Mobile App Subscription Monetization Expert

Consumer App Subscription Monetization Expert — Pricing, Paywall & Unit Economics We're preparing to launch Rootd, a consumer mobile/web app for family meal planning, and want an experienced consumer subscription monetization expert to refine our business model before we begin acquiring users. The product is already built. This is not a product strategy or development engagement. We need someone who has personally worked on a successful consumer subscription app and can help us answer four specific questions: 1. What should we charge? 2. What should be free vs. paid? 3. When and how should we present the paywall? 4. Do the unit economics support paid acquisition? Important Context Rootd uses AI to generate personalized meal plans, so active users have a real variable cost. This means pricing can't simply be based on competitor benchmarks. We need to understand the relationship between: Price → Conversion → Retention → AI/API cost → LTV → allowable CAC We're looking for someone comfortable working across both consumer subscription conversion and unit economics. Scope Pricing & Packaging Review the existing product and recommend: - Free vs. paid experience - Monthly and annual pricing - What should be gated - Trial vs. no trial - Appropriate usage/generation limits Paywall Review our existing onboarding/product flow and recommend: - Where the paywall should appear - What value users should experience first - How monthly vs. annual plans should be presented - Trial and conversion mechanics - Key upgrade opportunities We're looking for the strategy/specification, not visual paywall design. Unit Economics Build a simple working model incorporating: - Subscription revenue - AI/API cost per active user - Platform/payment fees - Conversion - Retention/churn - LTV - Contribution margin - CAC/payback We want to be able to change assumptions and understand what happens to the business. Deliverables Keep this practical. We want: 1. Pricing & packaging recommendation Free/paid structure, pricing, trial, gating, and usage limits. 2. Paywall recommendation Placement, timing, plan presentation, and conversion strategy. 3. Working unit economics model A spreadsheet we can continue using as real production data comes in. 4. Prioritized launch recommendations What we need to change before production/user acquisition vs. what should wait until we have real data. We are not looking for a 50-page strategy deck. Who We're Looking For You should have personally worked on subscription monetization for a consumer mobile app. We're particularly interested in experience with: - Consumer subscriptions - Mobile paywalls - Pricing & packaging - Trial → paid conversion - Monthly vs. annual subscriptions - LTV/CAC - Cohort economics Experience with AI-powered or other variable-cost consumer products is a strong plus. RevenueCat experience is useful but not required. We are not looking for a general management consultant, SaaS pricing consultant, or fractional CFO. Consumer app subscription experience is important. When Applying Please answer these three questions: 1. What consumer subscription app(s) have you personally worked on, and what did you own? 2. What measurable result did you achieve? For example: conversion, trial-to-paid, churn, annual-plan mix, LTV, or revenue. 3. Have you worked on a consumer product with meaningful variable cost per active user? If so, how did that affect pricing or packaging? Please include relevant examples or case studies where possible. Engagement Expert level Approximately 15–25 hours initially, with potential follow-up after launch once we have real conversion, retention, and acquisition data. Suggested rate: $75–$150/hour. We're happy to pay for senior expertise. We're looking for someone who can quickly understand an existing product and help us make a small number of high-impact monetization decisions before launch.