# How Many Steps Come Before the Paywall in Onboarding?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Sample size: n=40
Tags: paywall, onboarding, monetization, ux-patterns, mobile
HTML: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/how-many-steps-before-the-paywall-in-onboarding
Markdown: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/how-many-steps-before-the-paywall-in-onboarding.md

**Answer.** Across 40 onboarding flows with a paywall tracked by Lazyweb Research, the first paywall arrives at a median of step 11 and a mean of step 14.3, in flows averaging 17.2 steps [1]. In other words, users typically complete around 10 onboarding steps before they hit the offer. The paywall is a late, not early, event.

> Users complete a median of 10 onboarding steps before the first paywall (median paywall at step 11 of ~17), Lazyweb Research, July 2026 (N=40).

## The finding

The first paywall appears at a mean absolute step of 14.3 and a median of step 11, in onboarding flows that average 17.2 steps [1]. So the typical user answers roughly ten screens of onboarding before seeing the paywall. On a relative basis that is 0.82 of the way through the flow [2].

## Step counts in real flows

| App | Total steps | First paywall step |
|---|---|---|
| Headspace | 17 | 11 |
| Strava | 22 | 18 |
| Babbel | 30 | 27 |
| MyFitnessPal | 25 | 23 |
| Elevate | 40 | 33 |
| Finch | 46 | 31 |

Longer flows push the paywall deep — Elevate at step 33 and Finch at step 31 [3].

## How to apply it

If your onboarding is short (under ~10 steps), a paywall near the end still means only a handful of screens of build-up; if it is long, the corpus shows apps are comfortable making users work through 20-30 steps first. Flows that include a paywall are also longer overall — 17.2 steps on average versus 12.4 for flows without one [4] — so a paywall tends to accompany a more elaborate onboarding, not a bare one.

## Caveats

N is 40 flows; absolute steps are counted with ROW_NUMBER, not raw step values [1]. Very long flows like Finch (46 steps) pull the mean up, which is why the median (step 11) is the more representative figure.

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| first paywall mean step 14.3, median step 11, avg 17.2-step flow | first_paywall_absolute_step |
| first paywall mean relative position 0.822 | first_paywall_relative_position |
| Headspace 11/17, Strava 18/22, Babbel 27/30, MyFitnessPal 23/25, Elevate 33/40, Finch 31/46 | qualitative |
| flows with paywall avg 17.2 steps vs 12.4 without | flow_length_with_vs_without_paywall |

## Methodology

Universe: 40 onboarding flows with a paywall across ~800 tracked apps, July 2026; steps counted via ROW_NUMBER. Caveat: N=40 and long flows skew the mean, so median is preferred.

## Sources & citations

- [1] Lazyweb Research analysis of 40 onboarding flows (~800 tracked apps), July 2026. Absolute first-paywall step via ROW_NUMBER; mean/median and mean flow length.
- [2] Lazyweb Research analysis of 40 onboarding flows (~800 tracked apps), July 2026. Mean relative first-paywall position.
- [3] Lazyweb Research qualitative review of onboarding flows (~800 tracked apps), July 2026. Per-company total steps and first-paywall step.
- [4] Lazyweb Research analysis of 129 onboarding flows (~800 tracked apps), July 2026. Average flow length for flows with vs without a paywall.

## Related questions

- [How Far Into Onboarding Do Apps Place the Paywall?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/how-far-into-onboarding-do-apps-place-the-paywall)
- [Are Onboarding Flows With a Paywall Longer Than Those Without?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/are-onboarding-flows-with-a-paywall-longer)
- [What Percent of Apps Put the Paywall on the Last Onboarding Step?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/what-percent-of-apps-put-the-paywall-on-the-last-onboarding-step)