# Which app categories are most and least likely to have a paywall screen?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Sample size: n=809
Tags: paywall, monetization, pricing, mobile, saas
HTML: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/what-percent-of-mobile-apps-have-a-paywall-screen-by-vertical
Markdown: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/what-percent-of-mobile-apps-have-a-paywall-screen-by-vertical.md

**Answer.** Health & Fitness and Education lead at 68% of apps with a captured paywall (38 of 56 and 25 of 37), while Shopping trails at 9% (4 of 44) [1]. The gap between the most and least paywalled verticals is roughly 8x, so 'do apps like mine have a paywall?' has a category-specific answer, not a single global one. Magazines & Newspapers is highest at 76% (19 of 25) [1].

> Paywall prevalence ranges from 76% (Magazines) to 9% (Shopping) across ~800 tracked apps — Lazyweb Research, July 2026.

## The ranking

Per-vertical paywall prevalence (apps with a captured paywall / apps in vertical, n>=20 only) [1]:

| Vertical | Apps | Denom | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magazines & Newspapers | 19 | 25 | 76% |
| Health & Fitness | 38 | 56 | 68% |
| Education | 25 | 37 | 68% |
| Music | 18 | 28 | 64% |
| Photo & Video | 16 | 29 | 55% |
| Entertainment | 14 | 30 | 47% |
| Sports | 10 | 22 | 46% |
| News | 20 | 46 | 44% |
| Food & Drink | 11 | 27 | 41% |
| Navigation | 10 | 25 | 40% |
| Productivity | 23 | 64 | 36% |
| Travel | 9 | 41 | 22% |
| Finance | 8 | 47 | 17% |
| Lifestyle | 4 | 35 | 11% |
| Shopping | 4 | 44 | 9% |

## How to apply it

Use the row for your vertical as your baseline. A wellness or education app without a paywall is the exception (~1 in 3 lack one); a shopping app with a subscription paywall is the exception (~1 in 11 have one). If you are considering adding a paywall in a low-prevalence vertical, treat it as a genuine bet against category convention and instrument it heavily.

## Caveats

Only verticals with n>=20 apps are shown; smaller verticals were dropped for reliability [1]. Prevalence is a lower bound — captured screens only. The paywall tag matches paywall / subscription-offer / upgrade-to-premium phrasing, deduped by company.

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| Range 76% (Magazines 19/25) to 9% (Shopping 4/44); Health & Fitness 68% (38/56) | paywall_by_category |

## Methodology

Universe: 809 apps with >=1 captured screen. Method: per-vertical COUNT(DISTINCT company_name) matching paywall tags over apps-in-vertical, verticals with n>=20. July 2026. Caveat: captured screens only.

## Sources & citations

- [1] Lazyweb Research analysis of 809 mobile apps (809 mobile apps with >=1 captured screen; 751 with tag data; median 41 screens/app), July 2026. Prevalence = COUNT(DISTINCT company_name) over LLM synonym tags; denominator is 809 tracked apps (reported conservatively over all apps-with-screens, not the 62,376-row companies table). Lower bound: only reflects screens Lazyweb captured (median 41/app).

## Related questions

- [What percent of mobile apps have a paywall or subscription-offer screen?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/what-percent-of-mobile-apps-have-a-paywall-screen)
- [How common are paywalls in Health & Fitness apps?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/how-common-are-paywalls-in-health-and-fitness-apps)