Substack Offers Alternative Payments on iOS, Bypassing Apple's Commission
Substack is embracing a new feature within the U.S. App Store, permitting alternative payment methods beyond Apple's own in-app purchasing (IAP) system. This shift stems from alterations to App Store guidelines enacted after the Epic Games legal battle.
Joining the ranks of Spotify, Patreon, and Amazon Kindle, Substack will now provide users with the option to make purchases directly through its website.
This offers multiple advantages:
- Cost Savings: Substack avoids Apple's commission on web-based sales.
- Potential Price Reduction: Consumers may benefit from lower prices.
- Creator Control: Substack writers retain the power to decide whether to offer Apple's convenient IAP system alongside the new web payment option, both accessible without leaving the app.
Substack plans to automatically adjust iOS app prices upward to compensate for Apple's fees, ensuring creators receive the same earnings as with web subscriptions. However, writers have the choice to disable this price adjustment. (Substack will continue taking its standard 10% cut based on the web subscription price.)
Migration tools are also being provided to help writers transition subscribers from Apple's payment system to Substack's web-based alternative.
Currently, over 30,000 publications on the platform feature in-app purchases. Substack reports promising early results from testing the expanded payment options, with an increase in paid subscriptions, although specific figures were not disclosed.
The rollout of external payments applies only to new Substack subscriptions. Writers need not take any action unless they wish to reduce prices for users of Apple's payment system.
Apple's App Store rules still require IAP to be offered.
While these changes are specific to the Substack app in the U.S., the company is considering adopting Apple's more intricate rules for the EU and U.K., designed for developers who wish to forgo IAP altogether.
