Kismia is a subscription-based dating app where paywalls drive a significant share of revenue. Through competitor research and behavioral UX analysis, I identified opportunities to reduce decision friction and improve subscription value presentation.
I redesigned the app’s primary paywalls and validated the solution through A/B testing, resulting in a 9.6% increase in ARPU and a 4.5% increase in buyers.
Role: Product Designer
Team: PM, Analyst, Engineer
Duration: 6 weeks
Type: A/B test (89k users)
The paywalls represented one of the most frequently viewed monetization surfaces in the product. However, several UX patterns created friction:
Premium benefits were hidden inside a horizontal carousel;
Users had to compare three pricing options;
Value communication required interaction;
The purchase CTA disappeared while scrolling.
Design looked outdated
Increase monetization performance by improving subscription value communication and reducing purchase friction.
What I did
Analyzed paywalls from direct competitors and leading subscription products.
Mapped common approaches to pricing presentation, feature communication, and conversion flows.
Synthesized research findings into actionable design hypotheses for Kismia’s paywalls.
Key findings
Feature visibility drives perceived value
High-performing paywalls displayed all premium benefits without requiring interaction, making the subscription offering easier to understand.
Simpler pricing reduces decision friction
Most successful products limited the number of visible plans, helping users compare options more quickly and confidently.
Persistent CTAs support conversion
Keeping the purchase action accessible throughout the experience reduced friction during plan evaluation.
Vertical Information Hierarchy
Feature lists presented vertically were easier to scan and compare than horizontally scrollable content.
Based on the research findings, I created two paywall concepts that explored different approaches to presenting subscription value
and plan selection. Both variants outperformed the existing paywall during testing. One variation consistently generated stronger monetization metrics and was selected for rollout.
Results
+9.6%
ARPU
+4.8%
ARPPU
+17%
en-US ARPU
+14%
es-US ARPU
Key Learnings
The largest impact came not from adding more information, but from making value easier to understand. Users don’t necessarily need more features or promotions. They need a clearer path to evaluating value and making a decision.
The strongest monetization gains came from improving how users perceived and compared value, not from changing the offer itself.