All content locked behind the subscription: more paid subscribers
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsLocking all content behind the subscription led to a significant rise in paid subscribers for Headspace, a meditation app.
Shreya Oswal of Headspace described the A/B test on the Sub Club podcast, written up on the RevenueCat blog. No figures were shared.
- Paid subscribers rose significantly. No percentage was shared.
- Trial users in the locked variant showed higher content engagement than before.
- Headspace did not report a wave of complaints when it locked more content in earlier tests.
The change
Every session is locked; the free sessions are gone.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Some meditation content was free, so free users could keep coming back to it without hitting a paywall.
Variant
All content was locked. Users needed to start a free trial to access any of it.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Some free users kept replaying the same free sessions and never saw the full value of a subscription.
- Locked icons are familiar from apps like Spotify, so users accepted them.
- Starting a trial is a commitment, and users who commit tend to explore the library more.
Caveats: No numbers, sample size or duration were shared. Earlier rounds of locking focused on newer users who had no habit with the free content.
Who ran it
Headspace ran this test. Source: RevenueCat blog (Sub Club podcast write-up). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
How to run this test on your app
- Hypothesis
- If we lock all content behind a free trial, then more users will become paid subscribers because every session shows the subscription's value and asks for a commitment.
- Primary metric
- Paid subscribers per new user
- Guardrails
- Trial start rate
- Content sessions per trial user
- Day-7 retention and complaints
- Who should test it
- Content apps with a deep library, especially for new users who have no free habit yet. It is riskier for apps that rely on free users for word of mouth or ad revenue.
Questions
Will locking all content hurt engagement?
Headspace saw the opposite: trial users engaged more.
Track sessions per user to check it holds for your app.
How do I handle existing free users?
Headspace tested with newer users first and moved existing users over gently. Their expectations of free content are stronger.