“Freemium is not the only option for an app and it really might not work for everyone you look at a few companies that have done it really well and you think that that applies for all apps and I really don't think it does.”

Freemium Is Not the Only Model — A Hard Paywall With Discovery Onboarding Can Outperform It

The subscription app default is freemium, but Babbel has run a hard paywall for years and grown successfully. The key insight: freemium drops users into a degraded product experience and hopes they self-discover value. Babbel's alternative is a pre-purchase discovery quiz that sells users before they ever touch the product. Stephen's test for freemium validity: are free users generating business value through ads, referrals, or network effects? If not, a hard paywall may convert better and attract higher-quality customers.