Introduction

In this article, we look through the different types of paywalls and compare current paywall companies in the market today. We aim to give an unbiased overview of the different features and pay structures offered. Every website, app, or online service that has premium content needs a way to protect information and collect payments for accessing its resources. A Paywall is a system for monetizing digital content and controlling access to content by putting limitations in place that prevent users from viewing web page content without a paid subscription.

Paywalls are an essential service for online products and businesses that need to keep their content secure and monetizable. There are many different ways to market and use Paywalls, so finding the right paywall for a quick return on investment and increase in total revenue is essential to any online business. This is a comparison of some of the larger proprietary paywall software products on the market today.

Types of Paywalls 

Metered: It is also referred to as a soft paywall allows visitors to sample several articles each month before the paywall kicks in and they must pay to keep reading.

Dynamic Paywall: This is similar to a metered paywall but with basic differences. In this subscription variations are offered, asking readers to create an account to access a limited number of free content before a paid account. However, it can differ by country as well. 

Hard Paywall/Digital firewall: readers cannot penetrate it without paying for a subscription. Users cannot penetrate it without paying for a subscription. Usually best for established names.

Membership: The model is a good choice if you don't want a paywall but still need revenue. The membership model asks for a payment that is not required and usually gets more intense with the more content accessed.

Paywall Comparison

1. Superwall

Superwall is a large and robust paywall, that many big-name apps use to keep their content secure. They have 1 billion users and 30 million paywalls per month with over $700k per month conversions on paywalls across their portfolio. They offer a less than 10-minute integration into online platforms and offer full customization of the Paywall popup design, or a general format when the paywall is initiated. Admins can add logic from their dashboard to trigger different paywalls based on users, regions, and content being accessed.

Superwall only charges based on actual conversions costing ~1% of most companies' total online revenue. The service is free under 250 conversions/month, making Superwall the most cost-effective for companies that have larger sales with fewer conversions. Superwall itself is invested in by Revenue Cat, Shrug, Adjacent, Weekend Fund, and Combinator. Lastly, A/B testing, or customer analytics testing, is integrated directly into the platform. 

2. Revenue Cat

Revenue Cat is a great resource for hand-off integration and operation of paywalls. This company works closely with Superwall to implement the software and track analytics to adjust for the highest conversion rate. They offer different pricing solutions based on the size of the company and the revenue being brought in. It can also be a free support tool for companies with under $2.5k in revenue from their websites.

3. Adapty.io

Adopt.io is an NYC-based company with a remote global team. They started in 2016 and their first customers were in January 2020, however, they have gained significant standing within the paywall industry and offer a similarly customizable platform to Superwall. They quickly gained large investors being backed by Surface Ventures, irreverent, 500 Global, Flyer One Ventures, and AdFirst. A/B testing is also offered directly through their services and admin dashboard with no developer involved. 

It is not code-heavy for admin changes and support. You can design and deploy paywalls without any code, and customize and configure paywalls by regions, user segments, and attributes. A/B testing is continuously updated to give admins real-time data on website performance. The software also tracks user-level and subscription purchases in real time. 

Unlike Super Wall, their pricing is based on the amount of total revenue instead of conversions. It is a free service for companies under $10k in revenue. They have a scale for pricing offering more support with 1.2% of revenue as payment for their pro plus and only 1% of total revenue for their standard price plan when a company reaches over $10k.

4. MediaPass 

Media Pass is a company used mainly by newspaper subscription-based websites. It offers simple implementation and allows content creators to add a paywall with just one line of code. Part of the tool also includes adblockers to make sure user experience is enhanced when accessing premium content. You can choose between the types of paywalls based on content, as listed above to design exactly how the paywall is activated. This service also charges based on the total revenue of the company.  Uses a WordPress Plugin. Users can add custom Javascript to content. 

5. Later Pay

This service is only a dynamic paywall and has users pay the site once their tab reaches $5. It is mainly used for small subscription-based companies that have content rather than actual services and products. You can ask for money after the user has started interacting with the content. This company does take a significantly larger portion of revenue than others previously mentioned with 15% of all generated revenue used as payment. The company uses javascript and can have API integration, a WordPress plugin, or a Java Script Addition.

Conclusion

There are many different ways to monetize your website and content. Most solutions offer very customizable user data. A/B testing can come equipped with many of these software that can provide significantly more insight into marketing for each company. Ultimately it is best to look at your company's expected revenue and evaluate how hands-on you want to be in paywall customization to determine the best solution.