When Apple Requires In-App Purchase, and When You Can Use Stripe

"Can we just use Stripe and skip Apple's 30%?" is one of the most common questions in mobile product planning. Sometimes the answer is a clear yes. Sometimes it's a clear no that, ignored, ends in a rejection days before launch. Apple's in-app purchase rules are more logical than they look once you see what they're trying to separate.

This guide explains the rules in plain English, with Apple's own wording where it matters: what must use in-app purchase, the exceptions that let you use Stripe or another provider, what changed on the US storefront, what Apple charges, and a quick decision table.

Key takeaways

• Digital features and content used inside the app must use in-app purchase (guideline 3.1.1): subscriptions, premium features, in-game currency, full-version upgrades.
• Physical goods and services consumed outside the app must NOT use in-app purchase (3.1.3(e)): use Apple Pay, cards or other providers.
• Exceptions exist: reader apps, multiplatform services, real-time person-to-person services (including fitness training and real estate tours), and hardware-linked features.
• On the US storefront, apps can include buttons and links to buy outside the app (3.1.1(a)).
• Apple's commission is 30%, or 15% for Small Business Program members and for subscriptions after a subscriber's first year.

The core rule: digital in the app means in-app purchase

Guideline 3.1.1 says: "If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase."

The logic: if what the user buys lives inside your app, Apple wants the purchase to go through its system.

The exceptions, in Apple's words

Note the difference between (b) and the core rule: a multiplatform service may let users access what they bought on the web, but outside the US it can't steer users from inside the iOS app to buy there.

The US storefront change

Following a court ruling, Apple updated its guidelines in 2025. For apps on the United States storefront, the external-link entitlements "are not required for developers to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action" (3.1.1(a)). In practice, US users can be pointed to your website to buy, even for digital goods. Outside the US, the older restrictions still apply, with regional programmes in some places such as the EU.

If you sell globally, design your purchase flow per storefront: in-app purchase everywhere, with an external "buy on the web" option where it's allowed.

A decision table

From the field: Across 12+ apps with payments, I've worked on both sides of this line: Stripe, Razorpay and KNET for real-world services and goods (gym classes and memberships at Floey, physical cocktail capsules at Bartesian), and RevenueCat with in-app purchases for digital subscriptions. Getting the category right before building the checkout avoids the most expensive kind of rejection.

What Apple and Google charge

Card processors like Stripe typically charge a few percent per transaction instead, which is why the category question matters so much for margins.

Google Play, briefly

Google's payments policy follows the same idea: digital goods and services in Google Play apps use Google Play's billing system, while physical goods and real-world services use other payment methods. Google also runs alternative and user-choice billing programmes in some regions, each with its own fees and requirements.

FAQ

Can I use Stripe instead of Apple in-app purchase?

Yes for physical goods, services consumed outside the app, real-time person-to-person services and some other exceptions, and on the US storefront you can link to external checkout. No for digital features and content used inside your iOS app elsewhere, which must use in-app purchase.

Do gym and fitness apps have to use Apple's in-app purchase?

It depends on what's sold. Memberships and classes at a physical gym are services consumed outside the app, so they use other payment methods. Live one-to-one training counts as a person-to-person service. Digital workout content and premium in-app features generally require in-app purchase.

How much commission does Apple take?

The standard rate is 30%. Developers in Apple's Small Business Program, earning up to $1 million a year, pay 15%, and auto-renewable subscriptions drop to 15% after a subscriber's first year of paid service.

Can my app link to my website to buy a subscription?

On the US storefront, yes: Apple's guidelines no longer require an entitlement for buttons or links to purchase outside the app. In other regions, steering users to external purchases is still restricted, apart from specific regional programmes and reader-app rules.

Next steps

If you're unsure which payment method your app is allowed to use, describe what you sell and where, and I'll tell you how I'd structure checkout for each store. Get in touch, or see how I work as a React Native developer.

Sources

• App Review Guidelines (3.1 Payments), Apple
• App Store Small Business Program, Apple
• Understanding Google Play's payments policy, Google Play Console Help
• Apple updates US App Review Guidelines following Epic ruling, MacRumors