Paywall before onboarding, plus video: +50% users see paywall
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsMoving the paywall ahead of onboarding and adding a product video got 50% more FitnessAI users to see the paywall.
Jake Mor ran this on FitnessAI, an AI workout app, and the result was published on the RevenueCat blog.
The source also says install-to-trial doubled while trial-to-paid held steady, so revenue doubled; both changes shipped together.
- Users who saw the paywall: up 50%, because people who used to quit onboarding now saw the offer first.
- Install-to-trial conversion: doubled, according to the source.
- Trial-to-paid conversion: stayed the same. The extra trials did not convert worse.
- Revenue: doubled, as a result of more trials at the same trial-to-paid rate.
- This is a bundled result. The placement move and the video can't be credited separately.
The change
The paywall moves from after onboarding to the first screen, and gains a product video.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The paywall appeared after onboarding. Users who dropped out of onboarding never saw it.
Variant
The paywall was moved before onboarding, and a short video of the app in action was added to it. The video had no sound or text.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- A paywall placed after onboarding only reaches users who finish onboarding. Moving it first removes that leak.
- A short, silent product video shows what the app does in seconds, which can make a trial feel safer to start.
- Users who start a trial right after install still have high intent, which may explain why trial-to-paid didn't drop.
Caveats: Two changes shipped at once and the test design, sample size and duration were not shared. The headline metric is paywall exposure, not purchases, and Jake Mor is also linked to Superwall, a paywall tool vendor.
Who ran it
Jake Mor ran this test for FitnessAI. 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 show the paywall before onboarding and add a short product video, then install-to-trial will rise because every new user sees the offer and quickly understands the app.
- Primary metric
- Install-to-trial conversion
- Guardrails
- Trial-to-paid conversion
- Onboarding completion rate
- Refund rate
- Who should test it
- Apps where a large share of installs drop out during onboarding and never reach the paywall. Test the placement and the video separately if you want to know which one drives the lift.
Questions
Does showing a paywall before onboarding hurt trial-to-paid?
In this case it didn't: install-to-trial doubled and trial-to-paid stayed the same.
Watch it closely in your own test, since it can vary by app.
What kind of video works on a paywall?
FitnessAI used a short demo of the app with no sound or text.
The goal is to show the product working, not to tell a story.
Was the lift from the video or from the placement?
Both shipped together, so the source can't say.
Run them as separate tests if you need to know.
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