B2C · hiking trail app

How AllTrails grows

3 tactics and 1 figures from 3 interviews.

AllTrails is a subscription trail map app. Everything here is outside commentary rather than the company's own account: hosts and guests point to trail pages ranking first in Google, a cheap annual plan with a generous free tier, paywalls tied to the feature a user just tried, and steady feature depth against Apple Maps.

A host said AllTrails trail pages rank first in Google search, and with a plan around $30 a year and frequent promotions, he guessed it has low acquisition cost and strong retention; no data was shown.AllTrails
When a free AllTrails user touches the 3D map, the paywall that opens leads with a video of that 3D feature; no results were reported.AllTrails
After Apple added hiking maps in iOS 18, a guest said AllTrails kept adding photos, reviews and social features, and expected Apple to take only a few percent of free users, not payers.AllTrails

Summary written 2026-10-09 from the tactics below. Figures are as founders stated them.

About AllTrails

What it is: Hiking app facing iOS 18's built-in hiking maps
Business model: freemium with low-priced annual subscription and frequent promotions
Pricing: ~$30/year regular price (host's recollection)
Funding

As described in the interviews, not independently verified.

AllTrails's 3 tactics

AllTrails · B2C · hiking trail app

When a free user taps a paid feature, open a paywall showing that feature

When a free AllTrails user interacts with the 3D part of the map, the paywall that opens leads with a highlight video of the 3D feature, so the value prop matches what they just tried and the upgrade feels continuous.

Unknownpaywallupsell-expansion

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2025-03-07

AllTrails · B2C · hiking trails app

Keep adding photos, reviews and social features to stay far ahead of Apple Maps

Guest says Apple may take a few % of free users but not payers

When Apple added hiking maps to iOS 18 Maps, the answer is to keep shipping depth the platform won't build: more photos, more reviews, and now social features, aiming to stay '10x better' than the broad, shallow OS feature.

Unknownfeature-developmentpositioning-niche

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2024-10-02

AllTrails · B2C · hiking trail app

Rank first in Google for every trail and keep the subscription cheap

Host believes very low acquisition cost and strong retention; no numbers

Pages for trails worldwide rank as the first search result, so much of the traffic is organic. Annual subscription priced around $30/year with frequent promotions and a generous free tier. Host speculates this yields low blended CAC and industry-leading retention despite a likely bottom-quartile trial start rate.

Unknownseopricing

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-01-17

AllTrails by the numbers

Metric	Value	Context	Said in
price	USD 30/year estimate	Regular annual subscription price; host believes many subscribers pay less via promotions	Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-17 14:12

Topics

Picking a niche and positioning an app2 Upsells and expansion revenue1 SEO and content marketing1 Hard paywall vs freemium1 App paywall strategy1 Pricing a subscription app1

Interviews

How to Increase Monetization with Targeted Upsells — Brandon Gador, onX Maps · Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2025-03-07
The Subscription App Industry Rebound — Eric Crowley, GP Bullhound · Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2024-10-02
How’s Your App Really Doing? The State of Subscription Apps 2023 · Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-01-17