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Aivars Meijers

Weekly vs. Yearly Subscription Paywalls

Published about 1 year ago • 1 min read

The Surprising Truth About Weekly vs. Yearly Subscription Paywalls

The Part-time Solopreneur

Hey there,

I recently ran an eye-opening A/B test on one of my apps that changed everything I thought about subscription pricing.

The Experiment

For a month, I tested two different paywalls:

  • Control: Yearly subscription only
  • Test: Weekly subscription with free trial (yearly option available but secondary)

The Results That Shocked Me

At first glance, the weekly option looked like a massive win:

  • MRR shot up by a staggering 417%
  • MRR per paying customer increased like crazy, by about 700%

I was ready to celebrate… until I looked deeper.

The Hidden Cost

Despite the MRR explosion, the weekly paywall was actually undermining my business:

  • The initial conversion rate dropped
  • Realized lifetime value fell
  • LTV per paying customer decreased

The Lesson

Short-term revenue spikes can hide long-term value erosion. Weekly subscriptions brought in cash faster but attracted less committed users who churned quickly, ultimately cutting my revenue in half.

What I Did Next

I shut down the experiment and pivoted to a yearly subscription with a 7-day free trial—combining the commitment of yearly plans with the lower friction of a trial period.

Want the full story with all the data?

Watch my detailed breakdown on YouTube

video preview​

That's it for today. Keep shipping 🚀

Aivars

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Aivars Meijers

Part-time Indie Solopreneur

I'm building a portfolio with mobile apps and helping others to earn the first $1'000 on AppStore. Join The Part-time Solopreneur for tips and resources to build, launch, grow, and monetise your indie App business.

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