đĽ My key takeaways from the State of Subscription Apps 2025
Beyond the new candlestick charts that I really love (I am a HUGE investing freak), this yearâs State of Subscription Apps report is packed with insights on how subscription apps have evolved. This is, in my opinion, the best report on the space, and for the first time, Iâm sharing the four trends that stood out most to me:
1ď¸âŁ Another year, another drop in trial conversion With such a saturated market, itâs no surprise that trial conversion rates are down across nearly all categories. Looking at specific categories, Fitness & Health seems to be one of the most affected, with a 4.6% dropâlikely influenced by the explosion of AI fitness apps, which have been massively scaling through influencer marketing and web-to-app flows
2ď¸âŁHard Paywalls can work but only if value is clear upfront I recently shared a case study with RevenueCat and the positive effects on LTV and campaign optimization that going with a hard paywall can bring to your business. This yearâs report further reinforces this: hard paywalls have a much higher conversion rate from download to paid on day 35 (12.1% median for hard paywalls vs 2.2% for freemium models). This clearly illustrates that if the perceived value aligns with usersâ needs, itâs worth running a test.
3ď¸âŁ Longer trial durations are on the rise With low-quality trials from paid UA and high cancellation rates on short trials, more apps are extending trial periods. This directly reduces churn (see page 20) but complicates CAC calculationsâespecially if youâre using SKAN.
If youâre struggling to optimize your paid campaigns and attract high-quality trial users, extending trial durations could be an effective first step toward improving overall conversion rates. On the other hand, your business will have a slower cashflow but if you have a decent volume ongoing, it shouldnât be a major issue.
4ď¸âŁSubscription apps lag behind gaming apps in maximizing revenue streams Having worked with 100+ appsâboth gaming and non-gamingâIâve noticed a major difference:
Gaming has segmented payers for years, yet most subscription apps offer just monthly/weekly or annual plans, leading to higher cancellation rates. The report confirms this: lack of alternative revenue streams correlates with lower LTV. In-app purchases remain underutilizedâbut I strongly believe theyâll be a game-changer in the upcoming years.
If you want to maximize LTV, optimizing monetization beyond just subscriptions is key. In-app purchases remain underutilized by subscription apps, but I strongly believe theyâll be a game-changer for subscription businesses that adopt them strategically.