# Stripe web checkout instead of in-app purchase: lost on revenue

- Outcome: Lost
- Page type: Paywall (App)
- Date shared: 2026-07
- Test run by: [Sebastian Szturo](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/sebastian-szturo/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://superwall.com/case-studies/how-an-indie-developer-switched-from-revenuecat-back-to-superwall
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/indie-utility-app-stripe-web-checkout/

Moving purchases from App Store in-app purchase to Stripe web checkout lost: a small conversion dip cost more than the fees it saved. Sebastian Szturo, an indie developer of utility apps, ran this test and dropped it within weeks. It was published as a Superwall case study.

## Result

**Small conversion dip cost more than the fees saved**

- Conversion: dipped slightly with web checkout. No figure was shared.
- Net revenue: the lost conversions cost more than the App Store fees saved, so the variant lost.
- Overhead: running Stripe added its own work and costs.
- Weekly plans carried most of the revenue, which made any drop in conversion costly.

## Control

The paywall sold subscriptions through standard App Store in-app purchase.

## Variant

The paywall sent buyers to a Stripe web checkout, skipping the App Store.

## Why it likely lost (our reading)

- Leaving the app for a web page adds steps and breaks the one-tap purchase flow users expect.
- With most revenue on cheap weekly plans, even a small conversion loss outweighs a fee saving.
- Some users may trust App Store billing more than entering card details on a web page.

## Caveats

No numbers, sample size or duration were shared, and the source does not detail how traffic was split. The story was published by Superwall, which sells the paywall testing tool used, and the piece also promotes it over a competitor.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we offer web checkout instead of in-app purchase, then net revenue per user will rise because we keep more of each payment, as long as conversion holds.
- Primary metric: Net proceeds per paywall viewer
- Guardrail: Paywall conversion rate
- Guardrail: Refund and chargeback rate
- Guardrail: Renewal rate
- Who should test it: Apps with higher-priced annual plans, where the fee saving per sale is large. Apps that rely on cheap weekly plans, like this one, are likely to lose.

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Credit: Sebastian Szturo ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/indie-utility-app-stripe-web-checkout/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.