Amanda Maricle is the Product Owner at Nami ML. She has an extensive background in app development and most recently product managed the Connect mobile app platform at HomeSpotter.
There are dozens of metrics and data points available in the subscription app world. But that can be very overwhelming! Which ones should you keep an eye on and why are they important? In this article we cover more than 15 subscription app analytics you should start tracking.
Here is Nami’s guide to the most important subscription app metrics that you should know about.
Purchase Types
An important factor to consider when looking at app metrics is what type of purchases you support.
The main types of purchases are:
subscriptions
non-consumable one-time purchase (such as a lifetime ad-free purchase)
consumable one-time purchase (such as a purchase of coins for a game)
Subscriptions are recurring while non-consumables and consumables are not.
Different purchase types will impact your revenue metrics differently, as we will discuss below. If you have a mix of in-app purchase types, you may need to look at multiple metrics to get a clear picture of your revenue.
User Types
Just like purchase types, there are a few types of users you may want to track.
If your app has subscriptions, you will have subscriber users. These are typically your most engaged users and you will want to track their activity, retention, and more closely to monitor the health of your subscription business.
If your app supports non-consumable or consumable purchases, you will have paying users as well. A one-time purchase is a key indicator of engagement and you will want to focus on keeping these users engaged and purchasing again.
Finally, all users who install your app and use it are active users. These are leads who could potentially purchase. You will want to track the LTV and retention of these users to understand how to convert them into paying users.
Revenue
Revenue is an extremely important core metric that represents how much money you are making from your app. It sums up all purchases from the given time frame.
Revenue takes into consideration all types of purchases, including subscriptions, and consumable and non-consumable one-time purchases.
Sample Revenue Metric chart
MRR
MRR represents the normalized value of all your subscription customers. It is the most important metric for a subscription app analytics. Unlike revenue, it does not include one-time purchases, since these are not recurring. And unlike revenue, it doesn’t report the total amount of the purchase but rather the normalized monthly amount of the subscription.
For example, an annual subscription of $90 would have an MRR of 90/12 = $7.50. For every month that this customer is active, their MRR would be $7.50. On the revenue chart, this would be shown as a $90 transaction once.
MRR will often be lower than Revenue, but overall it gives you a better picture as to how your business is doing over time without the spikes of one-time purchases and large subscription transactions.
Sample MRR Metric chart
ARPU
ARPU (Average Revenue per User) can mean several different things depending on what Revenue you are looking at and which User Types you are including. Let’s look at 3 different calculations below.
Average MRR per Subscriber
Average MRR per Subscriber looks at only your active subscriber user group and your MRR. This metric is useful to understand the monthly recurring value of any individual subscriber.
By understanding this number, you can calculate how many more subscribers you need to get to a goal MRR number. Or you can try to increase this number by moving subscribers to higher priced subscription plans through upsell campaigns.
Average Revenue per Paying User (ARPPU)
Average Revenue per Paying User looks at all revenue for a time period and divides by all paying users. This takes into account one-time purchases as well as subscriptions and is a good combination metric for any app that sells multiple types of purchases.
By understanding this metric, you can measure how much users are willing to pay for your app and track reactions to pricing decisions.
Sample Average Revenue per Paying User chart
Average Revenue per User
Average Revenue per User looks at all revenue for a time period and divides by all active app users. This number will typically be much lower than ARPPU.
ARPU can be used to measure the overall effectiveness of a pricing strategy. If your ARPU is going up but your number of users is staying static, that means users are engaging more with the app and paying for your product.
Sample Average Revenue per App User chart
Active Users
Active Subscribers
This metric tracks all users who have an active subscription. Subscribers are your most engaged, valuable customers and tracking this number is important to keeping your subscription business healthy.
Metrics like New Subscribers, Trials, and Subscriber Churn are also useful to dive into how your subscriber base is changing over time.
Sample Active Subscribers chart
Active App Users
Active App Users are all users who have had an active session with your app during the time period. These will include subscribers, purchasers of consumables or non-consumables, or users who installed and used once and then churned.
Anyone who installs your app can be considered a lead at the top of the funnel. Your goal should be to drive them down the funnel towards a subscription.
If your Active App Users are increasing but your Active Subscribers are stagnant or decreasing, this can be a sign that you need to optimize your funnel.
Sample App Users chart
Subscriber Movement
Subscriber Movement is a visual of your subscriber base that helps show if your Active Subscribers are increasing or decreasing overall. It is calculated by taking New Subscribers and plotting against Churned subscribers who have expired their last subscription.
The Net of New subscribers - Churned subscribers is a visual of how much your Active Subscriber base is growing. If it is trending upwards, your business is in good shape. If it is negative, you are losing more subscribers than you are gaining.
Sample Subscriber Movement chart
User Churn
User Churn is an important metric that represents that rate at which you are losing users during a given period. While it is important to see the static number of subscribers and app users, as shown in the previous sections, it is also important to know how many you are losing, since this is another measure of health.
Subscriber Churn
Subscriber Churn indicates the rate at which your subscribers are expiring. It is calculated by taking (Expired Subscribers - Resubscribers) / Active Subscribers.
The higher your subscriber churn, the more work you need to do to gain new subscribers.
App User Churn
App User Churn is the percentage of users who uninstall or stop engage with your app over time. It is calculated by taking 1 - (Non new users this period / Total users last period).
App User Churn is the same as abandonment rate and can show you when users begin dropping off. Using this data, you can optimize your funnel at key drop off points or times to engage users and decrease churn.
MRR Movement shows a visual of your net MRR and helps tell you if your MRR is increasing or decreasing overall. It is calculated by taking New MRR (from new subscribers being added) and charting against Churned MRR (from subscribers who expired all their subscriptions).
Some systems will also track Expanded MRR (from product SKU upgrades or price increases), Contracted MRR (from product SKU downgrades) and Reactivated MRR (from a former customer who resubscribed) as well.
The Net of New MRR - Churned MRR is a visual of how much your MRR is growing and should be tracked carefully to understand how healthy your subscription business is. If it is negative, your business is shrinking.
Sample MRR Movement chart
Revenue Churn
Revenue Churn tells you the rate at which you lost Revenue during the previous time period. It is calculated by 1 - (Non-new Revenue from current period / Revenue from previous period).
Sample Revenue Churn metric
MRR Churn
MRR Churn tells you the rate at which you lost recurring revenue. It is calculated by taking the MRR lost to downgrades & cancellations / MRR at start of period.
High MRR churn means that high value subscribers are leaving at a high rate. An ideal MRR Churn rate is negative, meaning you are gaining more subscribers than you are losing.
MRR Churn should be tracked with MRR Movement to give you a view into the future.
LTV
Lifetime Value (or LTV) is a measure of how much revenue you can expect to make from an average user throughout their lifecycle. LTV is critical to understanding how much you can invest in customer acquisition. If your LTV outweighs CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), your business might be in trouble.
Subscriber LTV
Subscriber LTV focuses on the total recurring revenue from a subscriber throughout their subscription lifecycle. It is calculated by taking Average MRR per Subscriber and dividing by Subscriber Churn.
This metric is a key to track for your subscription app analytics. It only looks at subscription users and recurring revenue. If a subscription user purchased a one-time product, this wouldn’t be included in their LTV.
App User LTV
App User LTV takes the total bucket of App Users and measures their Lifetime Value. This metric includes all purchases, recurring and one-time, and all users. As a result, it will be much lower than Subscriber LTV.
It is calculated by taking (Total Revenue / Active Users) and multiplying by App User Churn.
User Retention
Retention is the opposite of Churn. Retention helps to show you the average tenure of your customers and can expose where drop-off is happening in the funnel or which segments of customers are most likely to drop-off.
Subscriber Retention
For Subscriber Retention, calculate cohorts of new subscribers for each month in a period in the past. Then for each of these new subscriber cohorts, look 1+ months ahead and sum up all the subscribers that renewed during that next month.
Average Subscriber Retention is the average number of subscribers in a cohort divided by the average number that renewed.
For app developers and publishers, subscription app analytics are extremely important to measure the health and growth of your app business. The 19 metrics described are key to keeping a pulse on your app audience and mobile revenue.
At Nami, we are constantly growing our product with reporting for these key analytics. Check back for more content on subscription app analytics and join our newsletter to hear about the latest product updates.
We’ve studied hundreds of top apps and discovered similarities in the way their paywalls are designed. Here are 20 types of paywall for mobile apps with design patterns that you can test to help improve your conversion rate.
Featured Product Badge
Guide your users towards purchasing a particular SKU with this simple design pattern. Include a small tag or badge on top of or next to the product with text calling out why the user should buy this option.
Videoleap
The Videoleap app includes a small badge showing the savings if you purchase an Annual Subscription.
Videoleap Editor by Lightricks
Wattpad
The Wattpad reading app uses a small ‘Best Value’ badge. Strategic use of their brand color helps to draw the eye towards the Annual Subscription.
Mobile app users love to swipe through images. Capitalize on this by including a simple carousel with images of your subscription experience. You can even mix images and text or app reviews in a carousel.
Zombies, Run!
This running app includes a fun carousel of illustrations.
Zombies, Run!
Citizen
The Citizen app smoothly embeds a carousel of text and images with real examples of features you will unlock.
When thinking of paywall design elements, you don’t need to limit yourself to just static text and images! Video can be incredibly effective at representing the value proposition of your app, especially if your app is in the Photo & Video category.
Teleprompter
This video teleprompter app includes a tiny embedded video thumbnail. This helps demonstrate the Premium experience without being too distracting.
Teleprompter by Bigvu
VSCO
This popular video editing app not only embeds video in their paywall, but embeds it in a carousel to really show off all the features of their app.
Using a Tiered Plan can be very effective when building a dedicated user base. Introduce users to the app with the ‘basic’ tier plan, and then promote the ‘premium’ plan to engaged users.
Paramount+
The Paramount+ streaming app shows side-by-side plan options. Clicking each plan shows pricing and the list of benefits.
Paramount+
The Washington Post
Washington Post’s paywall includes 2 tiers of plan. A simple checklist shows you the difference in the 2 plans.
Product Buttons are often displayed in a vertical list, stacked on top of each other. But a horizontal product list is one of the most popular paywall design patterns because it encourages users to compare offers.
Wondery
This popular Amazon-owned podcast app features 2 product options with extra badges on the annual product to encourage purchasing.
Wondery - Premium Podcast App
Kahoot!
The Kahoot! education app has a simple paywall with 2 horizontal buttons.
Paywall designs and best practices are always evolving. Here are 3 paywall trends we’re keeping an eye on in 2023.
Honest Paywalls
The Honest Paywall was popularized by Blinkist as a way to improve conversion to paid plans. This style of paywall utilizes a timeline to help users understand when they will get charged. You can use an honest paywall to help answer questions about the trial. In addition, honest paywalls help buyers feel more comfortable with starting a trial.
The typical honest paywall has 3 timeline events: start of trial, reminder event, and end of trial.
The “Start of Trial” or “Today” event is a way to highlight the features the user is unlocking with their trial right now. The “Reminder” event refers either to the system reminder emails sent by Apple and Google or the emails and/or SMS reminders your system sends to users. Finally, the “End of Trial” event tells the user when they will be charged unless they cancel.
A free trial toggle is a toggle that activates a trial offer on the product. A paywall with a free trial toggle typically has 1 product, such as an annual product, and defaults to no free trial. But with a click, the user can activate a trial.
In our Paywall Placement Best Practices blog post, we discussed the importance of a focused paywall that launches right after onboarding. This paywall typically only has 1 product and might utilize a free trial timeline.
However, this 1 product might not appeal to all users, especially if they aren’t ready to commit to an annual purchase. To help highlight other purchasing options, paywalls are adding a ‘View all plans’ button that opens a second page or drawer with additional subscription options.
In this article, we will explore the key principles for designing an effective paywall, including the importance of timing, UI/UX best practices, pricing models, and user psychology. We will also cover how to implement data-driven strategies for optimizing conversions and minimizing friction.
Key Elements of a Perfect Paywall Design
The design of your paywall plays a crucial role in converting users into paying customers. To achieve the best results, your paywall should focus on clarity, simplicity, and a user-centered approach. Below are the essential elements that contribute to a well-designed paywall.
Value Proposition: Clearly communicate the benefits of upgrading, such as exclusive content or advanced features. Use bullet points or icons for easy scanning, and keep the messaging simple and user-focused.
CTAs: Use action-driven phrases like "Unlock Premium" or "Start Free Trial." The CTA button should stand out with a high-contrast color and focus on one primary action to avoid distractions.
Trust Signals: Include secure payment icons (e.g., SSL, Apple Pay), user reviews, or a money-back guarantee to build trust and reassure users about their purchase.
Minimal Disruption: Ensure the paywall feels like a natural part of the app, appearing at appropriate times. Avoid intrusive pop-ups and aim for smooth transitions that don’t interrupt the user experience.
Design Consistency: Keep the paywall’s design consistent with the rest of the app by using the same fonts, colors, and branding elements. A clean, minimalist design focused on the value and CTA helps drive conversions.
Urgency Elements: Add urgency with phrases like "Limited-time offer" or "Upgrade now to get 50% off." Scarcity cues can push users to take immediate action.
How to Design a High-Converting Mobile App Paywall: Step-By-Step
1. Simplicity in Layout
A clean and simple layout is the foundation of an effective paywall design. Overly complex or cluttered paywalls can overwhelm users, leading to confusion or abandonment. A minimalistic design with a clear focus on the value proposition and the call-to-action (CTA) button keeps users focused on the primary goal: conversion.
Use a single column layout: This reduces cognitive load and guides users toward the action you want them to take.
White space: Employ ample white space to separate different sections and make the design feel uncluttered and professional.
Responsive design: Ensure that your paywall scales effectively across different devices and screen sizes, especially since mobile apps are used on various types of smartphones and tablets.
2. Visual Hierarchy: Lead with Benefits
Effective paywall design uses visual hierarchy to guide the user’s eye toward the most important information. The key elements—value proposition, pricing, and CTA—should be prominently displayed in order of importance.
Bold headlines: Use bold, large fonts for the paywall title that instantly communicates the value, such as “Unlock Exclusive Features” or “Go Ad-Free.”
Feature highlights: Present the benefits of upgrading in an easy-to-scan format, like icons or short bullet points. This section should quickly answer the user’s question, “What do I get if I pay?”
Contrast in CTA button: The call-to-action button (e.g., “Subscribe Now” or “Start Free Trial”) should be the most prominent element on the screen, with a high-contrast color that stands out from the background and other elements.
3. Typography: Clarity and Readability
Typography plays a vital role in how information is absorbed by users. Your paywall should use legible fonts that are consistent with your app’s overall branding.
Font hierarchy: Use a distinct font size for headings, subheadings, and body text to create a clear reading flow.
Readable text: Avoid overly stylized fonts; stick to modern, sans-serif fonts that are easy to read on all screen sizes.
Alignment: Left-align text for better readability, especially for descriptions and lists of features.
4. CTA Button Design
The call-to-action (CTA) button is the most important element on your paywall. Its design should draw immediate attention and encourage users to take the desired action.
Color contrast: Choose a color that contrasts with the rest of the paywall but still complements the overall app design. For example, if your app uses a blue color scheme, a bright green or orange CTA button would stand out.
Actionable text: Make the CTA button text actionable and clear, such as “Upgrade Now” or “Start 7-Day Free Trial.” Avoid generic terms like “Submit” or “Continue.”
Size and placement: Ensure the CTA button is large enough to be easily tappable, especially on smaller mobile screens. It should be placed near the bottom of the screen but still visible without scrolling in most cases.
5. Visual Elements and Branding
Consistency in visual branding across the app and the paywall is crucial for maintaining a cohesive user experience. Your paywall should feel like an integrated part of the app, not an external pop-up.
Brand colors: Use your app’s brand colors to reinforce the connection between the paywall and the rest of the app. However, make sure the CTA button uses a contrasting color to stand out.
Images and icons: Visual aids, such as icons or images, can help reinforce the benefits of upgrading. For example, if upgrading offers ad-free viewing, a simple icon showing an ad with a strike-through can quickly convey that benefit.
Illustrations or mascots: If your app uses custom illustrations or characters, incorporate them into the paywall to make it feel more familiar and friendly.
6. Effective Use of Imagery
While the focus should be on clarity and simplicity, the right imagery can enhance the appeal of a paywall. Be mindful of how images or illustrations are used, as they can either help reinforce the message or distract users.
Hero images: If your app has a hero feature (e.g., premium video content or advanced features), consider using a large image to visually communicate what users will gain by upgrading.
Avoid stock photos: Authenticity is key. Stick to branded imagery or illustrations that align with your app’s personality, rather than generic stock images that may feel disconnected from the user experience.
7. Progressive Disclosure of Information
Instead of overwhelming users with too much information all at once, consider revealing the most important information up front, with the option for users to learn more if they wish.
Expandable sections: Use collapsible sections or tabs for additional details, such as a breakdown of premium features or FAQs.
Dynamic content: Use content that adapts based on user engagement. For example, after a few interactions with the app, show a personalized paywall based on features the user has engaged with most.
8. Animations and Transitions
Subtle animations can add polish to your paywall, making it feel more engaging without distracting users.
Smooth transitions: Use gentle fade-ins or slide-ins for your paywall screen to make it feel like a natural part of the app experience, rather than a disruptive pop-up.
Button feedback: When users tap the CTA button, provide visual feedback (like a color change or slight scale increase) to confirm that the action has been registered.
9. A/B Testing Your Design
Once your paywall is designed, continuous optimization through A/B testing is crucial to improve conversion rates.
Test different layouts: Experiment with different arrangements of elements, such as trying vertical vs. horizontal layouts or testing the placement of the CTA button.
Try multiple messages: Test various headlines, benefit lists, and CTA button texts to see what resonates most with your audience.
Optimize based on data: Use analytics to track where users drop off in the paywall process and adjust the design accordingly.
To make A/B testing easier and more efficient, try our industry-leading A/B testing solution, trusted by Fortune 100 companies. With deeper analytics and an intuitive interface, you'll save hours of guesswork and instantly get insights to fine-tune your paywall and maximize conversions.
Pro tip: squint at your paywall or use an image editor to apply a thick blur effect to it. What elements still stand out? Where is your eye drawn? If there are multiple elements competing for attention even when squinting or blurred, you don’t have a clear call to action. Reduce design elements or use of color until it is more clear.
Looking for design inspiration? The Nami Paywall Gallery has hundreds of examples of mobile app paywalls from top industry apps.
2. Avoid lots of lines to read
Users are skimming over your paywall on their phone. They don’t want to read through paragraphs of copy, even if the copy is really well written! Stick to a few lines of carefully written copy like an ad, and use short bullets to spell out the benefits of your product.
If you are using a checklist on your paywall, limit the bullets to no more than 7 and experiment with the items and order of the bullets to improve optimization rather than adding more copy.
3. Use a Carousel to allow users to quickly swipe through features and benefits
Also known as a gallery or a slideshow, a carousel is a component composed of multiple “slides. Slides are made up of text, photos, and even video. Users can use their finger to swipe through the slides, or carousels can automatically advance through slides.
To create a carousel, first add catchy imagery and short, clear copy for each slide. Then optimize your carousel by testing the order of the slides and the number of slides shown.
Pro tip: if the user clicks to unlock feature A, make sure that feature A is explained on the first slide in the carousel. That way the value prop is clear and they don’t have to swipe to search for it.
Looking for more examples of mobile app paywalls with carousels? Check out the Nami paywall gallery.
4. Include a way to close the Paywall
Users typically need to see the paywall multiple times before they want to purchase. Don’t force your user to make a purchasing decision right away, otherwise they may just close your app and never return.
5. Make a choice between a scrolling and a fixed-height paywall
Scrolling can be a distraction to the user. Only use this pattern if you have lots of quality content to display.
If you don’t need your paywall to scroll, test and optimize your paywall for devices of all sizes so that there isn’t a scrollbar when there doesn’t need to be. Try reducing whitespace and text size in order to get everything to fit.
Looking for more tips on paywalls? Submit your paywall for personalized advice from our team.
Design Tools for Mobile App Paywalls
Designing a high-converting paywall is a blend of strategy, design precision, and the right tools to execute your vision. Whether focusing on layouts, A/B testing, or user experience, leveraging design tools can significantly streamline the process of creating effective paywalls for mobile apps. Here are some essential tools that can help you design and optimize your paywalls:
1. NamiML Paywall Builder
NamiML’s Paywall Builder is a specialized, low-code tool designed specifically for creating mobile app paywalls. It enables you to build, customize, and test paywalls without the need for extensive coding. With built-in analytics and A/B testing features, NamiML allows you to fine-tune your paywalls for maximum conversions. You can easily integrate NamiML’s solutions with your app’s backend, providing a seamless user experience from design to execution.
Best for: No-code paywall design, A/B testing, and real-time optimization.
Key features: Drag-and-drop editor, built-in analytics, seamless integration with iOS and Android, real-time updates without app resubmission.
2. Sketch
Sketch is widely used for designing user interfaces tailored to mobile apps. Its vector-based design makes it easy to scale your paywall for different screen sizes without losing quality. Sketch is also known for its easy-to-use symbol and library system, which helps ensure consistency across different versions of your paywalls.
Figma offers real-time collaboration, making it an ideal choice for teams working together on paywall designs. Its component system allows you to create consistent, reusable UI elements, which is essential when designing paywalls for different screen sizes and devices.
Best for: Team collaboration and multi-device prototypes.
Key features: Cloud-based, real-time collaboration, design system management, and vector networks.
4. Adobe XD
Adobe XD excels in prototyping and creating smooth animations. This makes it ideal for testing how your paywall will transition during user interactions. Adobe XD's integration with other Creative Cloud apps also allows you to bring in high-quality assets to enhance your design.
Best for: Prototyping and motion design.
Key features: Prototyping tools, auto-animate for interactions, integration with Photoshop and Illustrator.
Designing a successful paywall requires a careful balance of user experience, timing, and psychology. A well-designed paywall not only helps monetize your app but also enhances the user experience by offering premium content in a way that feels rewarding. Continuously optimize the paywall design and functionality to ensure maximum conversions.
For more strategies on paywall optimization and app monetization, explore NamiML’s low-code solutions to seamlessly integrate paywalls and subscription models into your app. Visit namiml.com to learn more.
If you are developing a new iOS app, you may have questions about monetization. Are you required to always use Apple In-App Purchase? Can you use PayPal or Apple Pay instead? It all comes down to what products or services you are providing in your app. Here are our Apple In-App Payment Guidelines.
What's Apple's In-App Purchase (IAP)?
Apple's in-app purchase (IAP) is a system that allows users to buy additional content, subscriptions, or features within an application on iOS devices. Developers can offer various types of in-app purchases, such as consumable items, non-consumable items, and subscriptions, all managed and billed through Apple's platform to ensure secure and standardized transactions.
Based on App Store Review Guidelines, updated October 24, 2022. All guidelines are subject to App Store review and approval.
Which Types of Apps Should Implement IAPs?
Implementing in-app payments correctly is crucial for compliance with Apple's policies. Here's a detailed overview of which types of apps should use in-app payments and which shouldn't:
Apple categorizes in-app purchases into four main types:
Consumables
Items that can be purchased and used within the app, but cannot be reused or transferred between devices. Examples include virtual currencies, extra lives, and temporary power-ups.
Non-Consumables
Items that are purchased once and do not expire or deplete. These can be used indefinitely and include features like ad removal, additional content, or a one-time upgrade to a premium version.
Auto-Renewable Subscriptions
These are subscriptions that automatically renew after a specified period unless the user chooses to cancel. Common examples include streaming services, news publications, and cloud storage plans.
Non-Renewable Subscriptions
Subscriptions that provide access to content or services for a limited time and do not automatically renew. Examples include seasonal sports packages and time-limited access to educational content.
11 Examples of Apps with Different Monetization Options
1. Selling Physical Products
If you are selling physical goods in your app, Apple In-App payment guidelines do not require you to use Apple In-App Purchase.
For physical goods, you can use credit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal, Stripe, or many other payment solutions to capture payment information. You will not be subject to App Store fees for the payments. But you may be subject to fees for the other payment platforms.
Examples include clothing, sports equipment, home decor, custom art, food delivery, pet supplies, groceries, and more. Physical gift cards are also captured in this category, as long as the gift card is mailed to the customer.
2. Non-Profit Donations
Eligible non-profits may apply for approval from Apple to solicit donations inside their mobile app. These donations can be provided through Apple Pay instead of Apple In-App Purchase and aren’t subject to fees or commissions.
Many mobile apps fall into this category. If you have digital content that is unlocked in your app via a one-time or subscription purchase, you must use Apple In-App Purchase.
If you have digital content that is unlocked in your app via a one-time or subscription purchase, you must use Apple In-App Purchase.
Examples of digital content include podcast or TV episodes, articles, recipes, removal of ads, customized app icons, and premium feature sets.
“Reader” apps, such as apps that provide news, movies, or music, have some special limitations. See below.
4. Game levels, currency, or loot boxes
Mobile games are a popular category of app that often utilize in-app purchase. All in-game purchases must use Apple In-App Purchase. You cannot use PayPal, Stripe, or credit card payments.
In a 2021 lawsuit Epic, the maker of popular mobile game Fortnite, fought against these Apple restrictions. Learn about the outcome.
5. Apple In-App Payment Guidelines: “Tip Jar”
A “Tip Jar” is a popular way for app or content creators to collect small amounts of voluntary revenue from their customers. If collecting inside the app, you must use Apple In-App Purchase for your “tips” and will be subject to Apple fees.
6. Digital Gift cards
Gift cards, certificates, vouchers, and coupons are all units that can be redeemed for digital goods or services. If you are selling them inside your app, you must use Apple In-App Purchase.
7. NFTs
Minting, listing, and transferring NFTs is allowed inside your mobile app, but you must use Apple In-App Purchase for payments related to NFT services. Purchasing, owning, or viewing an NFT cannot unlock in-app functionality.
8. In-app Advertising
If a user pays for their in-app content to be seen by more users in your app, this qualifies as in-app advertising and you must use Apple for your payment platform.
A common example would be boosting a post in a social media profile.
9. Advertising Management
If a user has ads running outside your app, and is managing or paying for them inside your app, you are not required to use Apple In-App Purchase.
Examples include managing TV ads, creating new search ads, and starting a billboard ad campaign.
10. Apple In-App Payment Guidelines around Person-to-Person Services
Person-to-person services involve you selling your time to 1 customer. The customer may not get an artifact in return, but you will have spent time delivering them some value. Person-to-person services are not required to use Apple In-App Purchase and can use other methods.
Examples include massages, physical trainers, nutritionists, tutoring, and real estate tours.
11. “Reader” Apps
Reader apps are defined as apps that allow users to access previously purchased content or content subscriptions, specifically magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video.
If approved, your Reader app can have a special entitlement that allows users to manage their account and billing outside the app through a special link. When this link is in use, you cannot use Apple In-App Purchase and must only allow purchase of your services through your website.
If you do want to permit purchase inside the app, you must use Apple In-App Purchase and can’t use the External Link Account Entitlement.
A common example of this includes streaming video apps like Netflix. Many don’t allow you to subscribe inside the mobile app and only allow you to login to your existing account to access content.
Understanding which payment methods you need to use in your app is the first step to understanding app monetization.
If you need to use Apple In-App Purchase, Nami can help. With just a few lines of code, Nami handles payments for Apple and Google and allows you to focus on the app experience instead of the ins and outs of subscription management. Learn more.
Your mobile app paywall is your biggest driver of revenue. Optimizing your flow to show different paywalls at strategic locations can increase revenue and conversions. Here are our best practices for paywall placement inside your app.
This blog post is part of our Paywall Best Practices series. Read our tips on Designand Products.
Show a Paywall right after App Launch
The first few moments a new user uses your mobile app are very important. Many users churn in these few moments if they don’t understand the app or don’t see the benefits. First optimizing the first launch flow to teach the user about the product is important. Then showing them an initial “indirect intent” paywall can help reinforce the features and show them pricing.
Indirect intent paywalls are shown without the user expecting or intending to launch them. Don’t be surprised if this type of paywall has low conversion. Users often need to see the paywall multiple times before committing to a purchase.
Paywall Placement Best Practices recommend not requiring a purchase to continue into the app. Very few business models really require this. And often users will have high churn rates if they download a free app but need to purchase a subscription in order to actually enter the app. Make sure to clearly show a ‘Later’ or close ❌ button on this paywall so the user can enter the app and start exploring.
Launch a Paywall Right After Onboarding
Many apps include an onboarding sequence that gathers key information about the user and sets up their account. This sequence if done correctly can help make users more engaged and make the product easy to use after setup. The time users spend in the flow also helps your product become more sticky, as you take advantage of the sunk cost fallacy. Users who spend time during onboarding are more likely to continue using the app because they’ve already spent time getting setup.
The Sunk Cost Fallacy describes our tendency to follow through on an endeavor if we have already invested time, effort, or money into it, whether or not the current costs outweigh the benefits.
Take advantage of this momentum by showing a paywall right at the end of the sequence. This paywall should reiterate the features and benefits you showed during onboarding. This type of paywall often includes only 1 annual product, but you should test to find out what converts the best.
Paywall Placement Best Practices: Gate App Content behind Direct Intent Paywalls
“Direct Intent” paywalls are paywalls that users come across intentionally, while trying to gain access to the content behind them.
These paywalls should focus on the feature the user was trying to access. Don’t reuse your same “indirect intent” paywall over again. Instead tailor it to the benefits of the desired feature in order to get the best conversion.
Make your Paywall Easy to Find in the App Settings
Make sure that if a user really wants to purchase, they can find their Upgrade options easily in the App Settings. This paywall should be a multi-purpose “direct intent” paywall that includes a summary of all benefits and all products.
Special offers, whether they are for a holiday, an introductory offer, or just a regular sale, can be a good way to convert users who are on the fence about purchasing.
A special offer paywall can be simple, but should focus on the price difference and how long the user has to redeem it.
You can pop up special offer paywalls at random times (such as after a new user has used the app for a number of minutes), launch them on a schedule for an event such as a holiday, or launch these paywalls when the user clicks a banner.
Summary of Paywall Placement Best Practices
Show a paywall in multiple places in your mobile app. Make sure the paywalls are tailored to the different locations and user intent, and test design changes and products for each one.
Nami can help you setup no-code paywalls and do easy 1-Click A/B Testing. Get started today.
