Been testing different paywall strategies for our app and honestly can’t decide which direction to go.
Hard paywalls feel aggressive but might convert better. Metered ones let users get hooked first but maybe too many just bounce when they hit the limit.
What’s actually worked better for you?
Tested both on my recipe app for 6 months. Hard paywall got 2.3% conversion but retention sucked - tons of refunds and pissed off users.
Switched to metered (5 free recipes weekly) and conversion dropped to 1.8%, but retention jumped 40%. People who upgraded after hitting the limit stuck around way longer.
Metered won on the numbers. Lower conversion rate but higher LTV more than made up for it.
Pro tip - we added a heads up at recipe 3 saying “2 left this week” instead of just cutting people off at 5. Gave them time to consider upgrading before hitting the wall.
Metered paywalls let users test things out. It helps build trust before they commit.
Hard paywalls scare users off. Metered feels safer.