Paid 30-day trial as a second offer: +7% conversion to trial
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding a second prompt that offered a 30-day trial for a small fee raised conversion to trial by 7%.
Ahead App, a personal growth and emotions app, ran this A/B test, and the result was published as a Superwall case study.
- Conversion to trial rose 7%.
- Proceeds per user were described only as remaining strong. No figure was shared.
- The fee amount, sample size and test length were not shared.
The change
A second prompt offers a paid 30-day trial.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The paywall offered a standard 7-day free trial.
Variant
The same paywall, plus a second prompt offering to extend to a 30-day trial for a small extra fee.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Some users felt 7 days was too short to judge a personalized learning plan, and a longer option met that need.
- Paying a small fee is a commitment, which may attract more serious users.
- Giving a second choice can catch users who would have closed the paywall.
Caveats: Published by Superwall, which sells the paywall tool Ahead App used, so it may lean positive. Proceeds per user had no number attached, and sample size and duration were not shared.
Who ran it
Ahead App ran this test. Source: Superwall case study. The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
How to run this test on your app
- Hypothesis
- If we offer a paid 30-day trial as a second option next to the free 7-day trial, then more users will start a trial because those who need more time get a path that fits them.
- Primary metric
- Conversion to trial
- Guardrails
- Proceeds per user
- Trial-to-paid
- Refund rate on the paid trial
- Who should test it
- Apps whose value takes more than a week to show, like learning or coaching plans. It may add needless friction for apps where value is clear in a day or two.
Questions
Will a paid trial cannibalize my free trial?
It might shift some users. Ahead App said proceeds per user stayed strong but gave no number, so measure it yourself.
When should the second prompt appear?
The source calls it a secondary prompt in a multi-page flow but does not say exactly when it showed.
Showing it when a user declines or hesitates is a common choice.
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