How SplitMetrics Agency Improved Monetization Performance With Paywall Optimization

Beurteletchat and Basechat are anonymous audio dating apps that connect users through voice interactions.

• Beurteletchat’s primary audience is Maghrebian and African-origin users in France and other Francophone countries.
• Basechat caters to a broader audience in Germany with a more diverse user base.

Both apps offer premium subscriptions with the following benefits:

• Gender-based call filtering (male users can choose to call only female users)
• Ad-free experience
• 100% contact guarantee

Users with an active paid plan were 3x more likely to match with the right person (female) compared to free users.

Subscription Plans available: daily, weekly, monthly.

The Challenge

While managing Paid User Acquisition campaigns for Beurteletchat and Basechat, primarily through Apple Search Ads and Google Ads, we observed that we were approaching a spending cap. Scaling budgets further was no longer delivering proportional increases in installs or revenue.

To continue growing efficiently, we needed to increase the monetization performance inside the apps, specifically by improving the conversion rate from free to paid users. Enhancing user value would allow us to:

• Improve LTV (Lifetime Value)
• Enable sustainable scaling without sacrificing profitability.

We identified paywall optimization as the most impactful lever to achieve this goal. Leveraging RevenueCat, we ran a series of structured A/B tests on the paywalls, iterating through creative, messaging, and layout variations to maximize subscription conversions tailored to each app’s audience.

The Objective

Increase in-app revenue by improving paywall conversion rates, thereby boosting overall user LTV and enabling scalable and profitable UA growth across Apple Search Ads and Google Ads channels.

Beurteletchat

The original paywall had a row-based layout listing all premium features:

“Become a VIP and get to filter the gender of users, enjoy an ad-free experience, and a 100% contact guarantee.”

Using RevenueCat, we ran A/B tests to optimize conversion rates and increase subscriptions.

Test 1 & 2 – Minor Creative Adjustments

We first tested new headlines and images while keeping the row layout and full feature list unchanged:

• Variant 1 Headline: Find your best match faster!
• Variant 2 Headline: 10,000+ women ready to chat! Become a VIP to meet them.

Experiment Setup: These variants were shown to 30–40% of users, while the original paywall remained as a control.

Results: Both variants underperformed compared to the default. Conversion rates slightly declined, indicating that minor changes to copy and imagery weren’t enough.

Test 3: Full Paywall Redesign

After analyzing previous results, we took a more drastic approach:

1. Switched from row to column layout for better readability.
2. Refocused the messaging on the ultimate benefit – getting more matches.
3. New headline: “VIPs get 3x more dates. Become a VIP!”
4. Removed the detailed feature list (gender filter, ad-free, contact guarantee) from the main paywall.
5. Updated the hero image to better resonate with our audience (Maghrebian & African-origin users).

Test Setup: The new paywall was shown to 50% of users, with the original as a control.

Test Duration: The tests ran from January to April 2025, with each paywall variant shown approximately 35,000 times to ensure a representative and statistically significant sample size.

Results:

+18.2% increase in initial conversion rate
+18.5% increase in subscriptions
+25.8% increase in realized LTV

Key takeaway

A clear, benefit-driven message combined with a demographically relevant visual significantly improved conversions.

Basechat

Unlike Beurteletchat, Basechat’s default paywall was already using a column layout, as previous data showed it performed better.

Since the structure was already optimized, we focused on:

1. Localizing Beurteletchat’s winning paywall into German.
2. Testing different imagery based on our hypothesis that featuring a Maghrebian couple might not work as well for Basechat’s more diverse German audience.

Test Variants:

• Variant 1: Beurteletchat’s winning paywall (Maghrebian couple, German localization).
• Variant 2: A new image featuring a man with more generic features and a blonde woman to better reflect a broader German audience.

Experiment Setup: Both paywalls were tested simultaneously, while keeping the default paywall as a control.

Duration: From January to April 2025, each paywall variant was served around 8,000 times. Thanks to Basechat’s higher baseline conversion rate, we achieved a statistically significant number of subscriptions across both apps.

Results

The paywall with the Maghrebian couple performed worse than the default, so we quickly paused the test. The localized paywall with the new image outperformed the default:

• +14.2% increase in initial conversion rate
• +11.6% increase in subscriptions
• +3.4% increase in realized LTV

Key Takeaways

Beurteletchat:

• Simple creative tweaks weren’t enough; a full paywall redesign drove the best results.
• A benefit-driven approach (focusing on “3x more dates”) resonated better than listing features.
• Demographically relevant visuals significantly boosted conversions.
  

Basechat:

• Column paywalls were already optimal, so localization & imagery changes were key.
• A broader, more inclusive visual worked better for the German audience.

Conclusion

By strategically refining the paywall messaging, layout, and imagery, we achieved an 18.2% conversion rate uplift for Beurteletchat and a 14.2% uplift for Basechat. These experiments not only unlocked immediate revenue gains but also provided valuable insights into user behavior and preferences. The learnings from this project will inform future monetization strategies for Mobile Trading. They can serve as a blueprint for similar dating and social networking apps aiming to optimize their paywall performance.