# Paywall in onboarding for all, plus gated reminders: ~+400% trials

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Paywall (App)
- Elements: Paywall timing, Freemium limits
- Date shared: 2023-11
- Test run by: [Greg](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/greg/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/growth/paywall-placement/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/greg-paywall-in-onboarding-feature-gating/

Greg, a plant care app, began showing its paywall to every user in onboarding and put watering reminders behind the subscription, and trial sign-ups rose about 400%. Greg ran the change, and CEO and founder Alex Ross described it on the RevenueCat blog. Two changes shipped together, so the lift belongs to both.

## Result

**About +400% trial sign-ups; sign-up-to-trial 3% → 15%**

- Trial sign-ups: about +400%.
- Sign-up-to-trial conversion: from 3% to 15%, a 5x rise.
- Trial-to-paid, revenue and retention were not shared, so we can't tell how many extra trials paid.
- Sample size and duration were not shared.

## Control

The paywall appeared only when a user added a sixth plant. Free users could track up to five plants.

## Variant

Every user saw the paywall during onboarding. Monetization moved from usage-based to feature-based: watering reminders, even for one plant, required a subscription.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- Under the old rule most users never added six plants, so they never saw the paywall at all.
- Gating reminders tied the price to the feature people most need from a plant app.
- Showing price early sets expectations; users who will never pay may leave sooner, but they weren't paying anyway.

## Caveats

Two changes were made at once, and the source does not say whether it was a split test. Only trial metrics were shared, not paid conversion.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we show the paywall to everyone in onboarding and gate the feature users rely on most, then trial starts will rise because every user sees the offer and has a clear reason to start.
- Primary metric: Install-to-trial rate
- Guardrail: Trial-to-paid conversion
- Guardrail: Day-7 retention of non-subscribers
- Guardrail: App store rating
- Who should test it: Apps with a usage-based paywall that few users ever reach, and one clear must-have feature to gate. Apps whose free tier drives word of mouth may lose more than they gain.

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Credit: Greg ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/greg-paywall-in-onboarding-feature-gating/).
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.