Two-step paywall with a day-by-day trial timeline: +50% LTV
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsPepper raised LTV by 50% with a two-step paywall that showed the free trial as a day-by-day timeline.
The recipe and cooking app first tested it on 5% of users, then scaled it to over half of its user base, where the gain held.
The result was published as a Superwall case study.
- LTV: +50% for the timeline paywall.
- It beat every other paywall design Pepper had tested.
- The LTV gain held after rollout grew from 5% to over 50% of users.
- Sample size, duration and conversion rates were not shared.
The change
A second step shows the trial as a day-by-day timeline
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Traditional single-screen paywalls that the team had already tweaked with subheader and highlight changes.
Variant
A two-step paywall flow, with a timeline laying out what happens on each day of the free trial.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Showing when the trial ends and when billing starts may build trust and reduce surprise cancellations.
- A two-step flow gives more room to explain value than a single crowded screen.
- After small copy tweaks had stalled, a new format gave users a different reason to commit.
Caveats: No sample size, duration or significance was shared, and how LTV was measured is not described. Superwall sells the paywall and testing tool used here, and its published case studies can lean positive.
Who ran it
Pepper ran this test. Source: Superwall case study. The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
How to run this test on your app
- Hypothesis
- If we add a second paywall step that shows the trial as a day-by-day timeline, then LTV will rise because users understand the commitment and start trials with more intent.
- Primary metric
- LTV (or proceeds per user) per paywall view
- Guardrails
- Trial start rate
- Trial-to-paid conversion
- Refund rate
- Who should test it
- Apps with a free trial whose paywall tests have stalled on small copy changes. It matters less for apps without a trial or with very short sessions where an extra step may lose people.
Questions
What goes on a trial timeline?
Pepper's timeline outlined what happens on each day of the trial.
Most apps show today's access, a reminder before the trial ends, and the day billing starts.
Is an extra paywall step risky?
It can be, which is why Pepper first showed it to just 5% of users.
Start small and widen the rollout only once it holds up.
Why measure LTV instead of trial starts?
A clearer trial can mean fewer but better trials.
LTV shows whether those users pay more over time.
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