Welcome! This short survey asks about your most recent paywall experience. It takes about 5–7 minutes. Please answer based on your own experience.
Please think about the most recent paywall you encountered (ideally within the last 30 days). Answer based on that single experience.
Where did you encounter that paywall?
- News website
- Magazine or blog
- Video streaming platform
- Music or podcast service
- Productivity or SaaS app
- Academic or research site
- Community or forum
- Shopping or e-commerce
Which best describes the paywall?
- Soft paywall (some content visible before blocked)
- Hard paywall (blocked before viewing content)
- Metered (X free items per month)
- Registration wall (account/email required, free access)
- Feature gate (premium features behind paywall)
- Time wall (trial expired)
When did the paywall appear during your visit?
- Immediately on page open
- After viewing a set number of items
- Mid-article or after some time
- When clicking premium-tagged content
- When trying to download/share/save
- After returning on a later visit
- At checkout or the final step
How clear was the paywall message overall?
How did the tone of the paywall feel?
Please rate the clarity of each element shown on the paywall.
The paywall appeared at a natural break in my task.
Attention check: To confirm you’re paying attention, please select “I understand.”
- I understand
- I am not paying attention
Was the price visible on the paywall screen?
What monthly price would you expect to pay for this content/service? (enter a number only, no currency symbols)
Overall, how fair did the gating feel?
If you were to pay, the value for money would be…
How likely are you to subscribe after seeing this paywall?
What held you back from subscribing or continuing?
- Price seemed too high
- Benefits were unclear
- Confusing plan tiers
- Payment or trust concerns
- I only wanted a single article/item
- Prefer free alternatives
- Paywall appeared too early
- Interrupted my task flow
- I would rather register than pay
- Not applicable—I subscribed or continued
Rank these gating approaches from most to least acceptable.
Which would make you more willing to subscribe?
- Lower introductory price
- Bundle with other services
- Student or low-income discount
- Easy pause/cancel controls
- Clear refund policy
- Ability to gift/share access
- Ad-free experience
Did you try any workarounds to access the content?
- No
- Looked for a free copy elsewhere
- Used incognito or another device
- Used reader mode/disabled scripts
- Started a free trial instead
What was most unclear or missing from the paywall, if anything?
Max 600 chars
Gender
- Woman
- Man
- Non-binary
- Prefer not to say
Highest level of education completed
Current employment status
- Employed full-time
- Employed part-time
- Self-employed
- Student
- Homemaker/caregiver
- Unemployed, looking for work
- Unemployed, not looking for work
- Retired
- Prefer not to say
Anything else you’d like to add about paywalls or your recent experience?
Max 600 chars
AI Interview: 2 Follow-up Questions on your paywall experience
Thank you for your time—your feedback will help improve how paywalls communicate and when they appear.