# Paywall before onboarding, plus video: +50% users see paywall

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Paywall (App)
- Elements: Paywall timing, Paywall design
- Date shared: 2023
- Test run by: [Jake Mor](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/jakemor/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/growth/paywall-tests-grow-app-revenue/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/fitnessai-paywall-before-onboarding/

Moving 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.

## Result

**+50% users seeing the paywall**

- 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.

## 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)

- 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.

## How to run this test

- 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
- Guardrail: Trial-to-paid conversion
- Guardrail: Onboarding completion rate
- Guardrail: 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.

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Credit: Jake Mor ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/fitnessai-paywall-before-onboarding/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.