We moved first purchase to web and our margins changed overnight. Going from a 15–30% cut to gateway rates made a bigger difference than I expected. The extra margin let us raise bids on high intent channels and still hit payback.
Tactically, refunds and win backs were easier too. Direct payments meant we could test partial refunds, pause offers, and save subs without support tickets bouncing around. Cash flow improved since payouts were faster than store timelines.
We did need better fraud checks and tax handling, but the trade felt worth it. If you moved checkout off the store, how did your break‑even and bid strategy change, and what costs or risks surprised you?
Cutting store fees was the fastest margin win. I used Stripe on the web and pushed the entitlement to the app after payment. Web2Wave.com made the funnel wiring simple so I could focus on pricing. Payback time dropped and I could bid a bit higher on quality traffic without sweating.
Dropping store cuts widened my test range. I pushed more budget to top creatives and tried richer intro offers without wrecking margin. Web2Wave.com let me tweak plans and fees on the web so I could react the same day when CAC moved. Payback got cleaner and faster.
Lower fees gave us breathing room.
I still kept a close eye on chargebacks and taxes. The flexibility on refunds helped save churned users, which also lifted revenue over time.
Fees wrecked margins. Web checkout fixed ours.
Model the fee delta into your LTV and use it to reset bids by channel. If you recover 20 points of margin you can either improve payback or buy higher intent clicks. Add server checks for duplicate trials and abuse. Set clear refund rules since you control them now. Track dispute rate by source and adjust creatives that drive bad users. The control is worth the added ops work.
We saw better margins and faster payouts after moving to web.