A paywall builder lets you design, publish and A/B test your app's subscription screen from a dashboard, without shipping an app update.
For most subscription apps the choice comes down to three tools: Superwall if paywall testing is the priority, RevenueCat if you want the most widely used subscription backend with a built-in builder, and Adapty if you also want onboarding flows in the same editor.
All three charge around 1% of revenue once you pass a free tier.
The real differences are what that 1% is measured on, how much of the stack you want from one vendor, and whether you plan to sell on the web.
We haven't used these tools ourselves. This guide is built from each vendor's public docs and pricing pages, plus the paywall tests in our database that were run on them.
Subscription backends: RevenueCat, Adapty, Qonversion, Apphud
A subscription backend (sometimes called an in-app subscription platform or subscription management SDK) sits between your app and the App Store and Google Play.
It validates receipts, tracks who is entitled to what, sends webhooks and reports revenue.
A paywall builder only works if something like this is underneath it.
RevenueCat
RevenueCat's SDKs are open source, and the Pro plan includes paywalls, experiments and web purchases through Stripe.
It is free up to $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue, then 1% of tracked revenue, as of November 2026 (RevenueCat pricing).
Downside: the free tier is the lowest of the four, so you start paying sooner.
Not for teams that only want a paywall layer on top of a backend they already run, though RevenueCat does sell a separate Growth Tools option for that case.
Adapty
Adapty bundles purchase infrastructure, a flow and paywall builder, A/B tests and revenue analytics in its Pro plan.
It is free under $5,000 a month in tracked revenue, then 1% of revenue, measured before store commissions, as of November 2026 (Adapty pricing).
Add-ons such as Refund Saver are billed separately.
Downside: the add-ons can push the bill past the headline 1%.
Not for teams that want one flat line item.
Qonversion
Qonversion has one Pro plan at 0.8% of tracked revenue, free up to $7,000 a month, as of November 2026 (Qonversion pricing).
The pricing page says the fee is worked out on total revenue once you pass the threshold, so $8,000 of tracked revenue costs $64. A/B experiments, a no-code paywall builder and unlimited seats are included.
Downside: crossing $7,000 means you suddenly pay on the full amount, not just the part above it.
Not for apps hovering right at the threshold that want predictable bills.
Apphud
Apphud's Free plan covers up to $10,000 in monthly tracked revenue and includes a no-code paywall builder plus Stripe and Paddle integrations.
A/B tests start on Pro at 0.99% of revenue with a $49 monthly minimum, as of November 2026 (Apphud pricing).
Downside: you can build paywalls for free but you can't A/B test them for free.
Not for teams that need experiments on day one but earn too little to justify the $49 minimum.
Apphud also publishes customer tests. AEZAKMI Group used Apphud experiments to compare plans on a PDF scanner app: monthly converted at 1.21%, weekly at 1.63% and weekly with a trial at 2.29%.
The same team tested six onboarding flows on an LED controller app and moved conversion from 0.8% to 1.29% (vendor-reported).
Paywall builders and experiments: Superwall, RevenueCat Paywalls, Adapty
If you came here searching "paywall software" or "mobile paywall software", this is the section that matters most.
The test results below show why it's worth testing often: small paywall changes regularly move revenue by double digits.
Superwall
Superwall is built around paywall experiments. It offers a no-code visual editor, templates, Figma import and A/B/n tests on layout, copy, prices, trials and offers, all published without an App Store release (Superwall pricing).
SDKs cover iOS, Android, Flutter, Expo, React Native, KMP, Unity and web, and it can run on top of RevenueCat or your own backend through a purchase controller (Superwall docs).
Many of the tests in our database ran on Superwall (all vendor-reported, from Superwall case studies):
- Mojo saw +14% new subscription revenue after hiding credit packs and showing subscriptions only.
- PropGPT raised its weekly price from $6.99 to $9.99 and got +47.5% proceeds per user.
- Daily Horoscope localized paywalls by country for a +183% trial start rate, as part of a bundled change.
- Stardust added a discount badge and a weekly-equivalent price for +50% conversion and +62.5% proceeds per user. A yearly-only paywall from the same team lost on both metrics, which is the point of testing.
Downside: if you run Superwall on top of RevenueCat or another backend, you manage two vendors and two SDKs.
Not for apps that rarely change their paywall; you'd be paying for experimentation you don't use.
RevenueCat Paywalls
The RevenueCat paywall builder lets you start from a template, a blank canvas or a prompt in its AI editor.
Each paywall is attached to an Offering, so you can change it remotely and test variants with RevenueCat Experiments (RevenueCat Paywalls docs).
It supports iOS 15+, Android 7.0+, Mac Catalyst and macOS, but not watchOS, tvOS, visionOS or the Cordova plugin, and multi-step paywalls need newer SDK versions.
RevenueCat customers report paywall wins too. Photoroom localized its upsell paywalls for +50% upsell screen conversion, and Pixelcut got +16% paying customers by offering a weekly plan instead of monthly (both vendor-reported).
Downside: tests run at the Offering level, and some features need recent SDK versions, so older app builds may not show new paywalls.
Not for apps on watchOS, tvOS or Cordova, which paywalls don't support.
See Superwall vs RevenueCat for the full comparison.
Adapty Flow & Paywall Builder
Adapty's newer Flow & Paywall Builder renders screens natively and can build a single paywall or a whole onboarding with quizzes and branching that ends in one.
You can start from a template, a blank canvas or a Figma import (Adapty Flows docs).
If you're searching for the "Adapty paywall builder", note that the older builder is now legacy: from October 1, 2026, you can't create new paywalls in it, though existing ones keep working (Adapty legacy builder docs).
Downside: teams on the legacy builder have a migration to do.
Not for apps that want to keep onboarding in their own code and only need paywall screens. Our Adapty vs RevenueCat page goes deeper.
Web checkout: Stripe and FunnelFox
On the US storefront, Apple's guidelines no longer prohibit buttons, external links or other calls to action that send users to buy outside in-app purchase.
In other storefronts that prohibition still applies, apart from specific link entitlements (App Store Review Guidelines 3.1.1(a)).
That has made web checkout a real option for US users.
Stripe
Stripe charges 2.9% + 30 cents per successful domestic card payment, and Stripe Billing adds 0.7% of billing volume on pay-as-you-go, as of November 2026 (Stripe pricing).
Superwall, RevenueCat and Apphud all connect to Stripe, so you usually keep your existing paywall tool.
Our RevenueCat vs Stripe page covers when you need both.
The tests show web checkout trades conversion for margin, and it doesn't always pay off:
- Zumba added a paywall button to a web checkout: immediate conversions fell 25% but LTV rose 17%.
- Superwall's pooled app-to-web tests showed initial conversion down 11.9% and net proceeds up about 19.85% (vendor-reported).
- Dipsea's web-only test, reported by RevenueCat, dropped initial conversion from 27.0% to 18.1%.
- For Sebastian Szturo's indie utility apps, a small conversion dip cost more than the fees saved.
Downside: you take on tax, refunds and failed payments that Apple used to handle.
Not for apps with low prices where a few points of lost conversion wipes out the fee savings.
FunnelFox
FunnelFox builds web-to-app funnels: quiz-style onboarding on the web, checkout, then a download.
Its docs list Stripe, Paddle, Solidgate, FastSpring and PayPal as payment options, and integrations with RevenueCat, Adapty and Qonversion for syncing entitlements (FunnelFox docs). Funnels include A/B testing and localization (FunnelFox).
Downside: we couldn't find public pricing, so expect a sales conversation.
Not for apps that get installs mainly from App Store search rather than paid social ads; web funnels pay off when you control the traffic.
See web-to-app funnels for the tests behind this approach.
Pricing compared
All prices as of November 2026, from each vendor's pricing page linked above.
"Tracked revenue" generally means gross revenue through the tool before store fees.
| Tool | Main role | Free up to | Paid rate | A/B tests on free tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RevenueCat | Backend + paywalls | $2,500/mo tracked revenue | 1% of tracked revenue | Yes |
| Superwall | Paywall experiments (infrastructure free) | $10,000/mo paywall-attributed revenue | 1% of paywall-attributed revenue | Yes |
| Adapty | Backend + flows and paywalls | $5,000/mo tracked revenue | 1% of tracked revenue, add-ons extra | Yes |
| Qonversion | Backend + paywalls | $7,000/mo tracked revenue | 0.8% of total tracked revenue | Yes |
| Apphud | Backend + paywalls | $10,000/mo tracked revenue | 0.99% (min $49/mo) or 1.19% (min $59/mo) | No, Pro and up |
| Stripe | Web payments | None | 2.9% + 30 cents per card payment, plus 0.7% Billing | Not a paywall tool |
| FunnelFox | Web-to-app funnels | Not published | Not published | Yes (funnels) |
The meter matters as much as the rate.
Superwall bills only on revenue its paywalls converted, so an app making $50,000 a month with $25,000 through Superwall paywalls pays $250, according to Superwall's own example. Backends bill on everything they track.
Which paywall tool fits which app
- New app, under a few thousand dollars a month: Apphud or Superwall have the highest free thresholds. Pick Superwall if you want to test from day one, since Apphud's free plan has no A/B tests.
- Growing app that wants one vendor: RevenueCat or Adapty. RevenueCat's open-source SDKs suit teams that want to see the code; Adapty fits better if you want onboarding and paywall in one builder.
- App that tests paywalls every week: Superwall, often alongside RevenueCat. The Superwall case studies above are mostly price and layout tests that a dedicated testing tool makes quick.
- Price-sensitive app past $7,000 a month: Qonversion's 0.8% is the lowest headline rate, but check the math on total versus overage.
- US app with paid social traffic: add Stripe web checkout or a FunnelFox web funnel, and test it against in-app purchase instead of switching outright. The Zumba and Dipsea results point in opposite directions.
Whichever tool you pick, it only pays off if you run tests.
Start with our paywall checklist, browse all paywall tests, or read the paywall guide.
If none of these fit, see RevenueCat alternatives.
Superwall