The best paywall examples have three things in common: they explain the trial plainly, they make one plan the obvious pick, and they show up when the user is most interested.
Blinkist's trial timeline (+23% trial starts), Stardust's 7-day trial on the yearly plan (+131% paywall conversion) and Mojo's monthly-price display for its annual plan (+45% in Brazil) are the strongest places to start.
How we picked: every example below is an A/B test or before-and-after result from our archive of real tests, checked against public write-ups.
We did not run these tests ourselves. Most come from subscription apps, but the same rules apply to SaaS and web paywalls.
Browse more on our examples hub or the apps section.
A good example here has a real number, a named source, and a change you can copy.
Where a result is a bundle of changes or a before-and-after comparison, we say so.
All 20 paywall examples at a glance
| # | Example | What they did | Result | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blinkist | A trial timeline instead of a feature list | +23% trial starts | App |
| 2 | Pepper | A two-step paywall with a day-by-day timeline | +50% LTV | App |
| 3 | Clear 30 | Preview the first week, not the features | 20% → 30% conversion | App |
| 4 | Fits | Toggle-style plan layout vs a timeline paywall | +19% ARPU | App |
| 5 | Adam Lyttle | A free-trial switch that starts off | ~$2,500 → over $5,300 weekly revenue | App |
| 6 | Linearity Curve | Make the trial an opt-in | +10% trial conversion rate | App |
| 7 | Stardust | Add a 7-day trial to the yearly plan | +131% paywall conversion | App |
| 8 | Zumba | A 7-day trial instead of 14 days | +8% install-to-paid | App |
| 9 | Mojo | Show the annual plan as a monthly price | +45% Brazil, +26% Mexico, +8% USA | App |
| 10 | Stardust | Discount badge and weekly-equivalent price | +50% conversion, +62.5% proceeds | App |
| 11 | Rash ID | Three plans with a best-offer badge | ~+20% ARPU, >+50% paid conversion | App |
| 12 | Party game app | A short paywall with two plans | +31% install-to-trial, +64% revenue | App |
| 13 | Microsoft 365 | The pricier plan first | Both plans sold more (no figures) | App |
| 14 | Speak4Me | A multi-step paywall that shows features first | +27% conversion, +36% proceeds | App |
| 15 | Rootd | Paywall at the start of onboarding | Revenue 5x (before-after) | App |
| 16 | Wizz | Half as many paywall prompts, better timed | +81% primary offer flow | App |
| 17 | Stardust | A video background paywall | +67% conversion, +12.5% proceeds | App |
| 18 | Anonymized app | Three-tier cascading offers | +8.3% ARPU | App |
| 19 | Photoroom | Localized upsell paywalls | +50% upsell conversion | App |
| 20 | Anonymized US iOS apps | A button to web checkout | -11.9% conversion, ~+19.85% net proceeds | App |
The 20 paywall examples
1. Blinkist: a trial timeline instead of a feature list
What they did: Blinkist removed every feature and benefit from its trial paywall.
The new screen walks through the trial as a timeline and promises a reminder before the user is charged.
Why it works: The main fear at a trial paywall is forgetting to cancel.
The timeline answers that fear directly, and the reminder promise gives people a reason to allow notifications.
Result: +23% trial starts, and push opt-in rose from 6% to 74%.
Blinkist ran the A/B test; the case study is by Growth.Design. See the test.
Copy this: Replace your feature bullets with three steps: today, reminder day, charge day.
Then ask for notification permission right after the trial starts.
2. Pepper: a two-step paywall with a day-by-day timeline
What they did: Pepper moved from a single-screen paywall to a two-step flow, with a timeline showing what happens on each day of the free trial.
Why it works: Splitting the decision in two lets the first screen sell the value and the second explain the trial terms, so neither screen is crowded.
Result: +50% LTV, and it beat every other paywall design Pepper had tested. Run by Pepper. See the test.
Copy this: If your paywall packs value and terms onto one screen, test a two-step version where the trial timeline gets its own screen.
3. Clear 30: preview the first week, not the features
What they did: Clear 30 swapped a feature carousel (peer support, accountability texts, progress tracking) for a day-by-day outline of the first seven days of the program. Products and prices stayed the same.
Why it works: People buying a habit program want to know what they will actually do.
A concrete first week is easier to picture than a list of features.
Result: Paywall conversion went from 20% to 30%.
This was a before-and-after change by Clear 30, not a split test. See the test.
Copy this: Write out days 1 to 7 of what a new subscriber does, and test that against your feature list.
4. Fits: toggle-style plan layout vs a timeline paywall
What they did: Fits tested a toggle paywall, with the yearly price shown as a smaller per-period amount, a "Most Popular" badge and a larger annual option, against a Blinkist-style timeline paywall.
Why it works: When Fits isolated the toggle later, it was not the main source of the lift.
The gain came from the visual hierarchy of the plans.
Result: +19% ARPU for the toggle paywall. Run by Fits. See the test.
Copy this: Keep the plan layout lesson and drop the toggle on iOS: make the annual plan visibly bigger and badge it.
5. Adam Lyttle: a free-trial switch that starts off
What they did: Adam Lyttle's indie apps used a trial switch set to off with the annual plan preselected.
Turning it on moved the user to a weekly plan with a free trial.
Why it works: Most people left the switch off and paid for the annual plan upfront.
Trial seekers could still opt in, on a plan that costs more over time.
Result: Weekly revenue went from about $2,500 to over $5,300. Before-and-after numbers from Adam Lyttle. See the test.
Copy this: Use this only on Android or web.
Since mid-January 2026 Apple has rejected iOS paywalls with a trial toggle; on iOS, offer the trial as its own plan instead.
6. Linearity Curve: make the trial an opt-in
What they did: Linearity Curve stopped including the free trial by default.
Users had to actively choose the trial before continuing.
Why it works: People who pick a trial on purpose are more committed than people who drift into one, so more of them convert.
Result: +10% trial conversion rate. Trial starts fell, and net revenue per user was not shared. Run by Linearity Curve. See the test.
Copy this: Judge this on revenue per user, not trial-to-paid alone, since fewer people start a trial.
7. Stardust: add a 7-day trial to the yearly plan
What they did: Stardust tested its $24.99 yearly plan with and without a 7-day free trial, across five price variants.
Why it works: A trial removes the risk of paying for something untried. Every trial variant beat the no-trial control.
Result: +131% paywall conversion for the yearly plan with a 7-day trial.
Run by Stardust, published by Superwall. See the test.
Copy this: If your yearly plan has no trial, test a short one on that plan before you test price.
8. Zumba: a 7-day trial instead of 14 days
What they did: Zumba cut its free trial from 14 days to 7 days for new users.
Why it works: A shorter trial puts the payment decision closer to the moment of highest interest, before people drift away.
Result: +8% install-to-paid conversion. Run by Zumba, published by RevenueCat. See the test.
Copy this: If your trial is longer than the time it takes to see value, test a shorter one and measure install-to-paid.
9. Mojo: show the annual plan as a monthly price
What they did: Mojo showed its annual plan as "$X/month, billed annually" instead of one yearly price.
Why it works: A small monthly number is easier to accept, especially where incomes are lower. The billing line keeps it honest.
Result: New revenue per paywall impression: +45% Brazil, +26% Mexico, +8% USA. Run by Mojo. See the test.
Copy this: Test the monthly-equivalent display by country. Expect bigger lifts in lower-income markets.
10. Stardust: discount badge and weekly-equivalent price
What they did: Stardust kept its prices ($24.99 yearly, $2.99 weekly) but added a discount percentage to the yearly plan and showed it as a weekly equivalent.
Why it works: Putting both plans in the same unit makes the yearly saving obvious without changing a price.
Result: +50% conversion and +62.5% proceeds per user.
Run by Stardust, published by Superwall. See the test.
Copy this: Show your annual plan in the same unit as your shortest plan, with the saving as a percentage.
11. Rash ID: three plans with a best-offer badge
What they did: Rash ID went from two plans (monthly, yearly) to three (monthly, yearly, weekly), with yearly marked as the best offer.
Why it works: A third, pricier-per-week plan makes yearly look like the deal, and the badge tells people where to look.
Result: About +20% ARPU and over +50% conversion to paid. Run by Rash ID. See the test.
Copy this: Add a short weekly plan as an anchor and label the plan you want most people to pick.
12. Party game app: a short paywall with two plans
What they did: A party game app replaced a long paywall with three plans by a short one: weekly and yearly up front, monthly behind "View All Plans", a playful headline and "SAVE 83%" next to yearly.
Why it works: Fewer choices speed up the decision, and the tone matched a fun product.
Several changes shipped together, so the credit is shared.
Result: +31% install-to-trial and +64% revenue. Run by Vahe Baghdasaryan. See the test.
Copy this: Show two plans on the main screen and tuck the rest behind a link.
13. Microsoft 365: the pricier plan first
What they did: Microsoft 365 moved the more expensive plan to the top of the paywall and made it the default, with the personal plan below.
Why it works: The first price sets the reference point.
Next to it, the personal plan looks cheap.
Result: Both plans sold more, the personal plan much more.
No figures were shared. Run by Microsoft 365. See the test.
Copy this: Test listing your top plan first, and track sales of every plan, not only the top one.
14. Speak4Me: a multi-step paywall that shows features first
What they did: Speak4Me replaced a one-screen paywall with a trial checkbox by a flow that walked users through features before showing prices and trial options.
Why it works: People saw what they were paying for before they saw a price.
Result: +27% conversion and +36% proceeds. Run by Speak4Me. See the test.
Copy this: Test it, don't assume it: Stompers saw the opposite result (see the losers below).
15. Rootd: paywall at the start of onboarding
What they did: Rootd moved its paywall from late in the journey to the beginning of onboarding, so every new user saw the offer.
Why it works: Many users never reach a late paywall.
Showing it early means everyone gets the offer while interest is highest.
Result: Revenue went up 5x. Before-and-after, not a split test. Run by Rootd. See the test.
Copy this: If fewer than half your installs ever see the paywall, test moving it earlier.
16. Wizz: half as many paywall prompts, better timed
What they did: Wizz showed roughly half as many monetization prompts, holding offers back in low-intent moments.
Why it works: Prompts shown at the wrong moment train people to dismiss them. Fewer, better-timed asks keep them meaningful.
Result: +81% on the primary offer flow; LTV up about 20%. Run by Wizz. See the test.
Copy this: List every trigger that opens your paywall and test cutting the ones that fire in low-intent moments.
17. Stardust: a video background paywall
What they did: Stardust swapped a text-heavy paywall for a video background, alongside a 7-day trial and the new price display.
Why it works: Video shows the product working.
The same offer without the video converted less, so the design added lift on its own.
Result: +67% paywall conversion and +12.5% proceeds per user.
Run by Stardust, published by Superwall. See the test.
Copy this: Once your offer is settled, test a short looping product video behind the paywall.
18. Anonymized app: three-tier cascading offers
SuperwallWhat they did: This app showed the standard paywall on the first view, an extended-trial paywall on views two and three, and a discount paywall from the fourth view on.
Why it works: Each repeat view is a sign of interest without commitment.
Escalating the offer catches people the standard paywall missed.
Result: +8.3% ARPU, about +$14.7K per month in proceeds. Run by Superwall. See the test.
Copy this: Count paywall views per user and test a softer offer for people who have seen it more than once.
19. Photoroom: localized upsell paywalls
What they did: Photoroom localized its upsell paywalls for each market, then tested and refined them over several rounds.
Why it works: A paywall in the user's language, with local framing, removes friction that a translated app screen still leaves.
Result: +50% upsell screen conversion, possibly across several rounds. Run by Photoroom. See the test.
Copy this: Start with your second-biggest market and localize the paywall copy, not only the UI strings.
20. Anonymized US iOS apps: a button to web checkout
What they did: The same paywall, but the button opened Superwall's web checkout in a browser instead of Apple's in-app purchase.
Why it works: Web payments skip the 30% store fee, so each sale is worth more even though fewer people finish.
Result: Initial conversion -11.9%, net proceeds about +19.85% (a model that assumes the same trial-to-paid). Run by Superwall. See the test.
Copy this: Only test this if you pay Apple 30%.
Superwall estimates apps on the 15% rate would lose about 1.3%. Dipsea's result below is a warning too.
Patterns across the winners
Trial design: explain it, size it, then decide who gets it
Timelines won for Blinkist, Pepper and Clear 30. Adding a trial lifted Stardust, and shortening it lifted Zumba.
Toggle paywalls won for Adam Lyttle and Fits (though Fits traced its lift to the plan layout, not the toggle), but Apple now rejects trial toggles on iOS, as RevenueCat reported, so use a separate trial plan there. More on free trials in apps.
Plan layout: one clear favorite
Mojo, Stardust and Rash ID all made the annual plan look like the obvious deal, through a monthly or weekly equivalent, a discount badge or a "best offer" label.
Two plans on the main screen beat three for the party game app. See subscription pricing for the pricing side.
Timing: earlier, and less often
Rootd earned more by showing the paywall at the start of onboarding, and Wizz earned more by showing it half as often.
The common thread is showing it when intent is high.
Read more on paywall timing and hard vs soft paywalls.
Examples that lost (what not to copy)
- Removing the close button. BoldVoice's hard paywall with no dismiss got more trial starts, but refunds rose by more than the gain. See the test.
- Web checkout only. Dipsea's web-only paywall dropped initial conversion from 27.0% to 18.1% against in-app purchase, in a test published by RevenueCat. See the test.
- Yearly plan only. Stardust removed the weekly plan and lost on both conversion and proceeds per user. See the test.
- A multi-page flow for a simple app. Stompers' single-page paywall converted over 16% better than a multi-screen flow, the opposite of Speak4Me. See the test.
- A longer trial. A wellness app tested 14 days against 7 and got slightly more trial starts but fewer paid conversions, per Daphne Tideman. See the test.
- Dropping a hard paywall for freemium without a plan. One app saw more than 50% lower subscriber conversion after the switch, per Phil Carter. See the test.
RevenueCatHow to test this on your own app or site
- Pick a revenue metric. Use proceeds or net revenue per user after refunds, not trial starts. BoldVoice and Linearity Curve show why.
- Start with the offer, then the design. Trial length and plan layout moved the biggest numbers above. Video and copy came after.
- Change one thing when you can. Bundled redesigns win, but you won't know which part to keep.
- Wait for trials to convert. A trial test isn't done until trial-to-paid has matured.
- Check store rules first. Trial toggles and some price formats can get an iOS build rejected.
You will need a tool that can swap paywalls without an app release; compare options in our paywall tools guide, and work through the paywall checklist before launch.
For more ranked results, see the best paywall tests and our full list of paywall tests.
If you want someone to plan and run these tests with you, Oliver Kenyon runs conversion programs and can help set up a paywall testing roadmap.
Watch out for
- Dark patterns. Hidden close buttons and toggles that silently switch plans raise refunds and complaints, and can get your app rejected.
- Fake discounts. A "SAVE 83%" badge only works if the comparison is real. Compare against a plan you actually sell.
- Vendor-published results. Many of these tests were published by companies that sell paywall tools, and most do not share sample sizes. Treat them as ideas to test, not proof.