# iOS external payment links: what Apple allows

> External payment links on iOS: allowed in the US with no commission, regulated in the EU, Japan and Brazil, banned elsewhere. Rules and dates.

Original page: [iOS external payment links: what Apple allows](https://devoria.fr/en/blog/ios-external-payment-link-apple-rules)
Author: [Mehdi Azizi](https://devoria.fr/en/mehdi-azizi)
Published: 2026-11-04
Content last revised: 2026-11-04


On iOS, whether your app can show a link to your website for payment depends on the user's App Store storefront, not on your country. **In the United States, a button or link to your website is allowed without Apple's permission, and right now with no commission.** In the European Union, Japan and Brazil, the link is allowed with an Apple entitlement, in exchange for a 15% commission, or 10% for small developers, on sales made within 7 days of the click. In South Korea, no link: only third-party payment in a separate binary. Everywhere else, the app and its listing can't point to any other payment method, except for reader apps.

This guide goes storefront by storefront, with the date of each change. Everything comes from Apple's pages, reread on November 3, 2026, and from the annual report Apple filed that same day. To find out when in-app purchase is required, read [guideline 3.1.1](https://devoria.fr/en/blog/guideline-3-1-1-in-app-purchase-required) first. The question here is narrower: are you allowed to put a payment link in your app?

My apps, Solys, TradaZen and Nolera, sell their subscriptions through Apple's in-app purchase, and only through it. I explain why at the end.

## What guidelines 3.1.1(a) and 3.1.3 say

[Guideline 3.1.1(a)](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#3.1.1a), "Link to Other Purchase Methods", sets the principle: developers can request entitlements to include a link in their app to an approved destination. Then comes the US exception: "These entitlements are not required for developers to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action in their United States storefront apps."

The same rule shuts every other storefront: "apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase". [Guideline 3.1.3](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#3.1.3) repeats the same limit for apps allowed to use another payment method, and adds a useful sentence: "Developers can send communications outside of the app to their user base about purchasing methods other than in-app purchase."

Two things to remember:

- **The word "metadata" includes your App Store listing.** A description that advertises a lower price on your website falls under the rule.
- **The ban covers any call to action**, not just a clickable link. A sentence like "pay less on our website" is enough.

## The storefront matters, not your country

The storefront is the country of the user's App Store. StoreKit gives it to you with [Storefront](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/storefront), "the region and unique identifier of the App Store storefront for the device". Apple recommends reading it right before showing an offer, because it can change at any time.

**So a developer based in France can show a link to users on the US storefront and hide it everywhere else.** Your binary stays the same in every country, except South Korea.

## The table, storefront by storefront

| Storefront        | Link to your website           | Current rules since | Apple authorization                 | Apple's commission on the sale  |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------ | ------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| United States     | Allowed                        | May 1, 2025         | None                                | None today                      |
| European Union    | Allowed                        | October 1, 2026     | Entitlement, country value          | 15% or 10%, sales within 7 days |
| Japan             | Allowed, with IAP alongside    | December 17, 2025   | Entitlement, value `jp`             | 15% or 10%, sales within 7 days |
| Brazil            | Allowed, with IAP alongside    | June 18, 2026       | Entitlement, value `br`             | 15% or 10%, sales within 7 days |
| South Korea       | No, third-party payment in app | Not dated by Apple  | Korean entitlement, separate binary | 26% on third-party payment      |
| Other storefronts | Banned                         | Base rule           | Not applicable                      | Not applicable                  |

The 10% rate applies to members of the [Small Business Program](https://devoria.fr/en/blog/apple-small-business-program-15-commission) and to subscriptions after their first year. Two special cases add to this table: reader apps, worldwide, and dating apps in the Netherlands.

## United States: allowed, no commission for now

The US rule comes from a lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple. The dates, according to [Apple's annual report filed on November 3, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/000032019326000026/aapl-20260926.htm):

1. **April 30, 2025.** A federal court in California rules that Apple didn't comply with a 2021 injunction. It bars Apple from charging any commission or fee on purchases made outside the app.
2. **May 1, 2025.** Apple [updates its guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=9txfddzf) 3.1.1, 3.1.1(a), 3.1.3 and 3.1.3(a) for the US storefront.
3. **December 11, 2025.** The appeals court partly upholds the injunction, but rules that Apple "can charge some commission on link-out purchases". It also lets Apple require that in-app purchase and the link have the same size, shape and placement. It sends the case back to the trial court.
4. **June 30, 2026.** Petitioned by Apple on May 21, 2026, the Supreme Court agrees to review the legal standard for contempt of court.

The same annual report says it plainly: Apple remains subject to an injunction that prevents it "from imposing any commission or fee on purchases of digital goods and services completed using external links". **Today, a link to your website on the US storefront costs nothing. Expect that to change**: a commission could apply once the trial court revisits the injunction, as the appeals court asked it to.

Guideline 3.1.1 still says that to unlock a feature in the app, "you must use in-app purchase". The safest move is to keep in-app purchase and add the link next to it, not in its place.

## European Union: allowed, regulated, 10% to 15%

According to Apple's page on [payment options in the EU](https://developer.apple.com/support/payment-options-on-the-app-store-in-the-eu/), new terms apply since October 1, 2026. You can keep in-app purchase alone, with no changes. You can also offer third-party payment in the app, or an offer outside the app pointing to your website, an alternative store or another app.

For a link to your website, Apple takes a 15% services commission, or 10% in the Small Business Program. It only applies to sales made within 7 days of the click. The main conditions:

- **The entitlement** `com.apple.developer.storekit.custom-purchase-link.allowed-regions`, with the code of each targeted country.
- **The system disclosure sheet**, shown by the `ExternalPurchaseCustomLink` API. It warns users that they're dealing with you, not Apple. It requires iOS 26.2 at minimum.
- **An in-app payment on the same screen.** If you keep in-app purchase, it shows at the same time as the link, at least as visible. If you remove it, a third-party in-app payment must be visible and selectable on the same screen as the out-of-app offer.
- **Minors.** Under 13, no out-of-app offer. From 13 to 17, the offer sits behind parental controls. In countries where the age of parental consent is higher, 16 for example, these thresholds rise accordingly. Apps in the Kids category can't offer purchases on a website.
- **A twelve-month commitment.** Once you pick your option, you keep it on all EU storefronts for 12 months.
- **Your listing stays silent.** The product page can't mention alternative payment.
- **A monthly report**, within 15 days after the end of the month, including transactions that didn't lead to a purchase. Apple invoices you, and you pay within 30 days.

In the Netherlands, dating apps also keep their own entitlement, born from a decision by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) and described on [a dedicated page](https://developer.apple.com/support/storekit-external-entitlement/). It only applies to those apps and that storefront.

## Japan and Brazil: the link, with in-app purchase alongside

Japan opened the door on December 17, 2025, with iOS 26.2, according to [Apple's press release](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/12/apple-announces-changes-to-ios-in-japan/) on the Japanese law. Brazil followed on June 18, 2026, with iOS 26.5, according to [the announcement for Brazil](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/06/apple-announces-changes-to-ios-in-brazil/). Apple's two pages, [Japan](https://developer.apple.com/support/payment-options-on-the-app-store-in-japan/) and [Brazil](https://developer.apple.com/support/payment-options-on-the-app-store-in-brazil/), set the same basics:

- **In-app purchase shows at the same time as the link**, on every screen that sells, and at least as visible as the other option.
- **The commission on a link is 15%**, or 10% in the Small Business Program, on sales made within 7 days of the click.
- **A disclosure sheet comes before leaving the app.** Up to iOS 27.1, you build it following Apple's specs. Starting with iOS 27.2, a StoreKit API shows it for you.
- **Minors are protected.** In Japan, no website offer under 13, and parental controls from 13 to 17. In Brazil, no website offer under 18.

On both pages, Apple also states that it won't help your customers with a refund or a subscription paid elsewhere: that support is on you. The details of each market are in our [Japan](https://devoria.fr/en/blog/japan-app-store-alternative-payment-commissions) and [Brazil](https://devoria.fr/en/blog/app-store-brazil-alternative-payments-commissions) guides.

## South Korea: no link, a separate binary

According to [Apple's page for Korea](https://developer.apple.com/support/storekit-external-entitlement-kr/), the Korean entitlement allows an approved payment provider in the app, from those Apple lists: KCP, Inicis, Toss and NICE. The flow must stay native, not in a web view. Users only leave the app if the law requires it to complete the purchase.

This entitlement can't be combined with in-app purchase in the same app. It requires a binary distributed only on the Korean storefront, and Apple takes 26%. The full math is in [the South Korea guide](https://devoria.fr/en/blog/app-store-south-korea-external-payment-26-percent).

## Everywhere else: no link, except reader apps

On other storefronts, neither the app nor its listing can push toward another payment method. There's one exception.

**Reader apps.** [Guideline 3.1.3(a)](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#3.1.3) covers apps whose main function is news, books, audio, music or video. According to Apple's page on [reader apps](https://developer.apple.com/support/reader-apps/), they can request the External Link Account Entitlement, valid in every App Store country. It allows a link to your website to create or manage an account, with strict conditions:

- no in-app purchase in the app as long as you use this entitlement;
- an underlined link to a website you own, with its domain name, once per page, opened in the browser;
- no price next to the link: "go to example.com to create or manage your account" is Apple's example;
- a disclosure sheet on every click, after a check with `canMakePayments`.

Since October 1, 2026, reader apps distributed in the EU can also mention out-of-app offers, without a clickable link.

## Before adding a link: my checklist

1. **Read the user's storefront with Storefront**, right before showing the offer, and only show the link where it's allowed.
2. **Elsewhere, no call to action**: no link, no button, no sentence pushing toward it, no mention on your App Store listing.
3. **Keep in-app purchase alongside**, at least as visible. In Japan and Brazil, it's a written requirement. In the EU, an in-app payment, through Apple or a third-party provider, must appear on the same screen as the link.
4. **Request the entitlement before coding**, except for the United States.
5. **Handle age** with parental controls, and no web offer for the youngest users.
6. **Plan for the monthly report, Apple's invoice and your customer support**: on your website, refunds and VAT are on you.

## My choice for my apps

I stick with in-app purchase alone. With the Small Business Program, the gap with a link is only 5 points in the EU, Japan and Brazil: 15% versus 10%. In return, in-app purchase gives me one codebase for every storefront, and Apple handles payment, refunds and subscriptions. On my website, I'd be the seller: VAT, disputes and customer support would be on me.

The US storefront is the only case where the gap gets wide, since the link costs nothing there today. If a big share of your sales comes from the United States, a link next to in-app purchase is worth testing.

## Sell your app without getting rejected

The [iOS & Android Kit](https://devoria.fr/en/kits/ios) starts from the code of my apps, with the paywall and in-app purchase subscriptions already set up, and walks through four steps to the App Store, at your own pace. The full subscription setup is on the [iOS in-app subscription](https://devoria.fr/en/expertise/ios-in-app-subscription) page.

Before choosing your payment method, [take the free diagnostic](https://devoria.fr/en/diagnostic): it tells you what's really blocking your project and sends you my Apple anti-rejection checklist.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can you put a link to your website in an iOS app?

Yes on the US storefront, with no entitlement. Yes in the European Union, Japan and Brazil, with Apple's entitlement and its conditions. No on other storefronts, except for reader apps, which can link to account creation or management.

### Does Apple take a commission on an external link in the United States?

Not today. In its November 3, 2026 annual report, Apple states that an injunction prevents it from charging a commission on purchases made through an external link. The appeals court did rule that a commission was possible, though, and sent the case back to the trial court. No rate has been set so far.

### Can a French developer show the US external link?

Yes. The rule follows the user's App Store storefront, not the developer's country. Your app reads the storefront with StoreKit and only shows the link to users on the US storefront.

### What is the External Link Account Entitlement?

It's the authorization reserved for reader apps: news, books, audio, music or video. It allows a link to your website to create or manage an account, in every country, as long as you offer no in-app purchase in the app.

### Can you write "cheaper on our website" in your App Store description?

No, outside the US storefront. Guideline 3.1.1(a) covers the app and its metadata. In the EU, the product page can't mention alternative payment either.

### Can you offer a lower price by email?

Yes. Guideline 3.1.3 allows communications outside the app about other payment methods. An email to your users counts, on every storefront.


## Your project

[iOS & Android Kit](https://devoria.fr/en/kits/ios): Build your iPhone and Android app with Claude Code: the starter code from my apps, the path all the way to the stores, and every kit. $109.

[Diagnostic: what's between you and your iPhone app](https://devoria.fr/en/diagnostic): 7 questions, 60 seconds: find out what's really stopping you from publishing your iPhone app, get your 4-step path and the kit that fits you.