# Hard Vs Soft Paywall: Which Do Health & Fitness Apps Use?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Author: Ali Abouelatta, Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Updated: July 2026
Sample size: n=435
Category: [Hard vs soft paywalls and dismissal affordances](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/category/hard-vs-soft-paywalls-and-dismissal-affordances)
Tags: paywall, monetization, retention, mobile, ux-patterns
HTML: https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/hard-vs-soft-paywall-which-do-health-and-fitness-apps-use
Markdown: https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/hard-vs-soft-paywall-which-do-health-and-fitness-apps-use.md

**Answer.** In Health & Fitness, 119 of 435 paywall screens (27.4%) show a visible exit — almost exactly the 26.2% corpus average [1][2]. Exits break down to 80 X/close, 21 text-link, and 18 restore-only; 316 screens are hard [1]. The cut covers 38 companies and 435 screens [1].

> 27.4% of Health & Fitness paywall screens (119 of 435) show a visible exit — near the corpus average, Lazyweb Research, July 2026.

## The finding

Across 435 Health & Fitness paywall screens from 38 companies, 119 (27.4%) have a visible exit — essentially the all-corpus rate of 26.2% [1][2]. This vertical is neither notably soft (like Education at 43.5%) nor notably hard (like Photo & Video at 18.8%); it sits at the middle of the pack [1].

## Breakdown

| Exit type | Screens |
| --- | --- |
| Visible X / close | 80 |
| 'Maybe later' text link | 21 |
| Restore-only | 18 |
| No visible exit (hard) | 316 |

Total 435 screens, 38 companies; 119 soft (27.4%) [1]. The X is again the dominant exit, and restore-only is relatively prominent here (18 screens) [1].

## How to apply it and caveats

Health & Fitness gives you the cleanest 'default' benchmark — build to roughly one-in-four soft and you match the vertical norm [1]. If you go harder, know that Photo & Video is the only spec vertical that hard-gates more [1]. Caveats: 38 companies is the largest company sample of the four verticals but still modest; figures are lower bounds and what-shipped, not lift [1].

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| 119 of 435 H&F screens (27.4%); X 80, text 21, restore 18, hard 316; 38 companies | exit_share_health_fitness |
| corpus average 26.2% | screens_with_any_visible_exit: 710/2,708 |

## Methodology

Health & Fitness cut is 435 screens across 38 companies from the exit taxonomy. Lower-bound, what-shipped prevalence. July 2026.

## Visual references

Real, in-market app screens tracked by Lazyweb Research:

- Spin: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/travel112_spin/lazyscreenshots/2024_11_23_13-13-50_7A807FE6.png
- Fitbod: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/uploaded_fitbod/onboarding/compare/2026-05-31/1780228397403_13_29_Onboarding_onboarding-paywall.png
- Duolingo: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/uploaded_duolingo/main_tabs/compare/2026-05-27/1779911244813_05_Duolingo-20260527-194717-06.png
- Airfun: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/sports9_airfun/backlog/2025_10_20_16-02-25_602B1C0C.png

## Sources & citations

- [1] Lazyweb Research analysis of 435 Health & Fitness paywall screens (mobile app corpus, 38 companies), July 2026. Exit taxonomy filtered to Health & Fitness; extraction-based lower bounds.
- [2] Lazyweb Research analysis of 2,708 paywall screens (mobile app corpus), July 2026. All-corpus visible-exit rate for comparison.

## Related questions

- [Which App Category Has The Hardest Paywalls?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/which-app-category-has-the-hardest-paywalls)
- [Hard Vs Soft Paywall: Which Do Education Apps Use?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/hard-vs-soft-paywall-which-do-education-apps-use)
- [Hard Vs Soft Paywall: Which Do Photo & Video Apps Use?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/hard-vs-soft-paywall-which-do-photo-and-video-apps-use)
- [What Percent Of Paywalls Have A Visible Dismiss Option?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/what-percent-of-paywalls-have-a-visible-dismiss-option)
- [Hard Vs Soft Paywall: How Common Is Each?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/hard-vs-soft-paywall-how-common-is-each)
- [How Do Apps Let Users Exit The Paywall — X Button, 'Maybe Later', Or Not At All?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/how-do-apps-let-users-exit-the-paywall)
- [What Share Of Paywall CTAs Are Dismiss Buttons?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/what-share-of-paywall-ctas-are-dismiss-buttons)
- [What Share Of Companies Run A Soft Paywall Variant?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/what-share-of-companies-run-a-soft-paywall-variant)

## Explore the evidence

- [Billing toggle experiment kit](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/billing-toggle-experiment-kit?utm_source=lazyweb&utm_medium=research&utm_campaign=billing-toggle-kit)
- [Cal AI annual-plan and trial presentation](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/cal-ai-paywall-annual-plan-and-trial)
- [Monthly versus annual billing toggles](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/monthly-vs-annual-billing-toggle-pricing)
- [Billing cadence versus plan tiers](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/annual-billing-toggle-vs-plan-tiers)
- [Cal AI trial-introduction screens](https://design.lazyweb.com/flow/cal-ai/onboarding-paywall)

## Continue your research

[Connect Lazyweb to your coding agent](https://www.lazyweb.com/mcp-install)