Hard paywall vs soft paywall (which one converts better?)

Hey there,

Let’s compare two apps that are printing money with completely opposite paywall strategies.

Deep Search uses a soft paywall and makes $700k/month.
My last app Puff Count used a hard paywall and scaled to $44k MRR.

Founders copy one without understanding why it works, and then wonder why their conversions suck.

Both strategies work. But not for every app.

Deep Search can use a 4-screen onboarding and a soft paywall because it's a simple utility.

You type in a name and get instant results. The value is obvious immediately.

They don't need to convince you.
They let you try it for free with credit limits, you see it works, you upgrade. 

A soft paywall with minimal onboarding works perfectly when the value proposition is clear.

Puff Count was different.

It's not a simple utility. It's an emotional transformation app.

I needed users to confess their vaping struggles before they hit the paywall.

My onboarding was about 15 screens. I asked: 

How long have you been vaping?
How many puffs do you take daily?
How much money are you spending on vapes every week?

By the time they hit the hard paywall, they were already emotionally invested.

By that point, they'd admitted the problem, seen the numbers, and felt the pain of how much money they were burning on vapes.

The paywall became a commitment device, not a barrier.

The rule is simple:

Simple utility app (instant value, no emotional journey) = soft paywall, short onboarding.
Emotional transformation app (lifestyle change, pain amplification) = hard paywall, longer onboarding.

The mistake is mixing them up.

If you use Deep Search's strategy for a Puff Count type app, users won't be emotionally invested enough to pay.

If you use Puff Count's strategy for a Deep Search type app, you'll kill conversions with too much friction.

Match your paywall strategy to your app type.

Learn which paywall strategy works for your app

Peace,
Steven