Substack, the newsletter subscription platform, will now allow users to make purchases outside of Apple’s in-app payment system on the U.S. App Store. This change follows Apple’s updated App Store rules in May, which were influenced by Epic Games’ antitrust lawsuit.
Several major apps, including Spotify, Patreon, and Amazon Kindle, have already adopted similar external payment options. For Substack, this shift means the company no longer has to pay Apple a commission on web sales, and customers may benefit from lower prices. Substack creators can now offer readers a choice between Apple’s in-app payments or direct web payments, accessible without leaving the app.
Substack will automatically adjust iOS app prices to account for Apple’s fees, ensuring creators earn the same amount as web subscriptions. However, writers can disable this feature if they prefer. Substack will still take its standard 10% fee based on web subscription prices.
The company is also providing migration tools to help writers transition subscribers from Apple’s payment system to its web-based system. Currently, over 30,000 publications on Substack use in-app purchases, and early tests of the new payment options have reportedly increased paid sign-ups, though specific numbers were not shared.
The external payment option will only apply to new subscriptions. Writers do not need to take action unless they want to adjust prices for Apple’s payment system. Apple’s rules still require apps to offer in-app purchases, so fully opting out is not permitted.
While the changes currently affect the U.S. version of the Substack app, the company is still evaluating whether to adopt similar adjustments in the EU and U.K., where Apple’s rules for bypassing in-app payments are more complex.