Apple lets businesses and schools buy app subscriptions by the seat, on by default

Since October 22, 2026, companies and schools that use Apple Business or Apple School Manager can buy seats in an app’s auto-renewable subscription with one In-App Purchase. Apple says multiseat purchasing is turned on by default in App Store Connect unless the developer has already changed the setting, so many subscriptions are now on sale to organizations without the developer doing anything.

What changed

Organizations buy the number of seats they need, then assign and manage them with their existing device management tools. Apple says they can add and remove seats at any time.

A new “Purchase Options” setting on each subscription controls this:

Setting	What it means
Yes, allow multiseat purchases	A customer can buy several seats. Required to sell in Apple Business and Apple School Manager.
No, don’t allow multiseat purchases	A customer can buy only one seat.

Apple’s help page lists exceptions to the default. Subscriptions created before September 14, 2026 that don’t use StoreKit 2 or have Family Sharing turned on are opted out. Subscriptions in custom apps are always available in Apple Business and Apple School Manager, and developers can’t opt them out.

Group purchases on the App Store come next. Apple says developers can set up and test them in a Sandbox Apple Account starting in November 2026, and that group purchases will reach the App Store “this winter”. A group purchaser will buy several seats and invite others to use them.

What Apple doesn’t say

Neither page gives per-seat pricing rules, seat minimums or maximums, a country list, or commission rates for multiseat sales. Developers should check App Store Connect before assuming seats sell at the individual price.

What to do

If your app sells a subscription, open it in App Store Connect and check Purchase Options. You need the Account Holder, Admin or App Manager role to change it. Turning multiseat off removes the subscription from Apple Business and Apple School Manager. Existing group subscriptions keep renewing, but no new seats can be added. Removing only Apple Business or Apple School Manager from an approved subscription needs the Account Holder, and Apple says those subscribers won’t renew.

If you keep it on, note that with Family Sharing also on, only the group purchaser’s seat includes Family Sharing; all other seats are for individual use. Apps that have to work with managed devices should test seat assignment before organizations start buying. For other ways to build and ship iOS apps, see our iOS app builders comparison.