Issue #25 of the Paywall Newsletter is here!
Almost everyone has a weather widget on their phone’s home screen. It’s free and always there.
So why are there so many weather forecast apps? And why are people willing to pay for something they can already get at no cost?
We took a closer look at this niche to crack their paywalls playbook.
For this issue, we invited Murat Menzilci, Developer Advocate at Adapty, to review the paywalls of four weather apps and highlight what’s working well and what’s worth testing to boost conversions and revenue.
CARROT Weather: Alerts & Radar
Last month revenue: $200K | Downloads: 30K
What’s working well
- Clear CTA with “Redeem your free week.” Apple uses the same wording in its subscription offers, which builds familiarity.
- Strong social proof through “App of the Year” and Apple Design Award badges.
- User reviews provide additional social proof.
What’s worth testing
- Making a side-by-side or tabbed plan comparison for easier feature evaluation.
- Offering a free trial only for the product you want to sell more.
- Adding more visuals to balance text-heavy sections.
- Showing “Just $3.33/month” under the yearly price to make the savings clearer.
Weather Up + AccuWeather Data
Last month revenue: <$5K | Downloads: <5K
What’s working well
- Great visualization.
- Strong social proof with mentions on The Verge and TechCrunch.
- “Start your free week” is a strong CTA text.
What’s worth testing
- Using “no commitment” language such as “Cancel anytime” to ease concerns about annual plans.
- Showing two products with a free trial toggle to catch users and present multiple options.
- Adding user reviews to increase social proof.
Clime: NOAA Weather Radar Live
Last month revenue: $3M | Downloads: 100K
What’s working well
- A clean, minimalistic paywall.
- Clear and powerful CTA text.
- A simple two-product offer.
What’s worth testing
- Adding price comparisons without free trials (e.g., show the weekly equivalent for a yearly plan to highlight the savings).
- Offering a free trial for only one product to simplify the decision.
- Adding “no commitment, cancel anytime” text to address concerns.
HeyWeather App
Last month revenue: <$5K | Downloads: <5K
What’s working well
- Offering three plans helps users select the option that fits them best.
- Key features are displayed with visual icons.
- A long paywall with user reviews provides strong social proof.
What’s worth testing
- Offering a free trial only on the product you want to promote the most.
- Changing the CTA button text dynamically when a user selects a product with a free trial.
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