apple achieved phenomenal $91.3 billion in worldwide App Store revenue. That would be a big jump from the $61.5 billion that was counted in 2022. This explosive growth has led to Apple earning more than $27.39 billion in commissions globally during the same time.
The role of the U.S. market has been absolutely central to that success. That’s nearly $6.28 billion in revenue the U.S. App Store generated in 2024 from apps just like this. It raked in an additional $3.83 billion from non-gaming activities. Developers that reached consumers through Apple’s payment system earned a record-breaking $33.68 billion in gross revenue. After Apple’s cut, they still made a pretty penny—$23.57 billion.
Even with these stunning sums, Apple remains under fire on a legal front. Another violation The recent court ruling came after the tech giant willfully violated a 2021 injunction. Yet even with an order in place, the company went on to funnel infractions still charging fees for purchases made outside of its apps. The company is currently under fire for erecting newly anticompetitive barriers. Perhaps most importantly, this has ignited a firestorm of pushback from developers and industry pundits alike.
Against all odds in this environment, Delta, creator of a popular small game emulator, found a successful model with Patreon memberships. This success story serves to illustrate the lengths many developers are going to avoid being affected by Apple’s toxic policies.
Sarah, an experienced cryptocurrency watchdog as TechCrunch’s blockchain and fintech reporter since August 2011, has been on the scene for all the action. She applied her expertise as a writer for ReadWriteWeb for more than three years before coming to TechCrunch. Sarah comes to us with an impressive background in information technology. She has experience in banking, retail, and software sectors, which broaden her perspective greatly while covering the technology industry.
In particular, Appfigures’ analysis provides useful insight into the way users interact on phones compared to tablets and computers. It employs third-party sources to estimate usage patterns across smartphones, tablets, desktops, and TVs. This detailed examination sheds light on how Apple credits itself with facilitating a portion of user spending when subscriptions purchased on the web are accessed via Apple devices.
Meanwhile, Apple’s App Store is raking it in financially. Yet the very grounds of this success, including its controversial business practices and subsequent harmful impact on developers, have led to rapid-fire debate throughout the developer community. Striking a balance between protecting strong independent revenue streams and ensuring a level playing field has never been easy from the start.
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