A large chunk of Apple’s annual income comes from the App Store, whether it be on iOS, iPadOS or Mac. In 2020, with many people stuck at home due to COVID-19 lockdowns, Apple’s software storefront did better than ever, bringing in $64 billion. 

According to analysts at CNBC, Apple’s App Store grew by 28 percent in 2020, a huge jump up from 3.1% growth in 2019. Back in 2018, the App Store generated $48.5 billion, then in 2019 the App Store generated $50 billion for Apple. Last year, there was another jump to $64 billion annual earnings.

Apple doesn’t publicly announce these numbers, so analyst estimations are the best indication we have. CNBC’s estimate is based on Apple’s disclosure of how much it paid app developers who sell their software through the App Store. By starting at this number, it is possible to make an educated estimate as to how much Apple made through the App Store in total.

App Store earnings may look a little different in 2021, as Apple is making changes via a new small business program. Through this program, app developers that generate less than $1 million USD per year on the App Store will only have to pay a 15% revenue cut to Apple. Developers generating more than that will be subject to Apple’s standard 30% platform revenue cut, which has landed Apple in a number of lawsuits over the last couple of years – most notably with Epic Games in a case that is still being argued today.

KitGuru Says: How many of you regularly use the App Store? Do you think Apple will see another major jump in revenue this year?

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