Multi-page paywall flow lost to a single page by 16%+ conversion
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsA multi-page paywall flow lost to a single-page paywall: the single page converted over 16% better and drove more yearly trial starts.
Stompers, a gamified walking app, ran this test on its paywall.
It was published as a Superwall case study.
- Conversion rate: the single-page paywall converted over 16% better than the multi-page flow, so the variant lost.
- Yearly trial starts: the single page drove a large increase in annual trials. The exact size was not shared.
- Plan mix: the multi-page flow pushed more users toward monthly trials instead of annual ones.
- ARPU: the case study says moving users from monthly to annual trials raised revenue potential, but gave no ARPU figure.
The change
Control puts everything on one screen; the variant adds feature and trial-reminder screens before pricing.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
One paywall screen showing the app's value, its features, and an annual and a monthly plan to choose from.
Variant
A flow of several screens that walked users through feature benefits and a trial reminder before showing any pricing.
Why it likely lost
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Every extra screen before pricing is a chance to drop off. Users who were ready to buy had to tap through more first.
- Seeing the annual price right next to the monthly one may make the yearly plan's value easier to judge.
- A trial reminder shown before pricing may have made some users more cautious, so they picked the lower-commitment monthly plan.
Caveats: Price points also varied across the test ($9.99/mo against $79.99/yr and $49.99/yr), so the result is not only about the number of screens. Sample size, duration and confidence were not shared, and the case study was published by Superwall, which sells the paywall testing tool used.
Who ran it
Stompers 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 show plans and pricing on a single paywall screen instead of a multi-screen flow, then more users will start an annual trial because there are fewer steps between intent and purchase.
- Primary metric
- Paywall conversion rate (trial start rate)
- Guardrails
- Share of annual vs monthly trials
- Trial-to-paid conversion
- Proceeds per user
- Who should test it
- Apps with a simple, easy-to-grasp value and an annual plan they want to push. Apps whose value needs explaining may still benefit from a few screens before pricing.
Questions
Are multi-page paywalls worse than single-page ones?
Not always. In this test the single page won, but price points also varied, and other apps have seen multi-step flows win. Test it on your own users.
What should I measure besides conversion?
Watch the plan mix. Here the multi-page flow shifted users toward monthly trials, which can lower long-term revenue even when conversion looks close.
Similar tests
Kovalee