Google Pays $18 Billion Per Year to Be the Default Search Engine on Apple Devices (2024)

UPDATE 10/28: Google testified on Friday that it paid $26.3 billion overall in 2021 to be the default search engine across various services, CNBC reports. Google didn't break out who gets what, but the lion's share likely goes to Apple, with other partners like LG, Motorola, Samsung, Mozilla, Opera, and US wireless carriers also paying up.

Original Story:
It's common knowledge that Google pays Apple to be the default search engine on Apple devices, but the exact amount has been the subject of much debate. Typical guesses are north of $10 billion, but two sources tell The New York Times that the bill was "around $18 billion" in 2021.

The information comes amid the Google antitrust lawsuit, where the relationship between Apple and Google has been a focus of scrutiny from the US Justice Department.

The Times report also includes information about Google's plans to leverage the EU's Digital Services Act to entice more users to leave Safari in favor of Google Chrome after Apple launched its Spotlight feature. A presentation submitted into evidence shows Google's fear that Apple's Spotlight would take away traffic, and therefore revenue, from Google. The Digital Services Act was intended to be a way to let smaller businesses compete against big companies, but Google is apparently more than happy to use it as well.

Apple's SVP of Services, Eddy Cue, testified in court that Apple chose Google because it's simply the best option with the best technology. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified that whoever gets the default browser on various platforms is essentially the top dog no matter what, and postulated that Google would stop paying Apple if Bing no longer existed.

Google started presenting its own case on Thursday. It has a few weeks to argue that Google succeeds because it's the best and not because it bought its way to the top. The topic will be the same as it has been for the entire trial so far; that switching search engines is easy. But it's potentially a difficult position to defend considering Google pays $18 billion a year to make sure that doesn't happen.