Paywall A/B testing: all you need to know in 50 seconds
Most apps leave real revenue on the paywall because they never test it. Here is what paywall A/B testing is, and what to test first, in the time it takes to read this.
TL;DR
A quick primer on paywall A/B testing: what it is, why most apps overlook it despite its impact on in-app revenue, and which elements to test — pricing plans, design, copy, and engagement touchpoints. It also shows how Purchasely removes the usual complexity with unlimited no-code variants, real-time event data, and 15-minute paywall setup.
There is an endless list of things we learned from working closely with and observing business practices of over 500 apps from a wide range of verticals - most of them tend to overlook the role of paywall A/B testing in in-app revenue optimization.
In this article, we talk about what is paywall A/B testing, why it’s important, and how you can run it easily with Purchasely.
Watch the 50-second video on all you need to know about Paywall A/B testing
What is paywall A/B testing?
Paywall A/B testing is a user experience research methodology experimenting with two or more variants of a paywall. Apps can display different paywall variants to different user segments at different touchpoints or to all users in different timeframes. Based on statistical comparisons between predefined KPIs such as conversion rate, purchases, retention rate, and subscription duration, apps can identify which of those paywall variants performs better and what to optimize in order to maximize in-app revenue.
Depending on the objectives, apps can test various elements including the following:
- Pricing plans, free-trial
- UI/UX(design and layout, placement)
- Copy(message, tone, localization)
- User engagement touchpoint (across the full subscription funnel)
Why you should A/B test
Anyone involved in an In-App Subscription business would come across experts and platform providers advocating A/B testing as one of the best revenue optimization strategies. And yet, many app owners lack the drive and ambition to go the extra mile to invest in the essential business practice that helps identify what works best and what doesn’t.
Why? Let’s admit it. A/B testing can be very complex to implement and require a large amount of data to draw accurate statistics. Here’s our advice: If you are asking why your In-App Subscription is not generating more revenue, do leverage paywall A/B testing to enable an iterative development process through which you create, test, and revise until reaching positive business impacts:
- Improved free-to-paid conversion rate
- Improved retention
- Reduced churn
- Increased free-trial users
- Increased customer LTV (lifetime value)
Tipstop(sport betting app) leverages Purchasely A/B testing for paywall performance optimization. Its recent experiment between “NYT” and “Classic” paywalls showed that the NYT variant leads to a 190% jump in direct conversion. (Read the full story)
Run paywall A/B testings easily with Purchasely
Forget about the complexity of A/B testing. With Purchasely, it’s as easy as ABC and even Z doesn’t get difficult. Read on to see what we mean.
1. Collect and leverage rich subscriber data
The lack of subscriber data is one of the primary reasons why many apps turn away from A/B testing. With Purchasely’s real-time data on more than 30 in-app events, apps can turn even a single subscriber’s journey into insight to measure each paywall’s performance.
2. You can create and compare as many variants as you want
In Purchasely, not only the number of paywalls you can create is unlimited, but you can also compare the performance of as many of them as you need at once. Make it an A/B/C…Z testing if you need and reach the full optimization potential.
3. Design, customize, and deploy in no time.
It takes as short as 15 minutes to design and configure a new paywall. Customizable elements include templates, background, button, footer text, plan and price, link, device-specific design, currency, language, and paywall locations. You also don’t need to re-release your app for each paywall modification.
4. No coding
Running A/B testing doesn’t have to be complicated or slow down your business. Purchasely’s no-coding environment allows marketing and non-tech savvy folks to run A/B testings in just a few clicks without depending on developers.
Further reading
- Why it is so hard to create paywalls
- Documentation: Design your Paywalls
- Blinkist paywall transformation revolutionizes app user engagement
- Podcast: Using transparency to increase your conversion rate with Eveline Moczko (Blinkist)
App Stories by
Monthly interviews with the teams behind products like Wattpad, The BBC, Busuu about their app strategy, straight to your inbox
By subscribing, you agree to receive emails from Purchasely
Keep reading
Ways to improve app user activation
Activation is the moment a new user first feels your app's value, and the highest-leverage metric you have. Here is how to measure it and move it.
A step-by-step guide to defining a mobile app strategy
Over five million apps are competing for the same users. A defined strategy is what separates the ones that break through. Here is how to build yours, step by step.
AARRR Framework (Pirate Metrics): Complete Guide For 2025
Acquisition, activation, retention, revenue, referral: the Pirate Metrics framework still maps subscription growth better than most. Here is the complete guide for today's apps.
