# What Percent of Apps Put the Paywall on the Last Onboarding Step?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Author: Ali Abouelatta, Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Updated: July 2026
Sample size: n=40
Category: [Paywall timing: where the paywall appears in the flow](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/category/paywall-timing-where-the-paywall-appears-in-the-flow)
Tags: paywall, onboarding, monetization, ux-patterns, design
HTML: https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/what-percent-of-apps-put-the-paywall-on-the-last-onboarding-step
Markdown: https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/what-percent-of-apps-put-the-paywall-on-the-last-onboarding-step.md

**Answer.** Among 40 onboarding flows with a paywall tracked by Lazyweb Research, 27.5% (11 of 40) place the first paywall on the literal last step of onboarding [1]. Terminal paywalls are the single most common exact placement. Examples include Fitbod (step 14 of 14), Remini (8 of 8), Hallow (11 of 11), and Zero (27 of 27) [2].

> 11 of 40 paywalling onboarding flows (27.5%) put the paywall on the very last step, Lazyweb Research, July 2026.

## The finding

In 11 of 40 onboarding flows with a paywall, the first paywall is the final step of the flow — 27.5% [1]. Combined with the 77.5% that land in the final third [1], the corpus shows a clear terminal-paywall convention: the offer is the last thing the user sees before finishing onboarding.

## Real last-step examples

| App | Total steps | First paywall step | Position |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Fitbod | 14 | 14 | 1.00 |
| Remini | 8 | 8 | 1.00 |
| Hallow | 11 | 11 | 1.00 |
| Zero | 27 | 27 | 1.00 |

Each of these apps ends onboarding on the paywall [2]. By contrast, 0 of 40 flows open on a paywall [1].

## How to apply it

A last-step paywall is a defensible default: it follows the full personalization and value build-up, and just over a quarter of tracked paywalling flows do exactly this [1]. If you want to test earlier placement, the median flow still paywalls around step 11 of 17 [3], so 'last step' and 'roughly step 11' bracket the mainstream range.

## Caveats

N is 40 flows; the last-step count is 11. Position is computed with ROW_NUMBER, and detection is a floor because the paywall flag is sparse [1].

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| last step 11/40 (27.5%); final third 31/40; first step 0/40 | first_paywall_thirds_distribution |
| Fitbod 14/14, Remini 8/8, Hallow 11/11, Zero 27/27 | qualitative |
| median first paywall step 11 of ~17-step flow | first_paywall_absolute_step |

## Methodology

Universe: 40 onboarding flows with a paywall across ~800 tracked apps, July 2026; last-step defined as first-paywall ROW_NUMBER equal to flow length. Caveat: N=40, 11 last-step flows.

## Visual references

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

- Healow: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/medical2_healow/lazyscreenshots/2023_04_27_19-18-59_104ECED6.png
- Booksy: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/lifestyle10_booksy/lazyscreenshots/2023_04_16_18-38-03_FC4F4923.png
- Speak: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/edu121_speak/backlog/2025_11_17_18-31-36_FB94B4AC.png
- Paramount: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/ent10_paramount/lazyscreenshots/2023_12_16_11-34-50_BA90250F.png

## Sources & citations

- [1] Lazyweb Research analysis of 40 onboarding flows (~800 tracked apps), July 2026. Count of flows where first-paywall ROW_NUMBER equals total step count.
- [2] Lazyweb Research qualitative review of onboarding flows (~800 tracked apps), July 2026. Per-company examples where the paywall is the final onboarding step.
- [3] Lazyweb Research analysis of 40 onboarding flows (~800 tracked apps), July 2026. Median absolute first-paywall step and mean flow length.

## Related questions

- [How Far Into Onboarding Do Apps Place the Paywall?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/how-far-into-onboarding-do-apps-place-the-paywall)
- [Should the Paywall Come Before or After Onboarding?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/should-the-paywall-come-before-or-after-onboarding)
- [What Percent of Onboarding Flows Include a Paywall Step?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/what-percent-of-onboarding-flows-include-a-paywall)
- [Do Apps Paywall Before or After Account Creation?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/do-apps-paywall-before-or-after-account-creation)
- [What Percent of Sign-Up Flows Include a Paywall?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/what-percent-of-signup-flows-include-a-paywall)
- [Do Market Leaders Paywall Earlier or Later Than the Rest?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/do-market-leaders-paywall-earlier-or-later)
- [How Many Steps Come Before the Paywall in Onboarding?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/how-many-steps-before-the-paywall-in-onboarding)
- [Are Onboarding Flows With a Paywall Longer Than Those Without?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/are-onboarding-flows-with-a-paywall-longer)

## 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)