# Which App Category Has The Hardest Paywalls?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Sample size: n=1473
Tags: paywall, monetization, mobile, ux-patterns, saas
HTML: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/which-app-category-has-the-hardest-paywalls
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**Answer.** Among the four verticals with enough sample in the Lazyweb Research corpus, Photo & Video runs the hardest paywalls — only 18.8% of 218 screens show a visible exit — while Education runs the softest at 43.5% of 635 [1]. Health & Fitness (27.4%) and Music (24.9%) sit near the 26.2% corpus average [1][2]. The soft-to-hard spread across verticals is roughly 2.3x [1].

> Education paywalls are 2.3x more likely to show a visible exit than Photo & Video (43.5% vs 18.8%) — Lazyweb Research, July 2026.

## Ranking the four verticals

| Vertical | Soft % | Soft/total | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 43.5% | 276/635 | 26 |
| Health & Fitness | 27.4% | 119/435 | 38 |
| Music | 24.9% | 46/185 | 15 |
| Photo & Video | 18.8% | 41/218 | 16 |

Education is the softest, Photo & Video the hardest; the middle two bracket the 26.2% corpus average [1][2]. Only these four verticals clear the sample floor for percentage cuts [1].

## How to apply it

Benchmark against your own vertical, not the corpus average — the spread is wide (18.8% to 43.5%) [1]. Education's softness fits activation-first onboarding; Photo & Video's hardness fits instant-value tools that gate the export. If you are cross-category, the 26.2% average is your fallback baseline [2].

## Caveats

Company samples are modest (15–38 per vertical), so treat Music and Photo & Video as directional [1]. Verticals outside these four (Business, Medical, Games, Shopping) have fewer than 8 paywall companies each and are excluded from percentage claims [1]. All figures are lower bounds and what-shipped prevalence, never conversion lift [1].

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| Education 43.5% (276/635), H&F 27.4% (119/435), Music 24.9% (46/185), P&V 18.8% (41/218) | exit_share_education, exit_share_health_fitness, exit_share_music, exit_share_photo_video |
| corpus average 26.2% | screens_with_any_visible_exit: 710/2,708 |

## Methodology

Vertical comparison uses the exit taxonomy restricted to the four categories that clear the 8-company floor. Company samples are modest; figures are lower bounds, what-shipped prevalence. July 2026.

## Sources & citations

- [1] Lazyweb Research analysis of 1,473 paywall screens across four verticals (mobile app corpus), July 2026. Only Education (635), Health & Fitness (435), Photo & Video (218), and Music (185) clear the sample floor for percentage cuts; other categories have <8 companies.
- [2] Lazyweb Research analysis of 2,708 paywall screens (mobile app corpus), July 2026. All-corpus visible-exit rate for comparison.

## Related questions

- [Hard Vs Soft Paywall: Which Do Education Apps Use?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/hard-vs-soft-paywall-which-do-education-apps-use)
- [Hard Vs Soft Paywall: Which Do Photo & Video Apps Use?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/hard-vs-soft-paywall-which-do-photo-and-video-apps-use)
- [Hard Vs Soft Paywall: Which Do Health & Fitness Apps Use?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/hard-vs-soft-paywall-which-do-health-and-fitness-apps-use)