# Short paywall with a review and a results stat: +72% install-to-trial

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Paywall (App)
- Elements: Free trials, Paywall design, Pricing
- Date shared: 2025-03
- Test run by: [Vahe Baghdasaryan](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/vahebagdasar/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/growth/paywall-redesigns-case-studies/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/food-app-short-paywall-review-stat/

A food and diet app replaced its long onboarding paywall with a short one, and install-to-trial went up 72%. Vahe Baghdasaryan's agency, Paywalls.Design, ran the redesign, and the result was published on the RevenueCat blog. It was a bundle of changes, so the lift can't be pinned on the review, the stat or the toggle alone.

## Result

**+72% install-to-trial**

- Install-to-trial conversion: +72%. Many more new installs started a trial on the onboarding paywall.
- Revenue, ARPU and trial-to-paid figures were not shared for this test.
- Sample size, test length and confidence were not shared.
- Several changes shipped together, so the lift belongs to the redesign as a whole.

## Control

A long onboarding paywall with three plan boxes, a feature list, a note from the CEO and an FAQ. A 7-day free trial was applied to everyone, and a 90% improvement stat sat deep in the layout.

## Variant

A short paywall headed "Choose Your Plan", with a free-trial toggle, a 5-star App Store review and the stat "86% of users improved their diet". Monthly and yearly sat side by side, with "SAVE 40%" and a monthly breakdown of $2.49 on yearly, plus a "Continue" button.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- Cutting the CEO note, FAQ and long feature list left less to read before the button.
- Leading with a real review and a concrete outcome stat gave people a reason to trust the app before seeing prices.
- The old paywall repeated the same $6.99 monthly price across boxes; a clear monthly-versus-yearly comparison with a savings label made the choice easier.
- The toggle let people who were ready to pay skip the trial.

## Caveats

Bundled redesign with no sample size or duration shared, reported by the agency that designed it. Only install-to-trial was given, and Apple now rejects free-trial toggles on iOS.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we replace a long onboarding paywall with a short one that leads with a real review and an outcome stat, then install-to-trial will rise because users see proof and a clear choice before they lose interest.
- Primary metric: Install-to-trial conversion
- Guardrail: Trial-to-paid conversion
- Guardrail: Yearly plan share
- Guardrail: Refund rate
- Who should test it: Apps whose onboarding already explains the value well, so the paywall can stay short. It may not fit apps where the paywall is the first place users learn what they get. Leave the toggle out on iOS.

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Credit: Vahe Baghdasaryan ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/food-app-short-paywall-review-stat/).
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.