Project summary
- ExploreApps builds mobile subscription apps across multiple verticals. AIR Music is one of their products.
- The team was acquiring users via traditional app store campaigns, but CPS was too high, and early product validation was slow. They decided to explore web2app funnels for their mobile apps and opted for FunnelFox.
- Instead of building funnels in FunnelFox on their own, they chose to fully outsource funnel setup, creative production, and campaign management to the FunnelFox growth team.
- In A/B tests, CPS through FunnelFox funnels was 1.5x lower than app store campaigns for the same app.
- Web2app funnels also help ExploreApps test demand for specific features before investing in development, allowing them to prioritize what users really want.
Challenge
ExploreApps builds and tests mobile subscription apps using lightweight MVPs to validate ideas quickly. One of their recent launches is AIR Music — an AI-powered app that lets users generate songs, beats, and melodies in various genres.
The team needed to quickly understand if there was real user demand for AI-generated music, which features resonated most, and whether the product could monetize effectively. At the same time, they were looking for a more cost-efficient alternative to app store acquisition, where high costs and 30% commission fees made scaling difficult.
Solution
When ExploreApps decided to go with web2app funnels, the team knew from the start they wanted to do it right. FunnelFox was the obvious choice — a proven platform built specifically for subscription-based mobile products. Other solutions weren’t seriously considered.
FunnelFox offers two ways to work: teams can either build and run funnels themselves or fully outsource the process to the FunnelFox growth team. ExploreApps chose the second path — handing over the full web2app workflow so they could move faster and stay focused on product development.
How does the FunnelFox growth team work?
1. Funnel building
The FunnelFox team builds web2app funnels — from landing pages and onboarding to paywalls, checkouts, and upsell flows. Funnels are built and deployed directly within the FunnelFox platform, with zero engineering effort required from the client.
2. Creative production
Creative specialists from the FunnelFox growth team develop ad concepts and produce both static and dynamic creatives. The team creates and tests a high volume of variations — the more creative angles explored, the greater the chances of finding a scalable winner.
3. User acquisition
Our UA managers launch and optimize campaigns using the client’s ad accounts — this setup ensures transparency, faster review times, and access to first-party performance data. For ExploreApps, Meta is the primary acquisition channel, but our team works with all other platforms.
4. Optimization & reporting
The growth team runs ongoing A/B tests to improve funnel performance while monitoring unit economics to assess profitability and make informed scaling decisions.
Validating product direction through funnels
ExploreApps also uses funnels to guide product development decisions.
Instead of investing engineering time upfront or relying on long user research cycles, the team tests new feature concepts directly in funnel flows. If users respond well, those signals guide what gets built next.
In AIR Music, the team wasn’t sure whether cover-song generation would matter to users. So they launched a funnel variation that highlighted this feature, and quickly validated user interest.
This approach now helps ExploreApps quickly validate direction with data before committing to full builds.
Impact
Lower CPS
In side-by-side tests, web2app funnels delivered 1.5x lower cost per subscription and significantly stronger unit economics compared to direct-to-app campaigns.
Smarter resource allocation & data-driven product direction
By testing feature ideas through funnels first, ExploreApps avoids spending time and budget on directions that don’t resonate. Concepts that underperform are quickly deprioritized, while high-signal ideas get the focus and resources to scale.
Final thoughts
For ExploreApps, switching from direct-to-app campaigns to web2app funnels wasn’t just a channel change — it was a shift toward more efficient, data-informed growth. With FunnelFox, they were able to lower CPS by 1.5x, test product and feature ideas before committing development resources, and reallocate budget to the initiatives that convert.
If your team hasn’t started working with web2app funnels because it feels too complex or resource-heavy, that’s exactly where our growth team comes in. We bring the tools, talent, and tested playbooks to help you launch, learn, and scale without overloading your internal roadmap.
Whether you’re validating a new concept or looking to improve unit economics on a live product, we’re ready to help.
