Step Down, Apple: Meet the Alternative App Stores Coming to the EU

European Union residents now have access to alternative app stores thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a new regulation aimed at encouraging more competition in the app ecosystem. Like Apple’s App Store, alternative app stores provide easy access to a wider world of apps, but instead of going through Apple’s app review process, apps in these third-party stores must go through a notarization process to make sure they meet certain “basic platform integrity standards,” Apple says — such as being free of malware. However, each store can review and approve apps according to its own policies. The stores are also responsible for all support and refund issues, not Apple.

To launch the alternative app marketplace, developers must accept Apple’s alternative business terms for EU DMA-compliant apps. This includes paying a new Core Technology Fee of €0.50 for each first annual install of the app from the marketplace, even before the 1 million install threshold is reached, which is the bar for other EU apps distributed under Apple’s DMA business terms.

Despite the complex new rules, a handful of developers have seized the opportunity to distribute their apps outside Apple’s walls.

Below is a list of alternative app stores that iPhone users in the EU can use.

AltStore PAL

Co-created by developer Riley Testut, creator of the Nintendo Delta game emulator app, AltStore PAL is an officially approved alternative app marketplace in the EU. The open-source app store will allow independent developers to distribute their apps alongside apps from the creators of AltStore, Delta, and the clipboard manager Clip.

Unlike Apple’s App Store, AltStore apps are developer-hosted. To work, developers download an alternate distribution package (ADP) and upload it to their server, then create a “source” that users add to AltStore to access their apps. This means that the only apps you’ll see in AltStore are the ones you’ve added yourself.

Some popular apps added by users include the UTM virtual machine app that allows you to run Windows and other software on iOS or iPad; OldOS, a SwiftUI-based recreation of iOS 4; Kotoba, an iOS dictionary available as a standalone app; the iTorrent torrent downloader app; a qBittorrent remote client for iOS devices called qBitControl; and the PeopleDrop social media platform.

Setapp mobile app

Setapp MacPaw became one of the first companies to agree to Apple’s new DMA business terms to create an alternative app store for EU users. The company has long offered a subscription-based service that includes a selection of carefully curated apps for iOS and Mac customers. After implementing the DMA, it released Setapp Mobile, an alternative app store for iOS users exclusively in the EU. Like other subscription offerings, the new app store bundles dozens of apps for a single recurring subscription price, with the number of apps growing over time. The apps are free from in-app purchases or ads and are generally considered high quality, but it does not include apps from big-name brands like Facebook, Uber, Netflix, and others.

Setapp Mobile is available to users on Setapp’s “Power User” and “AI Expert” subscription plans for free. Otherwise, users can sign up via the new “iOS Advanced” plan, which includes both the iOS app from the main Setapp subscription and Setapp Mobile for $9.99/€9.49 per month or $107.88/€102.48 per year.

Additionally, all Setapp subscribers (except “Family” and “Teams”) can try Setapp Mobile for free during the invite-only beta testing period.

Epic Games Store

Fortnite creator Epic Games launched an alternative iOS app store in the EU on August 16, allowing users to download games including its own Fortnite and others like Rocket League Sideswipe and Fall Guys, with more coming soon. The company said it is also bringing its games to other alternative app stores, including PAL’s AltStore, which it currently supports through donations, as well as Aptoide’s iOS store in the EU and the ONE Store on Android.

The decision to bring Fortnite to the alternative iOS market comes more than four years after Apple removed the game from its App Store for policy violations, ahead of Epic’s legal challenge to its alleged App Store monopoly. While U.S. courts have ruled that Apple did not engage in antitrust conduct, the lawsuit paved the way for developers to link to their own websites for a lower commission.

Aptoide

An alternative iPhone game store, Lisbon-based Aptoide is an open-source app distribution solution. The company, already known for its Google Play alternative, claims to scan apps to make sure they’re safe to download and install, as well as ensure they’re DMA-compliant.

The iOS version of the Aptoide store launched as an invite-only beta in June, so you’ll need to put your email address on a waiting list to get an access code. As a free store, Aptoide doesn’t charge users the Core Technology Fee they pay to Apple, but it does take a commission of between 10% and 20% on iOS in-app purchases, depending on whether they were generated through the marketplace or not.

Across all platforms, including Android, web, car and TV, Aptoide offers 1 million apps to over 430 million users.

Mobilivention Market

The B2B-focused app store, Mobivention Marketplace, lets EU companies distribute internal apps that employees use but can’t — or shouldn’t — be published on Apple’s App Store. The company also offers to develop a customized app store for companies that want to offer their employees their own app store just for their corporate apps. Larger companies can even license Mobivention’s technology to further customize their app store.