AllTrails
A trail discovery and navigation app for hiking, trail running, mountain biking and backpacking.
AllTrails passed 1M subscribers by shifting from hardcore backcountry users to casual hikers, cutting the annual price from $50 to $30 (later $36), and growing its catalog from 4,000 vetted trails to 475,000. Over 90% of users stay free, and SEO drives most growth. Lesson: curate core data, simplify for casual users, and test price quickly when reviews call it too expensive.
- 1Attach to identityWho a person is
- 2Pair with repeated activitySomething they do repeatedly
- 3Retention followsThat pairing drives retention
From Product and growth notes on AllTrails, Ladder, Strava
What was said about AllTrails
Tie the product to an identity and a repeated activity. AllTrails is cited, with Ladder and Strava, as a consumer app that attaches to who a person is and something they do repeatedly. That pairing is what drives retention.
Coconote applied the same idea to students: recording lectures is a daily or several-times-a-week habit. Past recordings pile up into a library across related courses, which creates lock-in. The sources give no AllTrails figures, only the comparison.
How AllTrails Crossed the Chasm to 1M+ Subscribers
Grew past 1M subscribers by pivoting from hardcore backcountry users to casual hikers, cutting the annual price from $50 to $30 (later $36), and rebuilding its catalog from 4,000 vetted trails to 475,000. Over 90% of users are free, and SEO drives most growth.
Tie the product to an identity and a repeated activity. AllTrails is cited, with Ladder and Strava, as a consumer app that attaches to who a person is and something they do repeatedly. That pairing is what drives retention.
Coconote applied the same idea to students: recording lectures is a daily or several-times-a-week habit. Past recordings pile up into a library across related courses, which creates lock-in. The sources give no AllTrails figures, only the comparison.
$6.7M ARR, No Paid Ads, and an Exit to Quizlet in 2 Years – Brett Bauman & Zack Hargett, Coconote
Cited alongside Ladder and Strava as an app that ties to identity and repeated activity, which drives retention.
How Calm Added 1.2M Subscribers with Creative Marketing Tactics
Its users are already on the trail, so a short onboarding fits the product.
How onX Built a Portfolio of Apps to Grow ARR by 10x
Has a large premium base and about 90% of users on the free tier. It grew through hyper-local trail SEO and Apple awards, serves the casual weekend hiker, and onX studies its upgrade flows for inspiration.
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