Apple's App Store growth is weak, paying $60 billion to developers in 2022

Apple announced Tuesday that it has paid developers $320 billion since launching its App Store in 2008, up $60 billion from $260 billion by 2021. That means Apple paid developers about $60 billion in 2022, flat year-over-year, and growth seems to have peaked.

App Store developers can get 70 percent to 85 percent of total App Store sales, depending on the draw rate. If all developers paid Apple 30 percent, Apple's App Store revenue would exceed $85 billion in 2022; if the lowest 15 percent percentage was used, App Store revenue would be about $70 billion last year.

These are rough estimates and may differ from reality because it's unclear how many developers paid the 15% cut and how many paid the 30% raise, and Apple's figures are rounded. But Tuesday's data showed that Apple's App Store growth slowed last year. This data is important to investors because the App Store is an important part of Apple's services business and the company's profit engine.

Apple said in a press release that 2022 was a "record" year for the App Store, with subscriptions increasing from 745 million in 2021 to 900 million. Apple's data includes all users who subscribe to services through the Apple App Store, not just Apple's own first-party services such as Apple TV+ and Music.