Duolingo · B2C · language learning app
Sell a one-time ad-free month at $3, $5 or $10 to test demand
Uptake far above expectations; led to the subscription
What they did
What happened
- Stage
- 2016-2017
In their words
Why Your Free Users Are Your Real Growth Engine – Cem Kansu, Duolingo CPO
Cem KansuSubscription apps were earlier. There was the big streaming and entertainment, but outside of that, there wasn't a lot of digital subscription behavior. So we took that idea to heart, but we said, "We're not sure if the subscription thing is for us." Our mind was still like, "We probably going to have an IAP model."
Cem KansuSo we tested an IAP, which was honestly, looking back, it's so janky and it's not clear why people bought this, but we said, "You can buy an ad free month of Duolingo. So for 30 days, we'll turn off the ads, but it's a one-time purchase."
Cem KansuAnd we tested different price points, we tested $3, $5 and $10 and everyone thought this wouldn't work. Like I said, "Why would people pay this one-off bizarre exchange?" Honestly, the uptake was good and way more than what we expected.
Cem KansuSo we were like, "Clearly there is some demand for turning off ads. Even though we created the most bizarre package to sell, people want to buy this, let's make it a subscription." But to make it a subscription, just no ads felt slim as a subscription service, so then we built offline capabilities.
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More from this episode
- Keep lessons free and sell learners' translations to news sitesSmall revenue; dropped by 2016 (price race and low translation quality)
- Charge $1-3 to fix a broken streakA good share of users paid; showed how much users value their streak
- Show one ad only after a lesson ends, and test it against retentionRetention mostly neutral, at most a slight hit, across ad tests
- Count ad complaints per million users and compare them to other complaintsMissing-course complaints were 3x ad complaints; ads launched
- Block gambling and sketchy ad types, even if it costs revenueAccepted lost ad revenue for better experience; no numbers
- Sell ads directly to brands and have app characters introduce themUsers like the format; slow to sell because it's custom
- Use the end-of-lesson ad slot to advertise your own paid planGuest says house ads beat programmatic ads; no numbers
- Run 3-6 month holdouts for changes whose effects show up lateNew push lifts can turn negative after about 6 weeks
- Launch a plan with no ads, offline use, and 'support our mission'About half of early buyers paid to support the app; started a run rate
- Offer a free trial even though the app is already freeOne of the biggest unlocks; guest had expected it to flop
- Tell users on the paywall you'll remind them on day 5 of a 7-day trialWon A/B tests by easing fear of subscription traps
- Change the buy button to say 'Try for $0.00'Beat 'Try for free' on both trial starts and trial-to-paid
- Give subscribers unlimited hearts so mistakes never stop their lessonsBig turning point: raised subscription conversion and retention
- Make paid features free when a test shows they earn littleTook a small revenue hit on purpose to grow free users
- Add new subjects inside the main app instead of launching new appsSeparate apps were 'hard mode'; in-app works better, but many users still don't know
- Offer live human tutors on demand in a higher-priced planFailed: users joined, panicked and left; later replaced by AI video call
Tags: ad-free, iap, demand-test, price-test