Video background paywall: +67% conversion, +12.5% proceeds
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsA paywall that combined Stardust's winning trial and price display with a video background raised paywall conversion by 67% and proceeds per user by 12.5%.
Stardust, a cycle and pregnancy tracking app, ran this multi-variant test.
The case study was published on the Superwall blog.
- Paywall conversion: +67% versus control.
- Proceeds per user: +12.5% versus control.
- The same combination without the video background gave +55.7% conversion and +9% proceeds per user, so the video design added the extra lift.
- Other variants in this test used a monthly plan instead of weekly, or retested a higher price with a trial. They did not win.
The change
Video background and a free trial replace the text-heavy, no-trial paywall.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The control was the winner of Stardust's previous test: $24.99 per year and $2.99 per week, with a discount percentage on yearly and weekly equivalent pricing. It used a text-heavy design and no free trial.
Variant
This variant added a 7-day free trial to the $24.99 yearly plan, the winner of an earlier price test, and kept the new price display. It swapped the text-heavy design for a video background.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Much of the lift likely came from adding the free trial, which won big in Stardust's first test (+131% conversion for the same yearly price).
- Motion catches the eye and can show the app's quality faster than text. Superwall's write-up says the video signaled quality.
- Cutting text may have made the plans and trial offer easier to scan.
Caveats: This was a multi-variant test, and the variant bundled the trial, the price display and the video design. Compared with the no-video version, the design change was worth about 11 points of conversion lift. Sample size and duration were not shared. Superwall published this and also sells the paywall tool used, so the write-up may lean positive.
Who ran it
Stardust ran this test. Source: Superwall blog. 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 a text-heavy paywall background with a short video of the app, then more users will convert because they see the product's quality and feel at a glance.
- Primary metric
- Paywall conversion (trial start rate)
- Guardrails
- Proceeds per user
- Trial-to-paid
- Paywall load time
- Who should test it
- Apps with a visual, polished product and pricing that's already tuned. It may not help if your video is slow to load or doesn't show the core feature clearly.
Questions
How much of the lift came from the video?
The same trial and price setup without video got +55.7% conversion and +9% proceeds per user.
The video version got +67% and +12.5%, so the design added a smaller share on top.
Should I add video before testing pricing?
Stardust tested pricing and packaging first, then design.
Its results suggest price and trial changes moved the numbers most.
What should the video show?
The source doesn't describe the video. A safe start is a short, silent loop of the app's main screens.
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