Distributing iOS apps inside a company in 2026

iPhones are the default work device in a lot of companies — iOS runs on about 61% of mobile devices in the US^[1]. So the apps a company builds for itself — a warehouse scanner, a sales catalogue, an inspection checklist — and every test build on the way to the App Store have to reach iPhones too. Apple controls how. Picking the wrong channel costs weeks: an eligibility interview you won’t pass, a review queue for every build, or a device list that fills up in March.

The five routes

1. TestFlight — for betas

Up to 100 internal testers from your App Store Connect team and 10,000 external testers per app. Builds are testable for 90 days, and the first build for external testers goes through Beta App Review^[2]. Managed Apple Accounts in reserved domains can’t test builds, which matters if your company issues them to employees.

Good for: betas before an App Store release. Not for: apps employees use every day for months.

2. Ad Hoc — for known devices

Any Developer Program member can sign a build for specific registered devices. The limit is 100 devices per device family (iPhone, iPad, Mac and so on) per membership year, and disabling a device doesn’t free its slot until the year renews^[3]. The membership costs $99 a year^[4].

Good for: QA teams, clients and pilot groups you can name. Watch: the yearly device budget, and the manual work of registering devices and re-signing builds — which is exactly the part services like AppSign take over.

3. Apple Developer Enterprise Program — for employees only

The in-house option costs $299 a year and is strict about who qualifies: 100 or more employees, a legal entity (no DBAs or trade names), a D-U-N-S number, a public website on the company’s domain, and systems that make sure only employees can download the apps^[5].

Apple runs a verification interview, keeps evaluating members, and verifies the organization again at every renewal. It also asks applicants to confirm that the App Store, Apple Business, Ad Hoc or TestFlight wouldn’t meet their needs — the program is explicitly a last resort.

More detail on requirements, renewal and revocation: Apple Developer Enterprise Program in 2026.

Good for: large organisations with a real in-house app catalogue. Not for: contractors, customers or anyone outside the payroll.

4. Apple Business — custom and unlisted apps

In April 2026 Apple combined Apple Business Manager, Business Essentials and Business Connect into Apple Business, a free platform with built-in device management^[8]. Through it you can distribute custom apps privately to specific organisations, or publish unlisted apps that are reachable only by direct link. Both still go through App Review^[9].

Good for: finished internal or B2B apps you update occasionally. Not for: daily test builds — each release waits for review.

5. Alternative distribution — public, not private

In the EU, Japan and Brazil apps can be installed outside the App Store; the EU also allows downloads straight from a developer’s website. Every such app must pass Apple’s notarization, and new EU terms with a 5% commission apply from October 1, 2026^[10]. These channels are designed for distributing apps to consumers in those regions — they don’t replace private testing or in-house distribution.

A quick decision table

Where AppSign fits

AppSign works under your own developer account. It signs builds for your registered testers, keeps them in secure cloud storage and gives your team access — without a review queue for each build and, on Pro and Enterprise plans, without an expiry date. We don’t share certificates between customers.

We’re opening sales of flexible Enterprise plans for companies that test and distribute iOS apps internally: unlimited apps and signing requests, custom tester and storage limits, and billing that fits your procurement. Leave a request and we’ll come back with a proposal.