Every news app has to answer the same question: how do we generate revenue without giving readers a reason to leave?
Ads and subscriptions are the two most obvious answers. They can also be the two fastest ways to frustrate an audience when they are handled poorly. Too many ads make an app feel cluttered and disposable. An overly aggressive paywall can stop a reader before they have had a chance to see the value of the journalism.
The strongest news-app businesses are not choosing ads or subscriptions. They are building a model where both can work together.
Subscriptions matter, but advertising still matters too
It is tempting to view monetization as an either-or decision. The industry data suggests otherwise.
Digital Content Next’s 2025 State of Subscriptions research found that subscription revenue has grown from 22% of publisher revenue five years ago to 33% today. That is meaningful progress. Advertising still accounts for 38% of publisher revenue, however, and subscription growth has slowed - from 17.5% year over year in late 2023 to 7.3% in the most recent reporting.
Subscriptions have become a more important part of the business. They have not replaced advertising.
There is another important reality: subscription growth is not evenly distributed. Only 30% of publishers reported subscription-revenue growth in the most recent period, down from 58% two years earlier. The publishers succeeding with subscriptions are increasingly the ones with differentiated content, a clear audience proposition, and strong first-party data.
A paywall alone is not a strategy. Readers need a reason to pay.
The kind of paywall you use changes the outcome
Not every paywall is designed to do the same job.
RevenueCat data across subscription apps found that freemium models - where most content remains free and premium features sit behind a paywall - convert about 2.1% of downloads into paying subscribers within 35 days. Hard paywalls, which require payment up front, convert at roughly 10.7%.
That does not automatically make a hard paywall the better choice. It means it serves a different audience.
A hard paywall works best when readers already understand the value of what you offer. It attracts a smaller but higher-intent audience, often one more likely to choose an annual plan, stay longer, and generate greater lifetime value.
A freemium or metered approach has a different strength: it gives readers time to build trust before asking for payment. For publishers focused on growing overall audience reach, that can be the more practical path.
The right question is not, “Which paywall converts better?” It is, “What job does our app need to do right now?”
Known readers are more valuable than anonymous visitors
Subscription revenue does not begin at the moment someone pays.
The Independent found that its subscribers were 62 times more engaged than anonymous users. Across the industry, known and logged-in users generate 169% more revenue than unknown users, in large part because first-party data improves both retention and ad targeting.
That makes registration an important part of monetization, even for readers who are not ready to subscribe.
A free, logged-in reader is still a more valuable relationship than an anonymous one. You can learn what they care about, deliver a more relevant experience, build a newsletter or alert relationship, and make a more informed subscription offer later.
For many news publishers, encouraging registration may be the most important step between casual readership and paid support.
Ads can support the business - or damage it
The ad experience is often where a monetization strategy goes off track.
When publishers try to make up for slower subscription growth by packing more ads into the experience, they can undermine the engagement that makes both ad revenue and subscription conversion possible. Readers spend less time in the app, return less often, and become less likely to pay for a product that feels frustrating to use.
That is especially risky in an app. An intrusive experience is easier to notice, and uninstalling an app is much easier than deciding never to visit a website again.
The publishers finding a healthier balance tend to focus on premium programmatic advertising: fewer, higher-quality, brand-safe placements rather than maximum ad density. The goal is not to eliminate ads. It is to make them part of an experience that readers are still willing to return to.
What this means for online news publishers
Start by deciding what role the app should play in your larger audience strategy.
If your app is primarily designed to deepen the relationship with your most loyal readers, a firmer paywall or membership approach may make sense. If it is still a major tool for audience growth, a metered or ad-supported model with a lighter registration ask may be a better fit.
Treat registration as a meaningful business step, not an afterthought. A known reader is more valuable, more targetable, and more likely to convert later than an anonymous visitor.
Set a deliberate ceiling for ad load. More ads may create a short-term revenue bump, but an experience that drives readers away weakens both sides of the business over time.
And do not expect subscriptions alone to fund the app. Even at their current high point, subscriptions still trail advertising as a share of publisher revenue. A sustainable plan should consider both, along with the experience that makes either model work.
Most importantly, invest in the journalism readers cannot get elsewhere. Exclusive local reporting, deeply useful niche coverage, investigative work, trusted analysis, and coverage that serves a specific community are what create the willingness to subscribe in the first place.
There is no monetization model without trade-offs. The worst outcome comes from treating advertising and subscriptions as competing priorities instead of parts of the same reader relationship.
Protect the experience. Be clear about the value. Give readers the right path at the right time. That is how a news app can support both a healthy ad business and a loyal paying audience.