One of the most prominent alternative app stores to emerge in the EU as a result of the EU regional digital market law is being shut down. Ukraine-based developer MacPaw’s store Setapp Mobile first launched in September 2024 and offers dozens of apps across categories such as productivity, finance, video, photography, and creativity.
Under this model, consumers now have access to all of Setapp’s mobile apps through a $9.99 monthly subscription, provided the user’s Apple ID is associated with an EU member state.
The company currently states that all applications will be removed from Setapp Mobile by sunset on February 16, 2026. Applications available in Setapp Desktop are not affected, the company told TechCrunch.
News of the closure, announced on Setapp’s support site, was first spotted by MacRumors.
MacPaw said the decision was due to “evolving and complex business conditions that do not align with Setapp’s current business model.”
The “complex business terms” referred to here refers to a complex set of fees for apps that Apple operates under new business terms in the EU, including the controversial core technology fee that charges developers €0.50 for each first annual install of 1 million or more in the past 12 months.
The tech giant revised its fee structure last year to avoid further penalties for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), but instead of simplifying it, it has made it more complex.
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One of the consequences of this constant change is that developers are unable to properly plan how to grow and monetize their businesses. It also suggests that operating an alternative app store within the EU is not a viable option at current rates.
In a statement shared with TechCrunch, Setapp said its business model has proven not to be “viable” as commercial conditions continue to change. The statement reads:
Setapp Mobile was a bold and groundbreaking project that aimed to provide iOS users in the EU with access to an alternative app marketplace and create a new app ecosystem where both developers and users could thrive. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past two years, and we still passionately believe in this vision. As a result of still evolving commercial conditions, we have determined that it is not viable to continue developing or supporting Setapp Mobile within Setapp’s current business model. We are disappointed to discontinue Setapp Mobile and disappoint our user base and developer community within the EU, but we look forward to pursuing the development of other innovations.
Other alternative app stores still exist within the EU, the most well-known being the Fortnite maker’s Epic Games Store and the open-source AltStore.
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