11 Best Paywall Services for Publishers
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Paywalls have become an increasingly important component of digital publishers’ efforts to monetize content.
In 2015-2018, the use of paywalls has on average doubled every single year, until 2019 which saw their use quadruple. Ad revenue dipped in 2020 before surging back the next year, highlighting the unpredictable nature of the revenue model. As such, paywalls provide a valuable alternative stream of revenue for publishers.
For those who don’t have the time or resources for internal development, however, paywall services are a convenient way to add this feature with minimal effort.
Although paywall services are easy to implement, there is still plenty to consider before choosing one, such as whether the service has a decent paywall SEO strategy. Let’s take a closer look at exactly what publishers need to consider before picking a service.
There are various elements to paywall services that could affect how much they charge and how well it adapts to a particular site.
Not every paywall service makes its money in the same way. Some might ask for a monthly paid subscription, some might charge on a per-customer basis and others still might take a cut of subscriber revenue.
Publishers must consider the scale of their business before choosing a paywall — depending on how many subscribers a publisher has, a revenue share deal may be more costly than a flat fee.
One major point to consider is whether the paywall management solution is able to integrate seamlessly into other publishing software. Issues could arise if a publisher’s content management system (CMS) isn’t supported.
Paywall services differ in the types of paywalls they offer. There are a few different types of paywalls, ranging from soft paywalls and hard paywalls to metered paywalls.
Another point to consider is how malleable a paywall is to a publisher’s needs. For example, can a publisher customize a paywall to appear after a certain number of visits to a site? Different monetization strategies work better for different types of users.
The best paywall services gather first-party geographical and behavioral data to use in a subscription campaign. If the paywall service also includes A/B testing, then publishers will be able to test and adjust their strategies in real time.
Given all the above considerations, check out our list of the 11 best paywall services for publishers in 2024.
Please note that because these are not deep-dive reviews, we’ve listed the following platforms alphabetically rather than in order of preference.
The MPP Global paywall service and subscriber management platform, which was acquired by Aptitude Software in 2021, is used by companies such as hayu, The Daily Mail and The Irish Times.
Aptitude offers a range of different paywalls that publishers can implement, including a hard, soft or metered paywall. It has been designed to be simple to use with non-technical users in mind.
The paywalls also use first-party geographical and behavioral data to help enhance subscriber conversion. The software also includes anti-fraud features to help prevent payments with stolen credit cards.
Currently, there is no publicly available information about Aptitude’s pricing, so publishers will need to contact the company to find out more.
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The Fewcents paywall software is a flexible service that can be useful for large-scale corporations and for individual content creators alike. It is used by publications such as The Post and Courier, The Wire and the Australian version of RollingStone.
The paywall, which is designed for publishers to easily implement, analyzes first-party data to build relevant monetization strategies based on geographical and user behavior data. The paywall can be implemented on any text, audio, video or file download found on a publisher’s site.
Fewcents also includes two additional features useful to monetization. The first is a voluntary contribution model via its TipJar feature, which is also useful for identifying valuable content. The second is its Linkout feature, which creates an assets landing page that can be shared across social media — useful for collecting first-party data from followers.
Because Fewcents can scale across a variety of levels, the price scales according to a publisher’s needs. For relevant pricing information, publishers can contact the company through its website.
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Flip-Pay is a Dublin-based paywall service with a focus on subscriber conversion and dynamic customer onboarding journeys. The software is used by publications such as The Clare Echo, Sport for Business and Mediahuis.
Flip-Pay specializes in personalizing its paywall strategies on a range of behavioral and geographical user data. It includes paywall options such as soft paywalls, hard paywalls, metered paywalls and more dynamic types.
The software also offers more features to enhance subscriber conversion, such as the ability to bundle products, offer specials on products and run free period trials. It also has a voluntary contribution feature for monetization strategies similar to the website Patreon.
Flip-Pay doesn’t advertise its pricing structure, meaning interested publishers will need to content the company directly.
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Leaky Paywall is a subscription platform designed for WordPress and is used by publishers such as iPolitics, Landline and Modern Drummer.
The subscription platform operates with dynamic monetization strategies that are entirely customizable by the publisher, including a pay-per-article feature. The software can also target users to upsell paid subscriptions using first-party data. Publishers can restrict access to content globally or individually.
Leaky Paywall includes a metered paywall, a hardening paywall and a hybrid, customizable paywall. As it is WordPress native, it includes unique features adapted for the CMS such as stylings. The software can restrict access across tags, categories, PDFs, videos, newsletters and other content.
The pro version of Leaky Paywall costs $299 per month with no additional fees. There is also an enterprise version with advanced features with a variable pricing scheme. Currently, there is no free trial.
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MediaPass is a very simple paywall service and with no initial start-up costs, it is a strong option for smaller publishers. It is used by publishers such as CBS, GateHouse Media and Ogden Newspaper Inc.
When a publisher signs up for MediaPass, they receive a single piece of code as well as instructions on how to implement it into their site. After its initial set-up publishers will have access to the MediaPass dashboard to implement paywalls where they see fit.
MediaPass is a lot less dynamic than other paywall services on this list, however, there are still a few unique things that publishers can do with it such as a paywall triggering after a certain amount of views. Its paywalls are optimized for ios and android apps and come with variable subscriber payment plan options.
While MediaPass is technically free to use and install, on average the software takes 35% of subscription revenue as payment.
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Pelcro is a paywall service and subscription management software that is useful for both smaller-scale publishers and large enterprises. It is used by publications such as Maclean’s, Frieze and Voice Media Group.
The software comes with essential features for increasing subscriber conversions such as using geographical and behavioral data to target users and A/B testing. The paywall can also be applied at a wide scale to sell access to enterprise clients.
Another useful feature of Pelcro is its machine-learning algorithm, which can proactively target relevant users with special offers and product recommendations. The software includes a ticketing customer support feature.
There are three different pricing options for Pelcro: a free version that can service up to 100 subscribers, $450 per month for 2,000 subscribers and $800 per month for 5,000 subscribers. There is also an enterprise option that comes with advanced features and can service up to 50,000 subscribers — the price of which can be negotiated.
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Piano’s user experience manager, Composer, is a much broader approach to paywall monetization strategies. While paywalls are included in the software, its scope is very wide and it can be a useful option for publishers looking to do multiple things at once. Piano is used by publishers such as TechCrunch, the BBC and abcNews.
Composer is a software that can design, target and test experiences with users. It has a few paywall-specific features, such as offering free and paid trials for premium content. The software also includes strategies for users with ad-block.
Composer is as much a data analysis tool as it is a paywall service and includes features such as loyalty and engagement detection to determine which users are more likely to subscribe and content affinity to share relevant content with users. The software also includes data analysis staples such as audience segmentation and A/B testing.
Composer can be purchased with a suite of other Piano tools, or it can be purchased separately. The company prefers to give a demonstration of Piano to potential clients rather than presenting them with an up-front price.
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Poool is a Paris-based paywall and subscription software provider that focuses on subscriber conversion. It is used by publishers and media outlets such as Prisma Media, Elle and Moneyweb.
Poool manages all aspects of the subscriber conversion journey, offering three native types of walls: the paywall, registration wall and cookie wall. The former two serve to increase conversions while the latter maintains compliance to the GDPA and CCPA.
The software also includes analytical features such as A/B testing and account management. The paywalls gather first-party data for use in subscription campaigns or other marketing campaigns. The service is highly adaptable in implementation and publishers maintain autonomy throughout.
Because Poool is a variable software, pricing isn’t explicit. Instead, interested publishers should reach out to the company via its site. Currently, there is no free trial on offer.
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Subscription Genius is a straightforward paywall service and subscription management software that focuses on providing an easy-to-use service rather than a massively in-depth one. Publications such as Omaha, VICE and ALM use the software.
To add a paywall using Subscription Genius, publishers use the software’s control panel to select which articles or content on a site should be monetized. The control panel can also batch-apply these paywalls to make the process easier for sites with a vast amount of content. Subscription Genius also includes eCommerce systems and a WordPress plugin.
Subscription Genius’ Standard version costs $149 per month for 5,000 subscribers, with every 1,000 subscribers after that costing $10 per month. The Plus version costs $349 and includes 15,000, with every 1,000 subscribers above that costing an additional $15 per month. Subscription Genius’ Premium version costs $499 per month and includes 20,000, with every 1,000 subscribers after that costing an additional $20 per month.
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Wallkit is paywall software that is particularly useful for large-scale corporations and is used by the likes of Digiday, Brooklyn Magazine and VentureBeat.
The software includes an array of useful features for monetization, such as the ability to monetize any piece of digital content, including videos, newsletters and links. Wallkit also centralizes all subscriber behavioral data within its software making it highly accessible.
The software’s adaptability also includes subscriber payment options, with the option for subscribers to pay by the minute, the day or by click. Wallkit claims its API-driven software supports the integration of any other software.
Wallkit includes a few different pricing structures, however, each of the tiers includes a 2.9% transaction fee and a $10 fee for every 2,000 sign-ups above the subscriber cap. There is a free 500-subscriber tier, a 50,000-subscriber tier costing $199 per month, and a 100,000-subscriber tier with added enterprise benefits which costs $799 per month.
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Zephr is a London-based paywall software that was acquired by Zuora — a subscription management system — in 2022. Publishers such as Newscorp, The New York Post and Tribune Publishing all use the software.
Zephyr includes four variable paywall integrations tailored to different user behavior. The soft paywall encourages new users to build a stronger connection by offering limited browsing through freemium content. Similarly, the metered paywall reduces user bounce by offering a set amount of free content to read before monetization. For regular, returning users, the hard paywall restricts content access entirely. Finally, the dynamic paywall adjusts monetization strategies using user data.
The software also has a few analysis tools, such as A/B testing and audience segmentation to test monetization strategies amongst different types of users. The software also integrates with other software.
Although Zephr can be purchased separately, it can come bundled with other Zuora products as well. There is currently no pricing information available for Zephyr, as the company prefers potential clients to contact them instead.
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Paywalls are an increasingly important part of monetization strategies in digital publishing, with a subscription business providing a consistent and stable income.
However, one important thing to consider before implementing a paywall strategy is the effect that restricting content may have on the effectiveness of a publisher’s ad inventory. For example, websites that install a paywall can see a reduction of up to 30% in daily traffic and up to 10-55% overall loss in page views.
While some publications — such as the New York Times — have experienced success with their paywall strategies, others — such as the Sun and Toronto Star — removed their paywalls because of a loss of readership.
As 2022 came to a close, the digital publishing landscape was something a mixed bag. On one hand, the number of people subscribing to more than one publication in richer countries was on the rise. On the other hand, increasing living costs saw more people canceling their subscriptions. In addition, more people than ever were actively avoiding news.
Publishers need to weigh up carefully when and how to implement paywalls, and even decide whether such a solution aligns with their content strategies. Once the decision to diversify revenue streams has been made, however, then selecting the right solutions provider is the next hurdle.
The above list should have provided interested publishers with the information they need to make the right decision for their business.
A paywall solution is a monetization strategy where a publisher restricts access to certain premium content on their site, requiring either a subscription or some other monetary transaction before granting access. Some developers have designed software to help automate the process of integrating paywalls onto publisher websites.
A paywalled site restricts the access of premium content to users behind a subscription or other monetary transaction. A site that displays a voluntary contribution wall before viewing content is also considered paywalled.
Paywalling content is a good way for publishers to monetize their content. However, publishers should consider the effects of different paywall monetization strategies — restricting access to the majority of content on a publisher’s site may impact the effectiveness of their ad inventory.
