Duolingo · B2C · language learning app
Change the paywall button from 'Try for free' to 'Try for $0.00'
Meaningful conversion lift over 'Try for free'; no numbers given
Workedpaywall
What they did
Duolingo changed its paywall call-to-action text to 'Try for $0.00' (released around January), replacing 'Try for free'.
What happened
Per Duolingo's chief product officer (relayed by host): a meaningful lift; 'try for free' did not convert as well.
“try for zero dollars and zero cents.”
“he said that was a meaningful lift for them. And try for free did not convert as well as try for $0 this year.”
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More from Duolingo
All 32 Duolingo tactics- Cut the free trial from 14 days to 7More conversions overall and experiment results twice as fast
- Sell a one-time ad-free month at $3, $5 or $10 to test demandUptake far above expectations; led to the subscription
- 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
- Let trial users pick which day they get the reminder before being chargedTested; added friction but built trust and delayed cancel decisions. No numbers given
- Ask new users in onboarding if they want to learn with or without adsSignificantly higher uptake; one of the biggest wins of the year
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- Duolingo: Let people pick which day you remind them before their free trial endsLifted conversion; no numbers given
- Mojo: Offer a generous free tier and show free users a paywall once a weekOver 50% of revenue comes after day one, vs ~80% on day zero for most apps
- Claude: Run a Super Bowl ad for a consumer AI appApp revenue jumped from hundreds of thousands to almost $1M a day