Introductory offers for RevenueCat Web Billing: convert more users with the right first price

For subscription businesses, the very first price a potential customer sees is one of the most powerful levers for conversion. In fact, 82% of trial starts happen on the first day a user downloads an app. On web, the same principle applies: when a visitor lands on your paywall, their decision often hinges on the very first number they see.

On mobile, the App Store and Play Store have long equipped developers with flexible pricing tools like free trials, introductory discounts, seasonal promos. But on the web, subscription companies often face a gap. Without dedicated infrastructure, they end up:

• Building custom checkout logic for discounts.
• Running promotions manually with codes.
• Risking inconsistent experiences across platforms.

RevenueCat Web Billing closes this gap. It gives you app-store grade subscription infrastructure directly on the web, so your pricing strategy is consistent, scalable, and easy to manage. And now, with Introductory Offers, you can use the same proven tactics that drive conversions on mobile to win more subscribers on the web.

What are Introductory Offers?

Introductory Offers let you set a special price for a specified period of a subscription on RevenueCat Web Billing. The system automatically applies the discount for all eligible new subscribers, then rolls them into your regular price without any manual intervention.

How it works:

1. Set up the product in your RevenueCat dashboard.
2. Choose the length of the intro period (e.g., 1 week, 3 months).
3. Set the intro price.
4. Save, publish, and promote.

After the intro period ends, RevenueCat seamlessly transitions subscribers to your standard price to reduce churn from manual upgrades.

Why this matters for subscription apps

If you landed here searching for “introductory pricing for web subscriptions” or “how to add intro offers to SaaS billing,” you’re likely trying to solve one of these challenges:

• Boosting signups without deep discounts
  Intro pricing lowers the barrier to entry without permanently reducing your standard price.
  
• Reducing failed trials
  Free trials can create noise: payment failures, disengaged users, or mismatched intent. Intro Offers bring in subscribers who are willing to commit, even if only a little.
  
• Simplifying campaign management
  Running seasonal or regional promotions often means juggling codes, eligibility scripts, and custom checkout flows. Intro Offers let you run everything natively in RevenueCat.

Designed for every growth strategy

1. Drive more signups, instantly

Lower the barrier to entry with a first-month discount. Users are more likely to try your product when the cost feels small and the commitment minimal.

2. Perfect for campaigns

Tie an intro offer to a seasonal push, like a back-to-school special or holiday promotion. Every eligible new user gets the same clear, consistent discount at checkout.

3. Smarter than free trials

Free trials can attract the wrong audience or lead to failed charges. A low introductory price validates payment details and engages more serious users.

4. Keep analytics clean

Your metrics remain accurate because the intro period and regular subscription are tracked as a single lifecycle so LTV, retention, and cohort data stay intact.

Best practices for Introductory Offers

Introductory Offers are powerful, but the way you design them determines their impact. Here are strategies we’ve seen succeed across subscription apps:

• Match pricing to intent
  Shorter intro periods (like 1 week or 1 month) create urgency and higher upfront revenue. Longer periods (e.g., 3 months) can work for seasonal campaigns or higher-consideration products.
  
• Test vs. free trials
  Many apps find that a $0 trial attracts users who never convert, while a low intro price brings in more committed subscribers. Run A/B tests to see which model produces better retention.
  
• Align web and mobile
  Users expect consistency. If you’re running an App Store intro offer, consider mirroring it on web. Or, create complementary offers that make sense for different acquisition channels.
  
• Use scarcity strategically
  Limited-time offers (e.g., “first month $1 for back-to-school”) can boost urgency, but overuse reduces credibility. Balance evergreen offers with campaign-specific ones.
  
• Track beyond conversion
  Intro Offers can inflate early signups. Measure whether users acquired this way retain longer and spend more over time.

How RevenueCat Introductory Offers stand out

With RevenueCat Introductory Offers, every eligible new subscriber receives the discount automatically, no promo codes to manage, no custom eligibility scripts to maintain. The system handles it for you, so every checkout feels seamless for the user and maintenance-free for your team.

All of your offers are managed in one central place, right inside the RevenueCat dashboard. You can create, edit, and monitor offers without touching code or juggling multiple tools, giving you full control over pricing strategies.

Introductory Offers also work in harmony with your mobile store setups. You can match App Store or Play Store promotions to keep the experience consistent across platforms, or design complementary web offers that give you more flexibility in how you acquire and convert different audiences.

Why Introductory Offers matter

Introductory pricing works because it lowers the barrier to entry without committing you to a permanent discount, and because it sets clear expectations for what happens next. The same approach now applies on web, fully integrated, automatically applied, and tracked just like any other subscription in RevenueCat.

You can use it to run seasonal promos, experiment with onboarding flows, or create pricing that resonates in specific markets. The setup takes minutes, but the impact can last through the entire subscriber lifecycle.

If you want to dig into the strategy behind effective intro pricing, David Vargas has broken down the mechanics, psychology, and data in Introductory Offers: What They Are and How to Use Them to Grow Your App.

Get started today

Introductory Offers are live now for all RevenueCat Web Billing customers. Whether you’re aiming to boost campaign performance, refine onboarding, or keep your analytics cleaner, this feature is ready to work for you.

• Read the documentation

Make your first impression count. Turn web visitors into customers with RevenueCat Introductory Offers.