Substack, a newsletter subscription platform, is set to utilize a U.S. App Store feature that lets users make purchases outside of Apple’s in-app system. This became possible due to an App Store rule modification in May, following Epic Games’ antitrust suit against Apple.
Several apps like Spotify, Patreon, and Amazon Kindle have since integrated in-app purchase links directing users to their own websites.
For Substack, enabling external payments benefits the company by eliminating the need to pay Apple’s commission on web sales, and it offers consumers lower prices. Creators can let readers choose between the convenience of Apple’s in-app payments or the now accessible web payment option within the app.
Substack plans to adjust its iOS app prices to account for Apple’s fees, ensuring creators make as much as they do from web subscriptions, though this feature is optional. Substack continues to charge a 10% fee on web subscription prices.
To assist its writers, the company offers tools for migrating subscribers from Apple’s system to its web-based system.
Currently, over 30,000 publications on Substack have in-app purchases, and initial tests of the new payment options show an increase in paid sign-ups, though no specific figures are shared.
The public release of the external payment option applies only to new subscriptions. Writers don’t need to act unless they want to adjust prices for Apple’s payment users.
According to Apple’s App Store regulations, a full opt-out from IAP isn’t permitted.
Though changes affect the Substack app in the U.S., the company is assessing whether to adopt Apple’s more complex rules in the EU and U.K. for developers wishing to bypass IAP.