# One-tap trial card instead of the paywall: +25% trial starts

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Paywall (App)
- Elements: Free trials, Paywall design
- Test run by: [Slopes](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/slopes/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://blog.curtisherbert.com/slopes-diaries-42-building-ramps-not-walls/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/slopes-trial-quickstart-not-paywall/

Slopes replaced the paywall at its key upsell spots with a one-tap "trial quickstart" card, and trial starts rose 25% in the A/B test. Trial-to-paid stayed at about the same rate, so the extra trials were not low-quality. Curtis Herbert ran the test on Slopes, a ski and snowboard tracker, and wrote it up on the Slopes Diaries blog.

## Result

**+25% trial starts; trial-to-paid about the same**

- Trial starts: +25% over the course of the A/B test.
- Trial-to-paid: about the same as before, per the author. The extra trials converted at a similar rate.
- Side benefit: Slopes also sells day and week passes, and the card gave users one clear path instead of a choice between products.

## Control

Tapping an upsell in the app opened the standard Slopes paywall, with plan options and a feature list, before a user could start a trial.

## Variant

A simple card with a graphic and one button to start the free trial. The button opened the system purchase sheet directly, with no paywall screen in between. The idea came from how Apple Arcade presents its free trial.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- The card asks for a small, low-risk step (try premium) instead of the final purchase decision.
- Framing the trial as something already waiting for the user may feel like claiming a perk rather than buying.
- Removing the plan comparison cut the mental math of choosing between passes and a subscription.
- Users who tried premium saw its value first-hand, which may explain why trial-to-paid held.

## Caveats

Sample size and significance were not shared; the test ran for the first two months of the 2021/22 ski season. Other changes that season (a trial popup and a new maps screen) were not A/B tested and are not part of this result.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we replace the paywall at in-app upsell points with a one-tap free trial card, then trial starts will rise without hurting trial-to-paid, because users are asked to try premium rather than to choose and buy a plan.
- Primary metric: Trial start rate per user who sees an upsell
- Guardrail: Trial-to-paid conversion
- Guardrail: Revenue per install
- Guardrail: Refund rate
- Who should test it: Apps that already offer a free trial and whose users hit premium features in context, especially if the paywall shows several products. It is less likely to help apps without a trial or where most revenue comes from one-off purchases.

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Credit: Slopes ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/slopes-trial-quickstart-not-paywall/).
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.