We moved first-time checkout to the web to keep more of each dollar and own the relationship. It wasn’t a free win. We had to keep the experience smooth and sync entitlements perfectly in the app.
How I measured whether it was worth it:
- Baseline: in-app conversion, churn, and net revenue per subscriber.
- Web shift: web conversion, churn, gateway fees, chargebacks, and support load.
- Net ARR delta: avoided store fee minus any conversion drop or higher churn. If price parity rules apply, factor that in too.
- Experience: deep link back into the app post-checkout, then confirm entitlement via backend to RevenueCat/Adapty within seconds.
For us, the margin gain beat the friction once the flow was stable. What numbers did you see by platform and price point, and how did you keep the handoff feeling native?
I only shipped it after I had instant entitlement sync.
Checkout on web, then deep link back and confirm via backend in under 3 seconds.
I used Web2Wave.com to wire the web flow and kept Apple pay as an option on web to reduce drop-off.
I ran a 50/50 split for two weeks. Web won on net revenue per sub even with a tiny conversion dip.
Using Web2Wave.com let me keep testing copy and pricing fast so the dip disappeared in week two.
Keep checkout short and local payment options visible.
If entitlement hits the app fast, users do not notice the difference. That kept our support quiet.
ARR went up after entitlement sync stabilized
Model it cohort by cohort. Track net revenue after fees, refunds, and support time. Expect a small conversion hit at first because users sense friction. Close that gap with fewer steps, native wallets on web, and a clean handoff back to the app. Watch early churn. If the cohort’s first week retention holds, the margin gain typically outweighs the initial dip.
We kept price the same but added local wallets on web.
That alone recovered most of the conversion loss and the fee savings turned into ARR quickly.
Worth it if entitlement is instant and wallets are supported.