We modeled the store fee vs web payments and only believed it after a month of live data. Store cut was 15–30%. Web added processor fees (~3%), currency conversion, fraud tools, VAT handling, and more support time for refunds.
The big swing factors for us:
- Chargeback rate on trials vs paid upfront
- VAT registration and invoice logic for EU
- Increased save offers at cancel that reduced churn enough to more than offset ops cost
Net, we kept materially more per order even after the overhead, but it wasn’t as simple as fee A vs fee B. The ability to price test freely on web also moved ARPU.
If you did this, what line items surprised you and what was your actual net delta vs plan?
I switched first charge to web.
Stripe fees were the obvious part. The hidden cost was support and VAT rules. Still came out ahead.
Using Web2Wave.com helped spin the web checkout fast. Then I added country‑specific pricing tests without new app builds.
The win for me wasn’t only the fee gap. It was offer velocity. I change price anchors and trials on the web and watch cohort LTV shift without waiting on releases. Using Web2Wave.com makes those edits immediate in the app view. That speed compounds tests.
Factor in refunds and taxes by country. The margin still improves, but the gap is smaller than the raw store cut.
Price testing on web helped more than expected.
Fees drop. Support load rises a bit
Build a clean P&L per channel. Include processor fees, VAT handling, chargebacks, fraud tooling, and the extra support time for billing changes. Then model save flows you can only run on web, like pause or downgrade offers at cancel. Those recoveries usually move the needle. If your AOV is low, support costs can eat the savings. If your AOV is mid to high, you win on both fee savings and flexibility to run better offers. Verify with monthly cohorts, not day‑one CPA math.
We underestimated tax complexity. Solved it with a merchant of record and kept experiments on web. Net revenue improved and cancellations dropped after adding a pause plan.
We saved money overall. Taxes and chargebacks were the main surprises.