--- title: Why run web2app funnels (and when not to) slug: why-web2app-funnels summary: The business case for selling app subscriptions through a web quiz + web checkout instead of the app store — fees, cash flow, attribution, control — plus the cases where it underperforms. domain: mobile-apps tags: [web2app, monetization, user-acquisition, economics] related: [web2app-tools-and-providers, web2app-ad-optimization-events, web2app-funnel-structure, web2app-paywall-best-practices, app-growth-stages-organic-to-paid, web-quiz-vs-direct-to-store, web-funnel-partner-and-family-plans, web2app-dark-patterns-and-compliance, external-payment-links-vs-iap] sources: [yt:m5xmwkV4HgM, yt:ELt0hjABIqY, yt:2oq2OlqfTro, yt:FWF_AbsR0qc, yt:Xv04J1cr16Q, yt:EyoYQU6JyV8] updated: 2026-10-24 --- # Why run web2app funnels (and when not to) ## TL;DR - A web2app funnel = paid ad → web quiz → web paywall/checkout → app access via deep link. The user pays on the web, then uses the app. - Main wins: no 15–30% store cut, faster payouts, simpler ad attribution (no ATT), and full control over pricing, upsells and social proof. - It also opens audiences app-install campaigns exhaust: Android users who rarely pay in-app, and older users who are more comfortable buying on the web. - Big spenders (Headway, Coursiv) run most of their paid UA this way; it is not only a fee-avoidance trick. - Don't assume that bolting a web checkout onto an in-app paywall helps — Steve has seen that perform worse than native Apple checkout. ## Details **Economics.** Apple and Google keep 15–30% of every sale; on the web that margin stays with you (minus payment-provider fees). Store payouts also lag ~45 days, whereas a provider like Paddle pays out much faster — meaningful for cash-flow-constrained UA[^1]. **Attribution.** Web events (registration, checkout, purchase) are easier to pass to Meta, TikTok, Snap etc. without depending on ATT prompts and MMP SDKs measuring in-app events correctly[^1][^2]. **Control.** Store review is getting stricter on app types, updates and paywalls. On the web you decide what you show: live "X people bought in the last hour" counters, money-back guarantees, one-click upsells and downsells — things Apple/Google might reject or make impossible in-app[^2][^3]. **Market signals (as of mid-2026).** AppsFlyer reports web-to-app as the fastest-growing owned-media channel (ahead of referral, email, SMS and QR-to-app); Google Ads now lets you unify web and app conversions; MMPs are shipping web2app measurement features[^4][^5]. **New audiences.** Because web traffic isn't platform-specific, web2app is the route to monetise Android users[^5]. Headway told Steve (2023) that web funnels opened an audience normal app campaigns were exhausting[^6]. Steve's own hypothesis for an app targeting an older audience with great hook rates and CPIs but poor install-to-paid: older users may simply prefer to buy on the web, then use the app[^7]. **Audience expansion, not fee avoidance (Simply, 2026).** Simply was 100% app-install campaigns; web flows now bring ~20% of Simply Piano revenue and made Facebook work for them for the first time. Yoav Sharon treats web as a way to reach incremental audiences (lean-back social users, bundle buyers), not to save fees; Jacob Eiting adds that the net gain from avoided store fees is "pretty close to marginal" in the experiments he has seen[^12][^13][^14]. Built With Science sends ~90% of paid traffic to a web quiz after it beat direct-to-store in a test — see [[web-quiz-vs-direct-to-store]][^15]. **Scale.** Igor estimates Headway's web funnels generate hundreds of millions of dollars a year (hard to verify — there is no Sensor Tower for web)[^8]. Coursiv was ~$250k/month and Steve has never seen a Coursiv ad that sends traffic to the store[^9]. One past App Masters guest (Arya) built a $1M ARR business on a web product alone and decided he didn't need an app[^10]. ## Disagreements / caveats - Steve has seen an *in-app* "start free trial → web checkout" flow (Flo) perform worse than the default Apple subscription sheet[^11]. Web checkout shines when the whole journey starts on the web, not as a store-checkout replacement. - Simply/RevenueCat view the fee saving as minor; the real case is reach and personalisation. Vendors (web2wave, Paddle) emphasise fees more. - Most enthusiasm comes from vendors (web2wave, Paddle sponsored the source videos) — discount accordingly. - US rules on in-app linking/charging changed in 2025; re-check current Apple/Google rules before relying on any in-app payment tricks. ## See also - [[web-quiz-vs-direct-to-store]] — head-to-head evidence (Built With Science, Simply) - [[web2app-dark-patterns-and-compliance]] — the reputational/regulatory downside - [[web2app-funnel-structure]] — what the funnel looks like - [[web2app-tools-and-providers]] — what to build it with - [[web2app-ad-optimization-events]] — how to buy traffic for it - [[people/steve-p-young]], [[people/igor-lyubimov]] [^1]: yt:m5xmwkV4HgM @ 03:17 — Steve P. Young [^2]: yt:m5xmwkV4HgM @ 04:27 — Steve P. Young [^3]: yt:m5xmwkV4HgM @ 13:20 — Steve P. Young [^4]: yt:m5xmwkV4HgM @ 00:55 — Steve P. Young [^5]: yt:m5xmwkV4HgM @ 01:45 — Steve P. Young [^6]: yt:ELt0hjABIqY @ 00:48 — Steve P. Young [^7]: yt:2oq2OlqfTro @ 09:13 — Steve P. Young [^8]: yt:ELt0hjABIqY @ 02:09 — Igor Lyubimov [^9]: yt:m5xmwkV4HgM @ 08:23 — Steve P. Young [^10]: yt:m5xmwkV4HgM @ 05:18 — Steve P. Young [^11]: yt:FWF_AbsR0qc @ 01:57 — Steve P. Young [^12]: yt:Xv04J1cr16Q @ 17:34 — Yoav Sharon [^13]: yt:Xv04J1cr16Q @ 24:48 — Yoav Sharon [^14]: yt:Xv04J1cr16Q @ 28:49 — Jacob Eiting [^15]: yt:EyoYQU6JyV8 @ 24:51 — Ethan Ethier