How Spotify converts their freemium users into subscribers with A/B tests

Convincing new users to sign up for a subscription to your app when they haven’t used it or understood its value proposition yet is a tricky situation.

In this instance, Spotify lets their freemium users use the app to get a feel for it, but with limitations with ads in between songs and only allow the user to shuffle their playlists and not actually play the song they want to hear. It’s only when they upgrade, they can download songs to listen to offline and not have to deal with any ads.

For their free experience, the add calls-to-action throughout the app to encourage subscribing for a premium account via their ads and reminding the benefits of subscribing.

Why we think this is a good A/B test:

By presenting CTAs with reminders of the benefits of a premium account throughout their free app experience that don’t hinder the usage of the app, they give their freemium users a clear direction to get rid of their limitations and upgrade.