Sub Club by RevenueCat

On the podcast: what the explosion in new apps means for the market, how the top 10% of apps grew 306% while the median barely beat inflation, and why hard paywalls convert 5X better than freemium.
This conversation is focused on RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps report.
 
Head to https://www.revenuecat.com/state-of-subscription-apps to download the report.

Top Takeaways:

📊 The app economy is a sorting machine
The top 10% of apps grew 306% while the median grew just 5.3%, and that gap is only widening as AI raises the ceiling for the best-positioned apps.

💰 Hard paywalls crush freemium on conversion, but context matters
Hard paywalls convert five times better than freemium (10.7% vs 2.1% download-to-paid by day 35) with nearly identical year-one retention, but freemium remains the right call when free users drive word of mouth, network effects, or long-term brand scale.

⚡ Day zero is your best shot at converting a user
The first session is when users decide both whether to pay and whether to stay. The majority of trial cancellations happen on day zero, meaning users who don't see value immediately rarely come back to find it.

🤖 AI apps sell, but they don't stick 
AI-powered apps generate 41% more revenue per customer but people churn 30% faster. Apps that solve that retention problem early will own their category; those that don't are just riding a wave of consumer curiosity.

📈 The App Store is experiencing a supply shock
The number of new subscription apps launching each month has grown 7X since 2022, creating a hyper-competitive environment where distribution, not just features, is the primary barrier to success.

About RevenueCat: 

🚀Jacob Eiting, CEO at RevenueCat.

👋LinkedIn

🚀David Barnard, Growth Advocate at RevenueCat.

👋LinkedIn

Follow us on X: 
David Barnard - @drbarnard
Jacob Eiting - @jeiting
RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
SubClub - @SubClubHQ

Episode Highlights:
[0:27] Unpacking the key findings from the 2026 State of Subscription Apps Report
[2:52] How “vibe coding” and new AI development tools have dramatically lowered the barrier to building apps
[5:42] The emerging “supply shock” in the app economy as cheaper development leads to a flood of new apps competing for the same users
[20:13] Breaking down the SOSA report methodology and why low-traffic apps were excluded from the dataset
[21:57] Why the report separates AI apps from non-AI apps—and how AI apps tend to generate higher revenue per paying user
[23:15] The explosion of new subscription apps, with launches increasing roughly 7× since 2022
[25:33] Why iOS now accounts for about 77% of new subscription app launches, and what that says about platform economics
[30:19] The “power law” reality of the app economy: the top 10% of apps grew 306%, while the median app barely grew
[39:20] A key finding from the report: hard paywalls convert about five times better than freemium models
[45:42] Trial behavior insights: over half of free-trial cancellations happen on day zero
[47:40] The “billion-dollar leak” on Google Play: a large share of cancellations come from involuntary billing failures
[51:21] The AI app paradox: AI apps generate higher revenue per payer but also churn faster than traditional apps
[54:51] Why longer free trials appear to convert better—and why the data may reflect correlation rather than causation
[1:00:54] How AI agents could change how developers analyze subscription business data

On the podcast: breaking free from the paid acquisition treadmill, how to repurpose offline events into millions of online impressions, and why a celebrity partnership can go viral but still completely flop.
This conversation is shorter than usual and will be featured in RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps report. Each episode in this series will explore one crucial topic and share actionable insights from top subscription app operators.

Top Takeaways:

🎯 Measure brand campaigns by search uplift, not cost per install
Comparing offline and other brand campaign CPAs to paid acquisition CPAs kills creativity before it starts. Track branded search lift and run awareness surveys instead.
📹Design every offline moment for online distribution
Bring ad creatives to your events and plan for UGC from the start. An in-person activation that reached 15,000 people generated over 4 million impressions once repurposed across ads, social, and even LinkedIn.
⚠️Celebrity reach without audience fit is wasted spend
A famous partner whose audience doesn't overlap with your ICP will move zero needles. Calm's LeBron James partnership was their most expensive and worst-performing campaign because his fans care about basketball, not better sleep.

About Larissa Morimoto: 

🚀 Senior Growth Manager (Special Projects) at PhotoRoom, the best AI photo and design platform for e-commerce.

👋 LinkedIn

Follow us on X: 
David Barnard - @drbarnard
Jacob Eiting - @jeiting
RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
SubClub - @SubClubHQ
Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Introduction to Larissa Morimoto, Senior Growth Manager at PhotoRoom
[1:10] Why PhotoRoom is turning to offline marketing for growth
[2:35] How offline experiences create real human connections with users
[3:50] The importance of building brand love over chasing growth metrics
[5:10] Turning offline interactions into user-generated content (UGC)
[6:25] Why UGC is a key driver of PhotoRoom's digital strategy
[7:40] The success of PhotoRoom’s London campaign and key learnings
[9:05] How PhotoRoom uses creative campaigns to amplify brand awareness
[10:20] The role of brand awareness in scaling beyond paid acquisition
[12:15] Balancing offline and online efforts to maximize ROI
[13:05] How PhotoRoom’s focus on emotional connections leads to long-term growth
[13:45] The impact of celebrity partnerships and influencer marketing on brand perception
[15:01] PhotoRoom’s strategy for turning offline events into online assets
[16:20] Why PhotoRoom believes in repurposing content from offline campaigns for digital platforms
[17:05] The importance of testing and experimenting with new marketing strategies
[18:02] PhotoRoom’s creative offline campaigns
[19:29] Larissa shares upcoming initiatives and job openings at PhotoRoom

On the podcast: why web onboarding should sell the problem instead of the solution, how discounted paid trials are beating free trials, and why creative that flopped for app ads might crush it for web funnels.
This conversation is shorter than usual and will be featured in RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps report. Each episode in this series will explore one crucial topic and share actionable insights from top subscription app operators.

Top Takeaways:

🎯Web funnels should sell the problem, not the solution
App onboarding works by rushing users to an "aha moment" because they already want a solution. Web audiences are higher in the consideration phase, so effective web funnels go deeper on helping users recognize and personalize the problem before introducing the product.
💰Discounted paid trials outperform free trials on web
Rise found that offering a heavily discounted first month instead of a free trial improves both conversion quality and ad optimization. Free trials often attract users who cancel immediately, polluting the signal that ad platforms use to find high-value customers.
🎨Creative that flops on app campaigns can crush it on web, and vice versa
Web funnels attract a different audience than app install campaigns, often older and more e-commerce minded. Rise runs creative across both channels separately and regularly finds winners on one side that failed on the other, effectively doubling the chances of finding a hit from every creative concept.

About Leon Sasson: 

🚀 Leon is Co-Founder and CTO at Rise Science. RISE is the first energy management app that makes it easy to improve your sleep and daily energy to reach your potential. 
👋 LinkedIn

Follow us on X: 
David Barnard - @drbarnard
Jacob Eiting - @jeiting
RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
SubClub - @SubClubHQ

Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Introduction to Leon Sasson, Co-Founder & CTO at Rise Science
[1:05] Leon discusses the evolution of web funnels and their unique challenges
[2:10] The difference between app onboarding and web onboarding strategies
[3:15] How Leon’s team pivoted to improve web funnels and found success
[4:25] The shift in consumer behavior: Web audiences vs. app users
[5:50] Insights on why discounted paid trials work better than free trials on the web
[7:00] Balancing the user experience with a smooth billing process
[8:20] How to test and optimize creatives for both web and app funnels
[9:35] Leon’s approach to personalizing funnels based on user personas
[10:40] Lessons learned from handling subscription billing outside Apple’s ecosystem [11:55] The future of hybrid monetization and web/app funnel strategies 
[12:30] Closing thoughts on evolving marketing and product strategies through testing and iteration

On the podcast: how Tinder's ML-powered paywalls drove millions in new revenue, the art of selling features à la carte without killing subscription revenue, and why Tinder Select flopped despite users saying they'd pay for it.

This conversation is shorter than usual and will be featured in RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps report. Each episode in this series will explore one crucial topic and share actionable insights from top subscription app operators.

Top Takeaways:

🤖Users need fewer options, not more
Decision overload kills conversion. Tinder saw multimillion-dollar annual revenue gains by using ML to predict and surface the single best product for each user instead of showing every tier and plan at once.

🎯Anchor a la carte prices to subscriptions to prevent cannibalization
Unbundling features can capture non-subscribers, but pricing too low steals from subscription revenue. Tinder priced its standalone Passport feature equal to the weekly equivalent of a full-featured subscription, making the subscription the obvious better deal.
🧠 Design for emotional decisions, not logical ones
Users don't read every feature comparison and weigh their options rationally. They decide in seconds based on feeling. Observe how users actually behave, not how you assume they should, and build your purchase flows around that.

About Shawn Gong:

 🚀 Product Growth & Monetization at  Tinder, the world's most popular dating app, with over 55 billion matches made across 190+ countries since launching in 2012.
👋 LinkedIn

Follow us on X: 
David Barnard - @drbarnard
Jacob Eiting - @jeiting
RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
SubClub - @SubClubHQ

Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Introduction to Shawn Gong, Product Leader in Monetization & Growth at Tinder
[1:05] The challenge of decision overload and how Tinder tackled it with dynamic pricing
[2:47] How machine learning helps Tinder predict and serve the right product for each user
[4:25] Simplifying user choices: Reducing overwhelming options for better conversion
[5:48] Shifting from static to dynamic pricing: The role of AI in optimizing Tinder’s paywall
[7:06] A/B testing the dynamic pricing model: How Tinder validated the ML model's effectiveness
[8:12] Unbundling features like Passport mode: Meeting specific user needs without subscriptions
[9:33] The impact of pricing changes on conversion rates and subscription cannibalization
[10:57] Long-term retention metrics: Measuring the success of dynamic pricing beyond just revenue
[12:00] Tinder Select: Lessons from launching a high-end tier and why it didn’t work
[13:18] The importance of aligning product offerings with user emotions for better decision-making
[14:25] How Tinder continues to optimize pricing strategies through iterative testing and learning
[15:48] Shawn’s advice for startup founders: Focus on retention and building better product decision design

On the podcast: testing prices from $5 all the way to $120 per year, why rising CACs forced a pricing rethink, and how raising the price allows them to discount more aggressively.

This conversation is shorter than usual and will be featured in RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps report. Each episode in this series will explore one crucial topic and share actionable insights from top subscription app operators.

Top Takeaways:
💰 Retest prices you've already ruled out 
Market conditions shift constantly. A price point that couldn't beat the control for years can suddenly break even as competitors raise prices and consumer expectations change.
📈A higher base price unlocks more aggressive discounting Going from $40 to $80 creates room for steeper percentage discounts that drive higher conversion, even when the absolute dollar price is still higher.
🔒Rising CACs demand pricing that funds acquisition At $40/year, paid UA math barely worked. Doubling the price gave the marketing team room to compete on acquisition channels where costs keep climbing.

About Patrick Rills: 

🚀 Chief Product & Technology Officer at Lose It!, the app-based weight loss program mobilizing the world to achieve a healthy weight.
👋 LinkedIn

Follow us on X: 
David Barnard - @drbarnard
Jacob Eiting - @jeiting
RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
SubClub - @SubClubHQ

Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Introduction to Patrick Rills, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Lose It!
[1:05] How pricing changes unlocked new growth opportunities at Lose It!
[2:12] Balancing customer acquisition costs (CAC) with retention through pricing strategy
[3:25] Key insights from years of price testing, ranging from $5 to $120 per year
[4:42] Raising prices to enable deeper discounting and improve conversions
[5:58] Aligning product value with pricing to retain loyal users
[7:06] The role of the freemium model in keeping users engaged after price increases
[8:02] Using smart pricing and AI to drive growth
[9:14] Leveraging data to fine-tune pricing decisions
[10:27] How customer feedback and product data shape pricing strategies
[11:38] Challenges and benefits of raising prices for an established product
[12:33] Future plans for pricing tiers and new monetization strategies
[13:18] Patrick shares iOS developer hiring opportunities at Lose It!
[13:41] Final thoughts on driving sustainable growth and user value