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STANDALONE MARKETING PLAY / PAY
Put the paywall early — but not on screen one
Show the subscription offer near the start of onboarding, or the first time someone taps something locked, so the people who would leave during onboarding still see it.
2× install-to-trialFitnessAI moved the paywall before onboarding and added a product video in the same change; 50% more people saw it. A founder's before-and-after account, no control group.
2× install-to-trialwith the paywall before onboarding
Product screens: FitnessAI via Adapty ↗. Screens illustrate the product; the number is sourced in the evidence below.
SOURCED
Built from published experiments and company reports across several products. Nobody has checked the screens on a dated day, so read each number with the caveat printed beside it.
THE PLAY
One move, with enough context to use it well.
Show the subscription offer near the start of onboarding, or the first time someone taps something locked, so the people who would leave during onboarding still see it.
New users who never finish onboarding, or never find a paywall kept out of the way, never see the offer at all; Jake Mor calls the share of users who see the paywall the metric almost every app company overlooks (as reported by RevenueCat).
This play is not tied to a full playbook. Use it for this decision alone.
THE EVIDENCE
4 sourcesWhat the research does, and does not, establish.
Moving FitnessAI's paywall before onboarding doubled install-to-trial.
COMPANY-REPORTEDWhat it does not show Bundle; the placement cannot be separated from the video. Before-and-after account with no control, window, sample size or baseline. Reported through RevenueCat and a newsletter summary of a webinar; the founder co-founded Superwall.
8 paywall test ideas to grow app revenue Barnard and Meinertzhagen · 2023
Rootd's revenue rose fivefold after its paywall moved near the start of onboarding.
COMPANY-REPORTEDWhat it does not show Before-and-after account with no stated window, control or sample size. The founder does not say which onboarding screen the paywall moved to, noting there is debate about which screen it should be.
8 paywall test ideas to grow app revenue Barnard and Meinertzhagen · 2023
Greg's trial sign-ups rose about 400% with a paywall in onboarding.
COMPANY-REPORTEDWhat it does not show Bundle; the founder says two things changed at once. Before-and-after account with no window, control or sample size; revenue and trial-to-paid were not reported.
BORROW WITH INTENTION
A good fit starts with good judgment.
Where it can help
- Apps where many installs never finish onboarding, so a late paywall is rarely seen
- Onboarding that can build motivation in a few screens before the paywall (Opal)
- At-intent placement: products where free users regularly try to open locked content
Use the play for this decision alone, or combine it with an existing product strategy after checking for conflicts.
Where to be careful
- Avoid making the paywall the very first screen, before anything builds motivation (Opal).
- The at-intent placement only fires if free users reach something locked; how much is locked decides how many ever see it.
- In an app used in acute moments, like Rootd for panic attacks, an early paywall sits between the user and immediate help.
HOW THIS GOES WRONG
Ways a correct-looking build still does harm.
A dismiss control made hard to find reads as obstruction.
A placement that can fire repeatedly — app open, each locked tap — needs a frequency rule, or it becomes nagging.
An early paywall reaches users who would have left anyway; if you only count trials, you will not see whether they refund or complain.
THE BUILD RECORD
This page helps you decide. The record helps you build.
In the record, not on this page
- The screen spec: the mechanism, what goes on screen, and what it should change
- 4 findings in full, with every number the source gives
- 3 ways to adapt it to your product
Plus everything above, as plain text for your coding agent, with a short instruction on top: check the fit, say what the evidence doesn’t support, and adapt it rather than copy it. Paste it and you get an answer, no prompt to write.
Founder accounts from FitnessAI, Rootd, Greg and Opal, retold mostly by RevenueCat and Superwall · evidence reviewed 25 September 2026.
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