When do free users convert?
№ 076 · Free-to-paid conversion curve
Definition
MetricShare of installs converted to paid by day N since install
Unit% of installs paying, cumulative by day since install (day-35 window standard)
Percent of free signups converted to paid by month N, one line per cohort. Newer cohorts should sit higher. Build from product analytics joined with billing: count signups per cohort, count converters at each month, divide. Example: Q1 24 cohort hits 16% at M12; Q1 25 cohort already 18% at M6.
Benchmarks
| Bottom 30% | Median | Top 30% |
|---|---|---|
| under 1% by day 35, with the curve flat after day 1 | 1.9-2.8% download-to-paid by day 35; freemium median 2.1%; funnel decomposition ~10.9% install-to-trial times ~25.6% trial-to-paid | 8.5%+ download-to-paid by day 35 (top performers); hard-paywall apps median 10.7% |
Subscription-led consumer apps, download-to-paid within 35 days of install, 2025-2026 transaction data (RevenueCat 115K+ apps, Adapty 16K+ apps). Consumer-app funnel; the SaaS free-to-paid card in the SaaS section uses a different population and different windows, do not cross-apply. · The hard paywall vs freemium split is the dominant definitional divide: 10.7% vs 2.1% at day 35 (RevenueCat 2026). Aggregation method also moves numbers: Adapty's average-of-app-rates gives 10.9%/25.6% for the funnel while median-of-apps cuts sit near 6.2%/34.8%, so state which statistic you use. Most conversions and most trial cancellations happen on day zero.
| Category | Bottom 30% | Median | Top 30% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health & Fitness | under 25% | trial-to-paid 35.0% | trial-to-paid 40%+ |
| Entertainment | under 12% | trial-to-paid 19.1% (weakest tracked category) | trial-to-paid 25%+ |
| By trial length (all categories) | under-4-day trials, 25.5% and falling | 25.6% global average trial-to-paid | 17-32 day trials, 45.7% trial-to-paid |
When it looks bad
The curve jumps at day 0-1 then goes completely flat with no later conversion mass, and newer cohorts flatten lower than older ones.
1.2% converted by day 3 and only 1.4% by day 35, with trial cancellations clustered on day zero before the core action was ever completed.
What to do about it
- Move the paywall into onboarding with a trial attached; onboarding paywalls with trials convert installs to paid at ~1.78% vs ~1.35% for the market's average placement mix (Adapty 2026).
- Lengthen the trial where activation genuinely needs time; 17-32 day trials convert at 45.7% vs 25.5% for trials under 4 days (RevenueCat).
- Attack day-zero cancellation with a first-session activation sequence that completes the core action before the paywall recap; most trial cancellations happen on day zero (RevenueCat 2026).
- Test a hard paywall if free users do not drive referral or network effects; hard paywalls convert ~5x freemium with statistically negligible year-one retention difference (RevenueCat 2026).
Sources
- RevenueCat Hard paywalls convert 10.7% download-to-paid by day 35 vs 2.1% freemium, with near-identical year-one retention (27% vs 28%) revenuecat.com ↗
- RevenueCat Hard paywall 12.1% vs freemium 2.2% download-to-paid; trials of 17-32 days convert at 45.7%, the highest of any length revenuecat.com ↗
- RevenueCat Trials under 4 days convert at 25.5%, ~70% worse than long trials; short trials nonetheless rose to 46.5% of apps revenuecat.com ↗
- Adapty Global funnel averages 10.9% install-to-trial and 25.6% trial-to-paid; weekly plans convert 1.7-7.4x better than annual adapty.io ↗
- Adapty Onboarding paywalls with trials produce the highest install-to-paid conversion, ~1.78% on average across the market adapty.io ↗
- Airbridge Median subscription app converts 1.9% of downloads to paying within 35 days; top performers 8.5%; median-cut funnel 6.2% install-to-trial and ~35% trial-to-paid airbridge.io ↗
- Subscription Insider Corroborates the 12.1% vs 2.2% paywall split and the 45.7% long-trial conversion figure subscriptioninsider.com ↗