# How Common Are In-Flow Paywalls Across All App Flows, Not Just Onboarding?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Sample size: n=2467
Tags: paywall, monetization, ux-patterns, saas, mobile
HTML: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/how-common-are-in-flow-paywalls-across-all-flows
Markdown: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/how-common-are-in-flow-paywalls-across-all-flows.md

**Answer.** Across all 2,467 canonical flows tracked by Lazyweb Research, 318 (13%) contain a paywall step, and those paywalls sit at an average relative position of 0.85 [1]. The late-flow pattern holds corpus-wide, not just in onboarding. Separately, 193 flows are dedicated standalone paywall flows [2].

> 318 of 2,467 canonical flows (13%) contain a paywall, at avg relative position 0.85, Lazyweb Research, July 2026.

## The finding

Looking beyond onboarding, 318 of 2,467 canonical flows with steps contain a paywall (13%), spanning 385 paywall steps of 10,811 total flow steps [1]. The average relative position of those paywall steps is 0.849 — essentially the same late-flow placement observed inside onboarding (0.851) [1]. The convention of placing paywalls near the end is not unique to onboarding.

## Corpus-wide vs onboarding

| Scope | Flows | With paywall | Rate | Avg paywall position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All canonical flows | 2,467 | 318 | 13% | 0.849 |
| Onboarding flows | 129 | 40 | 31% | 0.851 |

Onboarding flows paywall at more than double the corpus rate, but both place the paywall at the same late position [1][3].

## Dedicated paywall flows

Separately from in-flow paywalls, 193 flows across 163 companies are dedicated paywall flows — flow names containing 'paywall' such as 'Paywall', 'Paywall 2', or 'Welcome back paywall' [2]. Many apps ship the paywall both inside a flow and as its own standalone surface, so an app without an in-onboarding paywall may still monetize elsewhere.

## Caveats

Rates are floors because the paywall flag is sparse (NULL on 21,824 of 23,407 screens) [4]. Positions are computed with ROW_NUMBER, never raw step numbers [1].

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| 318 of 2,467 flows (13%); 385 paywall steps of 10,811; avg position 0.849 | all_flows_context |
| 193 dedicated paywall flows across 163 companies | dedicated_paywall_flows |
| 31% (40 of 129) onboarding; avg paywall position 0.851 | onboarding_flows_with_paywall / avg_relative_position_paywall_steps_onboarding |
| is_paywall NULL on 21,824 of 23,407 screens | universe |

## Methodology

Universe: 2,467 canonical flows with steps (10,811 steps) across ~800 tracked apps, July 2026; positions via ROW_NUMBER. Caveat: sparse paywall flag makes rates floors.

## Sources & citations

- [1] Lazyweb Research analysis of 2,467 canonical flows (~800 tracked apps), July 2026. All flows with steps; paywall detections and avg relative position via ROW_NUMBER.
- [2] Lazyweb Research analysis of 193 dedicated paywall flows (~800 tracked apps), July 2026. Flow names containing 'paywall' across 163 companies.
- [3] Lazyweb Research analysis of 129 onboarding flows (~800 tracked apps), July 2026. Onboarding rate and paywall-step position for comparison.
- [4] Lazyweb Research analysis of 23,407 canonical screens (~800 tracked apps), July 2026. Sparse is_paywall flag; all rates are floors.

## Related questions

- [What Percent of Onboarding Flows Include a Paywall Step?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/what-percent-of-onboarding-flows-include-a-paywall)
- [How Many Apps Ship the Paywall as Its Own Standalone Flow?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/how-many-apps-ship-a-standalone-paywall-flow)
- [How Far Into Onboarding Do Apps Place the Paywall?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/how-far-into-onboarding-do-apps-place-the-paywall)