Start here: a paywalls study guide

Think of Start here as your digital crash course to all-things app monetization and growth, ranging from paywalls to user retention. No fluff, no content hidden behind paywalls (ironically) — just expert content ready to get you up to speed, upskilled, and inspired. 

So go ahead and browse, bookmark for later, or painstakingly digest each piece in all its glorious detail. We don’t much care what you do, we just hope it’s useful. 

For our first topic, where better to begin than paywalls? 

Paywalls: essential reading

First up, this section covers the fundamentals of paywalls for subscription apps. If you’re new to the topic, or only have a few minutes, start here. 

Link	Format	Includes
The essential guide to paywalls for subscription apps	Guide	Your handbook to paywalls: key types of paywall, optimization principles, compliance information, and paywall testing techniques
Sub Club: How to Build More Successful Paywalls	Podcast & video	Top strategies for paywall optimization, particularly within user journeys Note: If you’d rather watch than listen, all Sub Club episodes are also available as video!

Hard vs. soft paywalls

Choose your fighter: hard or soft paywalls? Neither is better, the right choice depends on your audience and content. Explore the options, from freemium to fully-gated, below.

Link	Format	Includes
Hard paywall vs. soft paywall: How much of your app should be locked?	Blog	Pros and cons of hard and soft paywalls, ft. case studies from apps like Headspace and Lose It!
Subscription App Glossary: Paywall Hard paywall Soft paywall	Definition	Quickfire definitions on key terms
Sub Club: Why More Apps Need To Be More Than Just Apps	Podcast & video	Lessons and unexpected benefits from implementing a hard paywall at Pok Pok Note: Jump to 27:06 for paywalls
Sub Club: Scaling Without a Marketing Budget	Podcast & video	Advice from ClassDojo on setting up the right paywall for your app without impeding growth  Note: Jump to 16:45 for paywalls

Paywall design and UI

It’s time to put down the moodboard and start designing. But what elements of paywall UI drive the most engagement? 

Link	Format	Includes
How four paywall redesigns boosted conversions and revenue	Blog	A breakdown of four apps, from food to fintech, who redesigned paywalls and saw a 20% increase in conversion
Dare to test an ugly paywall? Here’s why you should	Blog	Why stripping back design elements can boost conversion
When paywalls get weird (and work)	Blog	Real-world examples of quirky, rule-breaking paywalls that work (and why)
Server-driven UI SDK on Android: How RevenueCat enables remote paywalls without app updates	Blog	Discover a server-driven approach to paywall UI for more control over your paywall’s appearance on Android
Create auto-looping carousels with RevenueCat Paywalls	Video tutorial	Walkthrough how to build carousels that capture and convert in RevenueCat Paywalls
Custom fonts for Paywalls	Video tutorial	See how to install custom fonts in RevenueCat Paywalls
How to create a timeline design with RevenueCat Paywalls	Video tutorial	Learn how to create a timeline design in RevenueCat Paywalls

Paywall experimentation and optimization

Now you’re into the thick of it: you’ve got the paywall, but how do you make it a success? Here’s our best expert advice for optimizing paywall performance. 

Link	Format	Includes
5 overlooked paywall improvements that drive more conversions	Blog	Tried-and-tested paywall optimization tactics for better conversion
Sub Club: A Systematic Approach to Paywall Optimization	Podcast & video	Ways to optimize paywalls and boost revenue through improved UX
Optimizing paywall placement: The key to unlocking more app subscribers	Blog	Best practices for paywall placement, and key metrics to track success
Webinar: Paywall optimization best practices	Webinar	How to optimize your freemium strategy, paywall design and copy
Sub Club: How Headspace optimized revenue by gating content	Podcast & video	Case study exploring Headspace’s success with their freemium model and referral program
8 paywall test ideas to grow app revenue	Blog	⬅️ Does what it says on the tin. Test away!
Sub Club: Growing to $1M MRR with Paywall and Pricing Experiments	Podcast & video	How Mojo drove MMR sky-high by iterating paywall messaging, design, and pricing Note: Watch as a video here
The MaxDiff method: A smarter way to test paywall value propositions	Blog	A deep dive on best–worst scaling features, ft. a case study from Dogo
24 ways to optimize pricing, packaging, and paywalls for custom audiences using Targeting	Blog	Practical suggestions to tailor your monetization with RevenueCat’s Targeting feature

Inspiration and success stories

Wrap up your reading on paywalls with a stack of real-life examples of paywalls in action. Get out your notebook, bookmark your favorites, and hit the ground running.

Link	Format	Includes
What the best subscription apps get right about paywalls	Blog	20+ examples of real apps nailing paywalls, with tactics you can try right away
Mobile app paywall gallery	Gallery	Browse a handpicked library of apps getting paywalls right Note: Want to be featured? Tag us on X (Twitter) or Mastodon @RevenueCat with a screenshot of your paywall
How I successfully migrated my indie app to RevenueCat Paywalls	Blog	Developer Advocate, Charlie Chapman, shows how he transitioned his iOS app to RevenueCat and implemented a paywall
Roast my paywall: Live!	Video playlist	Webinar series where experts dissect the paywalls of real apps— discover what works, and what doesn’t

RevenueCat tutorials and implementation

Whether you’re building for iOS or Android, these tutorials from the RC product knowledge base have you covered. 

Link	Format	Includes
How to use RevenueCat paywalls	Video tutorial	Three minutes, countless features: take a whirlwind tour of RevenueCat Paywalls
Build a paywall: implementation docs for RevenueCat Paywalls	Developer documentation	Get into the weeds of Paywalls with detailed, technical implementation documentation
Turn your app into revenue: Building paywalls in Android with Jetpack Compose	Blog	Learn how to seamlessly implement in-app subscriptions and paywall features with Jetpack Compose
How to use StoreKit views to build a subscription app paywall with SwiftUI	Blog	Build native app paywalls with this guide to Apple’s StoreView, ProductView, and SubscriptionStoreView APIs
How to build a Blinkist-style paywall using RevenueCat webhooks and Zapier	Blog	No backend code required. Here’s how to recreate Blinkist’s trusted timeline paywall
Meet the web purchase links (why and where you should test it, today)	Blog	Say hello to the web purchase link to send users out to web purchases straight from your iOS app paywall

So, what’s next?

How to build a paywall? ✅
How to choose the right kind of paywall? ✅ 
How to optimize for success? ✅
How to implement RevenueCat paywalls to make all of the above easier? Also ✅ 

Your paywall is one of the most important growth levers in your subscription app. The best teams don’t treat it as static; they test, experiment, and optimize relentlessly. 

With 82% of trials starting the same day a user installs an app, most apps don’t get a second chance at conversion. Every screen and every word counts.

So whether you’re starting day one of building a new app, or trying to surpass $1M ARR, your next steps are simple: 

1. Pick one experiment to pursue: Test a new design, try shifting the placement of your paywall, or adjusting the trial period. Whatever you do, start small, move fast, and keep evolving.  
2. Benchmark your metrics: Not sure how to define success? Check how your app stacks up against industry data using the RevenueCat app health score. 
3. Keep iterating: Every change is a step forward (even when experiments don’t work out!). If something’s not working? Change it.

Now go forth, and start paywalling*. Good luck!

*Not a real word, but we’re trying to make it a thing