Apple has revealed that in 2024, more than 90 percent of App Store sales in the United States generated no commission fees. The announcement highlights a major evolution in how the tech giant supports developers, particularly small businesses and creators.
According to Apple, total developer billings and sales through the App Store reached 406 billion dollars last year. This figure marks a nearly threefold increase compared to 2019, when the ecosystem generated 142 billion dollars. Much of the growth came from physical goods and services, in-app advertising, and digital content.
Small Developers Reap the Benefits
Independent analysis by economists at Boston University and Analysis Group shows that small developers saw a 76 percent increase in revenue between 2021 and 2024. U.S.-based developers also doubled their earnings during the same period, benefitting from changes in Apple’s commission structure and growing consumer demand for mobile services.
In 2024 alone, the App Store facilitated approximately 277 billion dollars in physical services like food delivery and retail, 75 billion dollars from in-app advertising, and 53 billion dollars from digital goods such as games, subscriptions, and streaming platforms.
AI, Travel, and Games Drive Growth
Key growth sectors included food and grocery delivery, entertainment apps, business tools, and travel services. Notably, consumer spending shifted — with travel and food pickup services surpassing traditional ride-hailing in volume. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence played an increasingly central role in mobile innovation, with more apps integrating smart features powered by machine learning.
Game developers once again topped the earnings chart in 2024, followed closely by apps in education, productivity, and business. The growing influence of AI-driven applications is expected to accelerate with Apple’s upcoming developer tools, which will allow third-party creators to build software using its new large language model framework.
Security and Developer Tools on the Horizon
As Apple prepares for its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9, the company plans to unveil new tools to help developers integrate artificial intelligence into their apps. These capabilities will be supported by the Apple Intelligence platform, the firm’s in-house AI system expected to roll out later this year.
In a further commitment to platform integrity, Apple confirmed it blocked over 2 billion dollars in fraudulent transactions during 2024 alone — and more than 9 billion dollars over the past five years. This effort underscores its continued focus on creating a secure and trusted marketplace for developers and consumers alike.
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