Indian developers earned $5.31 billion in 2024 — image credit: Apple
Apple has highlighted that developers in India earned $5.31 billion from the App Store in 2024, but makes the real headline be just how little developers have had to pay Apple itself.
Apple has occasionally promoted how much money developers make from the App Store — in 2018 it said they’d earned $100 billion since the store opened, and then in 2019 the total was $120 billion. It’s now singled out a study that reports Indian developers earned $5.31 billion from Apple during 2024 — but it’s really saying that as part of its defence against accusations of anti-competitive practices.
“The App Store has been an economic miracle for developers in India and all around the world, and we’re thrilled to support their work,” Tim Cook said in a statement. “This study underlines the power of India’s incredibly vibrant app economy.”
“And we’re committed to keep investing in the success of developers of all sizes as they build apps that make an important impact and enrich people’s lives,” he continued.
The full study is by Professor Viswanath Pingali from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. Apple is hosting the report and is credited with having supported it, but it’s not clear whether the company commissioned it.
What is emphasized several times in the report is the point that more than 94% of the $5.31 billion was earned without any commission paid to Apple. Apple is highlighting this figure after Indian regulators accused it in 2024 of abusing its market dominance.
Detail from the report stressing how little Apple earns from its developers in India — image credit: Apple
However, not all of the $5.31 billion comes from App Store sales, as may be implied. Instead, Professor Pingali’s report breaks the earnings down into three categories:
- Digital goods and services
- Physical goods and services
- In-app advertising
The first category includes sales of apps themselves, and any in-app purchases such as subscriptions. That accounts for approximately 6% of the $5.31 billion earned, and in-app advertising accounts for a similar 7%.
All of the rest, some 88% of the total, comes from the physical goods and services category. Those include food delivery, grocery delivery, ride hailing, and the use of shopping apps for general retail.
It’s true, however, that the App Store has facilitated all of this. Plus Apple notes that according to the report, “close to 80% of India-based developers’ App Store earnings came from users outside of the country.”
So Apple’s study is emphasizing that the App Store has been a general economic boon for developers. And it’s published this just after the European Union has fined it $570 million for alleged anti-competitive practices.
