Does the CRA apply to a free app with in-app purchases?
Likely yes
Likely yes. The Regulation reads commercial activity widely: charging a price, charging for support or monetising the product, including through advertising or purchases, all count [[F-007]]. Free to download with paid features is commercial supply of a product with digital elements [[F-005]].
The deciding factors
| Factor | If true | If false | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supplied in the course of a commercial activity | Scope questions continue | Likely out of scope (or the open-source light regime) | F-007 |
| Made available on the EU market | Scope questions continue | Likely out of scope | F-101 |
| Has a direct or indirect connection to a device or network | It is a product with digital elements | Likely out of scope | F-005 |
| Monetisation added later to a non-commercial product | Verdict changes; re-check | No change | F-102 |
Check your own product
Start the short scope check with the product type pre-selected. Every legally material fact — EU availability, commercial activity, exclusions, your role — is asked, never assumed.
Example scenarios
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Free app with subscription tier, EU storefronts on
Likely in scope · role: _
Subscriptions are commercial activity; the app is a product with digital elements placed on the market.
Deciding fact: Art. 3(1), Art. 2(1)
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Free app, ad-funded, no purchases
Likely in scope · role: _
Monetising through advertising is a commercial activity even though the user pays nothing.
Deciding fact: Art. 3(1), Art. 2(1)
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Free app with no monetisation of any kind
Likely out of scope · role: _
Nothing is charged or monetised, so the app is not supplied in the course of a commercial activity.
Deciding fact: Art. 2(1), Art. 3(22), Recitals
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Not sure whether a donation button counts
It depends on one fact · role: _
Commercial activity is the deciding fact. Occasional donations to a non-monetised app are generally not commercial supply; recurring paid tiers are.
Deciding facts: Art. 3(1), Art. 2(1); Art. 2(1), Art. 3(22), Recitals
Each scenario is a fixture: the shared CEMarque rules engine evaluates its inputs at build time and the page cannot be served if the outcome shown here differs from the engine's.
Edge cases
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Why
Free is not the test, commercial is
The Regulation applies to products made available on the market in the course of a commercial activity, and that includes charging a price, charging for support, and monetising through advertising or a service [1]. A free download is the entry point of a commercial product when purchases, subscriptions or ads fund it. The product with digital elements is the app itself, whatever tier the user is on [2].
Where the non-commercial line sits
A hobby app with no monetisation at all is not supplied in the course of a commercial activity and is not placed on the market [1]. A free and open-source app that is not monetised is likewise not considered placed on the market [3]. The scope check asks the commercial question with these options rather than inferring it from the price tag.
Adding monetisation later
Monetisation or commercial redistribution by you changes a non-commercial verdict, and the check should be re-run when that happens [4].
Timing
Article 14 reporting applies from 2026-09-11; full requirements and CE marking apply from 2027-12-11. Dates come from the Facts Table entries cited below, evaluated for the first example; run the check for your own product's dates.
What to do next
CRARequired only answers applicability. CEMarque carries your answers forward and adds your role, class, conformity route, dates, obligations, and a permanent cited verdict.
Check my product Run the full cited determination on CEMarque
Related applicability questions
Sources
- F-007 The Regulation applies to products made available on the market in the course of a commercial activity; charging a price, charging for support, monetising via advertising or data, or otherwise intending to monetise are commercial activity. Art. 2(1), Art. 3(22), Recitals EUR-Lex ↩
- F-005 A product with digital elements is a software or hardware product and its remote data processing solutions, including components placed on the market separately, whose intended purpose or reasonably foreseeable use includes a direct or indirect logical or physical data connection to a device or network. Art. 3(1), Art. 2(1) EUR-Lex ↩
- F-009 Free and open-source software not monetised is not considered placed on the market. Open-source software stewards (legal persons that systematically support free and open-source software intended for commercial activities) have a light regime: a documented cybersecurity policy, cooperation with authorities, and Article 14 reporting only where they are involved in development or where an incident affects their own development infrastructure; they do not affix CE marking and are not subject to fines. Art. 3(14), Art. 3(48), Art. 24, Art. 64(10)(b), Recitals 18–19 EUR-Lex ↩
- F-102 Monetisation or commercial redistribution by you changes a non-commercial verdict; re-check when that happens. Recitals EUR-Lex ↩
- F-101 Made available on the market means supply for distribution or use on the EU market in the course of a commercial activity. Art. 3(22) EUR-Lex ↩
CRARequired answers applicability only, using scope logic and cited regulatory facts maintained by CEMarque, which encodes Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 and published guidance as of Facts v2026.09.4 (10 September 2026). Results are "likely" or "conditional" readings of your answers, not a legal opinion and not a conformity assessment. Run the full cited determination on CEMarque before you act. Methodology.