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Median share of installs paying within 35 days: hard-paywall apps vs freemium apps in RevenueCat's 2025 data. Different apps that chose their own model: not a test of switching.
Related research included. Read the findings and limits.
- 1 entry · related research
- 6 entries · company accounts
From Headspace, Opal, New York Times, RevenueCat, Phil Carter clients
Overview
Decide how much of the product a new user can use before paying: from a free tier with a locked premium slice to a hard paywall with nothing past onboarding. Conversion and growth move in opposite directions.
A generous free tier can let people keep coming back to one free thing without ever seeing why to pay, as Headspace found; a hard paywall can slow growth, as Opal found (Headspace and Opal, on the Sub Club podcast).
Fits when
- Hard paywall: when the outcome that matters is download-to-paid within 35 days and revenue per install within 60 (RevenueCat's cross-app medians)
- Hard paywall: effortful habits where early commitment makes trial users explore more deeply (Headspace's account)
- Freemium: when growth depends on free users recommending the app
Evidence & sources 7 entries
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Good to knowFit and evidence notes
- Fit to consider
- Avoid a hard paywall when growth depends on segments that would not pay upfront, such as the students Opal reached after going free.
- Also consider
- Conversion-rate comparisons hide the top of the funnel: Opal's paying share fell while daily users grew. Whichever you track decides which way the change looks.
- About the evidence
- RevenueCat's benchmark compares different apps that chose their own access model and does not say how apps were classified.
Copy includes 2 more limitations, 2 failure modes, the full evidence, and adaptation guidance.
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