Free-trial toggle set to off: weekly revenue about $2.5k to $5.3k
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdam Lyttle added a free-trial toggle to the paywalls of their indie apps, set to off with the annual plan preselected, and weekly revenue roughly doubled from about $2,500 to over $5,300. This was a before-and-after comparison, not a split test.
The story was retold on the RevenueCat blog.
- Weekly revenue: from about $2,500 to over $5,300, roughly double. This compares periods before and after the change.
- Introductory offer conversion rate was reported at 63%, with subscription retention at 68%. No baseline was given for either.
- Sample size, time window and other changes made in the same period were not shared.
The change
Same paywall with a free-trial toggle added, off by default, annual preselected
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The previous paywall in Adam Lyttle's indie apps. The source does not describe it in detail.
Variant
A paywall with a free-trial switch that started in the off position and the annual plan already selected. Turning the switch on moved the user to a weekly plan with a free trial.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- With the switch off and annual preselected, many users tapped continue and paid upfront instead of taking a trial.
- People who wanted a trial could still get one, but on the pricier weekly plan, which raised revenue from that group too.
- The annual price looked cheaper next to the weekly option, which pulled people toward it.
Caveats: Before-and-after numbers, not a split test, and retold by RevenueCat rather than published as test data. Since January 2026 Apple has been rejecting iOS paywalls with a free-trial toggle under guideline 3.1.2.
Who ran it
Adam Lyttle ran this test. Source: RevenueCat blog. The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
How to run this test on your app
- Hypothesis
- If we add a free-trial toggle that starts off, with the annual plan preselected, then revenue per user will rise because more people pay upfront while trial seekers can still opt in.
- Primary metric
- Proceeds per user
- Guardrails
- Refund rate
- Trial-to-paid conversion
- Store review and rejection risk
- Who should test it
- Android apps and web paywalls, where the toggle is still allowed. Don't ship it on iOS: Apple now rejects it, so test a plan picker with a trial plan or a timeline paywall there instead.
Questions
Can we still use a free-trial toggle on iOS?
No. From January 2026 Apple has rejected apps whose purchase screen has a toggle to add or remove a free trial.
Android and web paywalls have not been hit so far.
Why did the toggle raise revenue?
Most people left it off and bought the annual plan upfront.
Those who wanted a trial switched to a weekly plan, which costs more over time.
Can we trust a before-and-after result like this?
Treat it as a lead, not proof. Seasonality, ad spend or other changes could explain part of the jump, so run it as a split test before rolling out.