$1.99 paid 30-day trial instead of monthly: +30% D90 ARPU
Test run byVahe BaghdasaryanTangent (now part of Superwall)
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsReplacing a no-trial monthly plan with a $1.99 paid trial for the first 30 days raised day-90 ARPU from $2.23 to $2.89 (+30%).
Vahe Baghdasaryan's agency Tangent pooled the data from 10 health and fitness apps doing at least $500K MRR and shared it on X.
- Day-90 ARPU: $2.23 to $2.89 (+$0.66, +30%).
- Conversion to paying: 10.2% to 12.7% (+2.5 points, +24%).
- What the paid trial renews at was not shared.
The change
The no-trial monthly plan becomes a $1.99 paid 30-day trial.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Two plans: an annual plan with a 7-day free trial, and a monthly plan with no trial.
Variant
Two plans: the same annual plan with a 7-day free trial, plus a $1.99 paid trial for the first 30 days.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- $1.99 is a low barrier, so more people make a first payment than with a full monthly price.
- A full month gives health and fitness users time to build a habit before the full price kicks in.
- Payment details are captured up front, so renewals happen without another decision.
Caveats: Pooled data from 10 apps with similar price points; the post doesn't say how users were split or give sample sizes. Results are at day 90, so long-term retention after the paid trial is unknown.
Who ran it
Vahe Baghdasaryan ran this test. Source: Vahe Baghdasaryan on X (@vahebagdasar). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
How to run this test on your app
- Hypothesis
- If we replace our no-trial monthly plan with a low-price 30-day paid trial, then day-90 ARPU will rise because more users make a first payment and stay past the first month.
- Primary metric
- Day-90 ARPU
- Guardrails
- Annual plan share
- Month-2 renewal rate
- Refund rate
- Who should test it
- Health and fitness apps (or similar habit apps) that offer a monthly plan next to an annual trial. It may not fit apps whose value shows up in a few days, where a free trial already does the job.
Questions
Does a paid trial pull users away from the annual plan?
The post doesn't share plan mix. Overall ARPU still rose 30% at day 90, but track your annual share.
Why measure at day 90?
A 30-day paid trial only shows its value after users renew at full price. Day 90 captures a couple of renewals.
Is $1.99 the right price?
It's what these apps used. All 10 apps had similar price points, so test a price that fits yours.