Two pricing strategies for mobile apps | Starter Story

The developer behind the hit word game Wordle and the utility app PuffCount explains that the best monetization strategy for a mobile app depends entirely on how long users are expected to stay on it. For games like Wordle, where people play repeatedly for extended sessions, ads work well. But for tool-focused apps like PuffCount, where users pop in for a quick task and leave, ads fail. The solution that transformed his business was a hard paywall—an unskippable screen that forces users to commit to a free trial before they can access any features. When he implemented this, his conversion rate jumped from near zero to 20-25% overnight.

The Core Distinction: Session Length Determines Strategy

The fundamental insight is that not all apps are created equal when it comes to monetization. The developer distinguishes between two categories: "sticky" apps where users spend a lot of time, and "tool" apps where they don't. In his first games, including Grid and Wordle, users were on the app constantly, playing for long periods. This made ad-based monetization natural and effective—people were already engaged, so showing them ads didn't feel intrusive and generated reliable revenue.