Selling one-time products via web checkout in the EU:
why we advise against it
Adapty · Technical advisory
29 September 2026
Verdict: not recommended. The commission saving is real — about 11% more net revenue per sale. It is roughly half of what you need to survive the conversion loss that comes with sending buyers to a browser, and the decision cannot be reversed for twelve months.
+11%
Net revenue gain per completed sale on the web route
−10%
Maximum conversion loss you can absorb at break-even
−26%
Conversion loss actually observed on external paywall flows
The arithmetic
Customer price, less transaction taxesP
Apple IAP — 100% − 26%0.74 P
Web link-out — 100% − 15%0.85 P
less payment processing ≈3%−0.03 P
Web link-out, net0.82 P
Break-even conversion retention90.2%
Revenue at −26% conversion−18%
No second upside for one-time
For subscriptions, web checkout also buys control of the cancellation path — pause, discount or free-period offers before the subscription ends. A one-time purchase has nothing to cancel, so that benefit is exactly zero.
What it costs you regardless of volume
- StoreKit integration. External Purchases or Offers Entitlement plus the
ExternalPurchaseCustomLink API — a plain link is not permitted.
- System disclosure sheet shown before every external purchase.
- Monthly reporting to Apple within 15 days of month end, covering refunds, corrections, renewals and transactions that didn't result in a purchase.
- Invoice settlement within 30 days, backed by Apple's audit rights; non-payment can offset your proceeds in other markets or remove the app.
- EU VAT registration and OSS filing become yours.
- Refunds, chargebacks and payment support move to your team.
- Child safety gating: parental gate for ages 13–17, no out-of-app offers below 13, Kids category excluded entirely.
- Report a Problem and Family Sharing will not reflect these transactions.
And the choice locks for a year
“…once you select a payment option or combination — Apple In-App Purchase, alternative payment processing within the app, and/or out-of-app offers with actionable links — you must maintain that choice across all EU storefronts for 12 months.”
No month-long trial, and no quiet pilot in a single country. On the numbers above, the likely outcome is a loss-making configuration fixed in place for twelve months with no rollback. Apple also requires In-App Purchase to be displayed at least as prominently as any alternative, so the web route can never be the primary call to action — the saving applies to a minority of buyers while every cost above applies in full.
What we recommend instead
- Keep one-time products on Apple In-App Purchase in the EU. The gain per sale is smaller than the conversion you would lose.
- Spend the same engineering budget on the in-app paywall. Pricing, packaging and paywall design routinely move conversion by more than 26% — in the right direction, with no commission, no reporting and no lock-in.
- Revisit if Apple changes the terms, or for a product priced high enough that the browser hop is worth it to the buyer. Both deserve a fresh calculation rather than a default answer.
Sources. Apple —
Payment options on the App Store in the EU (rates, 7-day window, prominence, disclosure sheet, entitlement and API requirements, reporting, invoices, audit rights, child safety, 12-month commitment);
Changes for apps in the European Union (unified terms, effective 1 October 2026);
App Store Connect Help — Reporting tokens and transactions to Apple. Conversion benchmark: Adapty internal data on external paywall flows. Break-even arithmetic: Adapty, assuming 3% payment processing. Apple pages captured 29 September 2026; the unified EU terms take effect 1 October 2026 and Apple revises these pages frequently — re-check before acting, and confirm tax treatment with your own advisers.