Rival iPhone App Stores: Will Your Apps Get Cheaper?

You pay A$14.99 a month for a language app on your iPhone. In year one, Apple keeps 30% of what's left after tax. The developer would happily charge you less if they could sell to you directly, but on an iPhone there has never been a "directly." Every app came through one store, and every in-app purchase paid one toll.

That is about to change in Australia. On October 21, the Federal Court ordered Apple to allow rival iPhone app stores, direct downloads from developer websites, and outside payment systems, starting March 1. It follows similar rules in the European Union and Japan, and it is the toughest version yet: Apple cannot charge any fee on purchases made through apps distributed outside its store.

So will your apps actually get cheaper? Below you will find what the ruling requires, how it compares with the EU and Japan, a worked example of the money, and the tradeoffs you should weigh before installing your first app from somewhere other than the App Store.

What the Ruling Requires From Apple

The orders come from Justice Jonathan Beach in Epic Games v Apple, following his August 2025 finding that Apple misused its market power. They apply to anyone whose Apple Account region is Australia, and developers anywhere in the world can use them.

According to MacRumors' summary of the orders, Apple must let you:

• Install from rival stores and websites: find, download, and update apps from competing marketplaces or a developer's own site, without Apple charging for access.
• Pay someone other than Apple: developers can offer their own payment system, link to it, and charge a lower price there, even inside apps sold through the App Store.
• Get apps preinstalled: Apple cannot ban third-party apps or stores from being preinstalled, though it does not have to list rival stores in its own App Store.

The fee rules are where Australia goes further than anyone. Apps distributed outside the App Store owe Apple nothing on purchases. For apps inside the App Store that use outside payments, Apple's charge is capped at what it would charge for physical goods, plus genuine extra costs it can show.

Fortnite also returns. Epic said the game will come back to the Australian App Store, the only country left out when it returned worldwide in May.

How Rival iPhone App Stores Work Elsewhere

Australia is the third major market to force this open. The first two show what tends to happen next.

The European Union

Under the Digital Markets Act, alternative marketplaces have been allowed on iPhones in the EU since March 2024. Apple responded with a Core Technology Fee of 50 euro cents per first annual install for apps distributed outside its store. Justice Beach described that kind of fee as designed to discourage developers from leaving. The Australian orders ban it outright.

Japan

Japan's Mobile Software Competition Act took effect on December 18, 2025, with iOS 26.2. Apple's Japanese fees, as reported by MacRumors, run from a 5% Core Technology Commission for apps in rival marketplaces up to 26% for App Store purchases. Japan also does not allow downloads straight from a website, only from approved marketplaces.

The results there have been underwhelming. Epic's Tim Sweeney called the Japanese fees junk fees and said Fortnite could not return on those terms. One analysis found that while fees dropped, app prices largely did not, and very few people use the alternative stores.

That history is the real test for Australia. A zero-fee rule removes the excuse developers had for not passing on savings. Whether they do is a separate question.

The Money: Will Your Apps Get Cheaper?

Run the numbers on that A$14.99 language app. Australian app prices include 10% GST, so first take that out: A$14.99 divided by 1.1 is A$13.63 before tax.

Through the App Store, year one:

• Apple's standard commission is 30%: A$13.63 times 0.30 is A$4.09.
• The developer keeps A$9.54 a month.

Sold direct with a card processor:

• Stripe's standard Australian rate for domestic cards is 1.65% plus A$0.30. On A$14.99 that is about A$0.55.
• The developer keeps A$13.63 minus A$0.55, or A$13.08 a month.

That is A$3.54 more per subscriber per month. Now suppose the developer cuts your price to A$11.99. Net of GST that is A$10.90, and after a A$0.50 card fee they keep A$10.40, still about 86 cents more than they made through Apple. You save A$3 a month, or A$36 a year, on one app.

Scale that across a household. If you pay for five subscriptions with similar margins, a direct price cut of that size is worth about A$180 a year. Our currency converter will translate that into your own currency if you are comparing against US or UK pricing.

Two caveats. Developers in Apple's Small Business Program, and subscriptions past their first year, already pay 15%, so the gap is smaller there. And nothing forces anyone to cut prices. The savings may simply become profit, as they largely did in Japan. If you want to know where the money is really going, start by counting what you actually pay in subscriptions.

The Tradeoffs Before You Install Outside the App Store

Apple's argument has always been security, and some of it holds up. The court kept a floor in place: every app distributed outside the App Store must pass an automated security and privacy scan and be notarized by Apple or a qualified third party. Apple can still disable an outside app that carries harmful content or a genuine security risk.

Notarization is a basic malware check, not a full review. The App Store's human review also checks things like misleading descriptions and hidden subscriptions. Outside of it, you are trusting the store you downloaded from.

Practical things that may change for you:

• Refunds: a purchase made through a developer's own checkout goes through their refund policy, not Apple's "Report a Problem" page.
• Subscription management: you may end up canceling subscriptions in several places instead of one Settings screen.
• Family features: Family Sharing and Ask to Buy are built around Apple's own payments. Parents should check how a rival store handles child accounts before allowing it.
• Payment data: every new store is one more company holding your card details.

A sensible rule: use outside stores for developers you already know, like Epic or a big subscription service, and keep small, unfamiliar apps in the App Store until the new stores earn a track record.

When It Starts, and What Could Delay It

The changes switch on at noon Melbourne time on March 1. Apple can apply between February 1 and February 15 for a court-approved extension to May 3, and it has told Reuters it plans to appeal and seek a pause. So the date may move.

Only accounts set to the Australian region are covered. If you live in the United States or the UK, nothing changes for you from this ruling, though every new country that forces the door open adds pressure everywhere else.

Frequently Asked Questions

When can I download apps outside the App Store in Australia?

From noon Melbourne time on March 1, unless Apple wins an extension to May 3 or a pause during its appeal. The change applies only to Apple Accounts set to the Australian region.

Are third-party iPhone app stores safe?

Apps must pass an automated security and privacy scan and be notarized, which catches known malware. That is lighter than full App Store review, so stick with developers and stores you already trust while the system is new.

Will apps be cheaper outside the App Store?

They can be. A developer selling a A$14.99 subscription directly keeps about A$3.54 more a month than through the App Store in year one. Whether they pass that on is up to them, and in Japan most did not.

Can I get alternative app stores on iPhone in the US?

Not from this ruling. It covers Australian accounts only. Rival marketplaces currently exist for iPhones in the EU and Japan, each with Apple fees attached, and Australia's version is the first with no fee on outside purchases.

Watch the Price, Not the Store

For most people, the biggest change will not be a new app store icon. It will be a line inside an app you already use: "Subscribe on our website and save A$3." That is the moment the ruling either pays off or doesn't.

When it appears, do the math above, check the refund policy, and decide app by app. If developers pass on even part of the 30% they used to hand Apple, the iPhone gets cheaper to run without the phone itself changing at all.