One of the EU’s First Alternative App Stores Is Shutting Down

One of the most visible alternative app stores created in the EU following the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is calling it quits.

Setapp Mobile, launched by Ukrainian developer MacPaw in September 2024, is shutting down less than two years after its debut. The store offered a curated collection of mobile apps spanning productivity, finance, creativity, video, photo editing, and more through a single $9.99 monthly subscription. Access was limited to users whose Apple ID was tied to an EU member state.

MacPaw has now confirmed that all apps will be removed from Setapp Mobile by February 16, 2026, marking the official sunset of the service. Setapp Desktop, however, will continue to operate as usual and won’t be affected by the shutdown, the company told Tech News.

The closure was first spotted by MacRumors after MacPaw posted the announcement on Setapp’s support site.

According to the company, the decision comes down to “still-evolving and complex business terms that don’t fit Setapp’s current business model.” That’s a polite way of pointing at Apple’s increasingly complicated fee structure for apps operating under the DMA in the EU.

Under Apple’s revised terms, developers may face multiple fees including the controversial Core Technology Fee, which charges €0.50 for every first annual install over one million within a 12-month period. Apple introduced these changes last year in an effort to avoid further penalties for DMA noncompliance, but critics argue the new system is even harder to navigate than before.

The constant tweaks and unclear long-term costs make it difficult for developers to plan, grow, or reliably monetize their apps. For Setapp, it ultimately meant that running a subscription-based alternative app store in the EU just didn’t add up.

In a statement shared with Tech News, Setapp acknowledged that its model was no longer sustainable:

“Setapp Mobile was a bold, breakthrough project that aimed to provide EU iOS users with access to alternative app marketplaces creating a new app ecosystem where both developers and users could thrive. We are proud of what we have accomplished with it over the past two years and still believe passionately in this vision. As a result of still-evolving commercial conditions, we have determined that it is not viable to continue development or support for Setapp Mobile within Setapp’s current business model.”

While the company expressed disappointment about winding down the service and letting down its EU users and developer partners, it said it plans to focus on other innovations moving forward.

Despite Setapp Mobile’s exit, alternative app stores in the EU aren’t going away entirely. Other options most notably the Epic Games Store and the open-source AltStore are still up and running.