This paywall tweak took me from $3k to $30k MRR

March 17, 2026

Hey there,

My last app, Puff Count, was stuck at $3,000 MRR for what felt like forever.

I had downloads. I had paying users. People were coming back consistently.

But my MRR wouldn't increase.

I'd watch the analytics every day. Thousands of people hit my paywall, but only a handful were actually paying.

I was making every mistake in the book: 

  • offering a free trial

  • letting users skip the paywall

  • giving them too many pricing options at once

I thought being "generous" would make more people convert. 

Instead, I was just training them to expect everything for free.

Then I discovered a tool called Superwall that let me A/B test every element of my paywall without pushing app updates.

So I tested everything:

  • $8 weekly against $12 weekly

  • different button copy

  • different social proof

  • urgency elements

All of them made a slight difference. 

What actually moved me from $3k to $30k MRR was switching to a hard paywall.

No more "skip for now." No more free trials.
You either paid to access the features or you didn't get in.

Sounds harsh, right?

But by that point in the onboarding, users had already confessed their vaping struggles and seen testimonials from people just like them. They were emotionally invested.

The hard paywall became a commitment device.

The difference between 3% and 20% conversion is one question: 

Do you let users skip, or do you force the commitment?

Most founders leave money on the table because they set a paywall once and never touch it again.

Peace,
Steve