Unlocking growth: How to supercharge your paywalls with offers

Modern subscription apps rely on more than just ‘Subscribe’ and ‘Cancel’. To maximize conversions, you need to leverage introductory offers, offer codes, and promotional offers. RevenueCat Paywalls make it easy to configure and display these offers to the right customers at the right time, without writing endless custom logic.

Read on for the different types of offers Paywalls can support, how to configure them in the Paywall Editor, and some real-world examples of how apps use them to boost revenue and user satisfaction.

Why do offers matter?

Imagine you’re running a fitness app. First-time subscribers might be encouraged by a ‘7 days free’ intro trial, while past subscribers might return if you give them ‘3 months at 50% off’. A language learning app might offer a seasonal ‘Back to school’ discount via promo codes, while a music streaming service might offer loyal users a personalized promotion.

The key is: different offers for different customer journeys. RevenueCat Paywalls provide the flexibility to support all of these use cases.

Introductory Offers

An introductory offer is the primary mechanism for user acquisition, designed to lower the barrier to a first-time purchase. This typically manifests as a free trial period or reduced initial price. When a product on the App Store or Google Play Store has an introductory offer, RevenueCat will automatically present it to eligible customers at checkout.

But to make the most of it, your paywall content should highlight the intro offer. To configure this, follow this guide below:

1. In the Paywall Editor, click on the text component you want to customize.
2. Click the ➕ icon next to Text field for an introductory offer.
3. Enter a unique string, such as:
   • “Start today and get your first week free!”
   • “Your first 3 months are only $0.99 each.”

For example, if you’re building a meditation app, you could display “Relax for free this week, your 7-day trial starts now!” only to eligible new users, like the image below:

There are multiple ways to configure introductory offers depending on platforms. Let’s explore each.

Play Store offers

On Google Play, a single product can include multiple introductory offers. For example, a subscription could include either:

• 1 month free
• 3 months at 50% off

RevenueCat lets you display the correct message for these cases with the Play Store only: Multiple Introductory Offers Text Field. You can even use secondary offer variables to show the price and duration of the second offer.

For example, a productivity app might say:

• “Enjoy 1 month free” for students,
• “Get 3 months at 50% off” for professionals.

App Store offer codes

Apple allows developers to distribute offer codes, which users can redeem directly inside your app. RevenueCat Paywalls supports this by adding a redemption button.

• When tapped, the native iOS redemption sheet opens
• Users enter their code, accept the offer, and continue the subscription flow

For example, a language learning app at a conference might hand out offer codes for ‘1 free month’, then the app seamlessly handles redemption through RevenueCat.

App Store promotional offers

Promotional offers are designed to win back previous subscribers or reward loyal customers. These offers can be configured in App Store Connect and linked to your RevenueCat paywall.

You can configure with the steps below:

1. In the Paywall Editor, open your package component
2. Enter the Promotional Offer Identifier (from App Store Connect)
3. Configure unique strings for eligible users

If a user is eligible (based on Apple’s rules, e.g. they’ve had a subscription before), RevenueCat will show the promotional offer text fields automatically.

Customizing content based on eligibility

RevenueCat allows paywalls to adapt automatically depending on whether a user is eligible for an offer. This means the same screen can look different to two customers, giving a personalized experience.

Eligibility usually falls into two categories:

• Introductory offers for new users
• Promotional offers for returning subscribers

When a user qualifies, RevenueCat exposes variables like ‘offer_price’ and ‘offer_duration’. These values can be added directly into the paywall text. For example, a new customer might see “Get started with your first 3 months at $1.99/month”, while an existing one sees “Continue your journey for $9.99/month”.

The key takeaway is that content should not remain static. By tailoring language and pricing details to the individual, you build trust, reduce confusion, and increase the likelihood that someone completes a purchase. From a learning perspective, think of this like conditional rendering in a UI framework: the display changes depending on the user’s state, but the logic is handled by the system itself.

Targeting different audiences

While eligibility reflects what Apple or Google determines about a user’s subscription history, targeting gives you control as a developer over which paywall different audiences should see.

You can base targeting on customer attributes, the placement of the paywall in your app, or even experimentation groups for A/B testing. For instance, a language learning app might show an introductory trial during onboarding, a win-back discount to returning users, and a student-specific plan to customers flagged with a student attribute.

This approach does more than personalize the message; it provides a way to shape your business strategy. Users feel that the offer is relevant to them, lapsed subscribers are given incentives to return, and you can systematically test which offers perform better. In practice, targeting transforms paywalls from a single funnel into multiple tailored journeys, each aligned with a different audience segment.

Example: Language learning app with RevenueCat Paywalls

Imagine you’re the product lead for a language learning app called LinguaPro. Your business relies heavily on subscription revenue, and your main challenge is maximizing conversions across three user types:

1. Brand-new users installing the app for the first time
2. Returning users who previously subscribed but churned
3. Special groups such as students who may respond to discounted pricing

You decide to use RevenueCat Paywalls to handle both offer eligibility and audience targeting.

1. Customizing content by eligibility

When LinguaPro is first installed, the App Store automatically marks new users as eligible for an introductory offer. With RevenueCat, you configure the paywall text to adapt depending on eligibility.

• Eligible (new user): The paywall dynamically inserts ‘offer_price’ and ‘offer_duration’. The screen displays: “Start your journey with 1 month free, then continue at just $9.99/month.”
• Not eligible (returning or existing user): The same paywall shows a different message: “Keep learning for $9.99/month, cancel anytime.”

Here, you don’t create two separate paywalls. You create one, and RevenueCat allows you to change the wording based on eligibility.

2. Targeting different audiences

Eligibility handles whether a customer can technically access an offer. But you also want business logic on top of that, deciding which paywall to serve in the first place.

• Onboarding flow: All new users are shown the introductory-offer paywall
• Returning subscribers: When a lapsed user opens the app, you serve a different paywall built around a promotional offer: “Welcome back! Reactivate your subscription for 3 months at 50% off.”
• Student segment: Customers who verified themselves as students receive a student-discount paywall: “As a student, get full access for $4.99/month.”

By combining targeting with eligibility, the experience becomes even more precise. For example, a student who is also a returning subscriber won’t be shown the intro trial (they’re not eligible), but instead the targeted student discount paywall.

3. Measuring outcomes

Within a few months, you run A/B tests on targeted groups:

• Some lapsed users get “3 months at 50% off.”
• Others get “1 month free, then $9.99.”

RevenueCat’s experiments show that the first option results in 25% higher reactivation, so you adopt it permanently for that segment.

What offers will you try?

Supporting offers is not just about ticking boxes, it’s about showing the right deal to the right user, at the right time. By combining introductory offers, promo codes, and targeted promotions, you can boost conversions, reduce churn, and create a more engaging user journey.

Whether it’s a free trial for new users, a promo discount to win back churned subscribers, or a code handed out at an event, RevenueCat makes it easy to integrate these flows without writing boilerplates.