Stripe Breaks Apple’s Walled Garden: iOS Developers Finally Get a Real Alternative
In the wake of a major legal blow dealt to Apple in its ongoing battle with Epic Games, Stripe has pounced on the opportunity to empower iOS app developers. The payments giant has just released documentation and a step-by-step guide that shows developers how to bypass Apple’s infamous 30% App Store commission using Stripe Checkout — and the dev world is buzzing.
After U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers slammed Apple for failing to comply with her previous injunction — calling out the company’s misleading "scare screens" and weak policy changes — the door is now wide open for developers to integrate external payment links directly into their apps.
Stripe product manager Michael Luo took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce the news:
“We cooked up a quick guide for iOS developers to start accepting payments outside their apps using Stripe.”
https://x.com/AzianMike/status/1917830346332332329
💡 How It Works:
Developers can now add a link inside their iOS apps that redirects users to a secure, Stripe-hosted checkout page for purchasing digital goods. This means no more Apple in-app purchase restrictions, and no more 30% commission fees eating into profits.
Instead, developers can leverage Stripe’s far more modest fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction — a huge win, especially for indie developers and startups.
🎉 Dev Community Rejoices:
Longtime Apple critic and Basecamp/HEY creator David Heinemeier Hansson praised the development, saying:
“Apple’s loss in court is immediately opening up a whole new world for app developers. Entire business models were impossible under the old 30% regime.”
Hansson, whose apps have been repeatedly rejected by Apple for sidestepping its in-app purchase system, believes this shift will dramatically change the economics of building apps on iOS.
⚠️ Not Plug-and-Play — But Worth It:
While using Stripe requires setting up and maintaining your own checkout experience — unlike Apple’s built-in IAP — the benefits of higher margins and greater control are turning heads. Developers on X are already liking and sharing Stripe’s guide by the thousands.
🚀 The Bottom Line:
This is more than a policy change — it’s a tectonic shift in how apps can do business on iOS. With Stripe leading the charge, developers are finally being handed the tools to break free from Apple’s high-fee ecosystem — and the future just got a lot more open.
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