Splitwise Monetization

Splitwise’s monetisation attempt

#product

Splitwise has been there for over a decade, its finally been monetised at a level that any level of intensive use would require a Pro subscription. A user can now only add upto three expenses per day for free. Free users can also see a 10 second add between adding expenses.

Question to explore - is this a great way of monetisation? If we look at internet forums like reddit and app stores - we can find users complaining. Majority of points are:

1. Basic use cases like adding expenses should not be monetised at this level. Showing advertisement was good enough.
2. Users wished it was not a surprise, splitwise could have notified before implementing such a drastic move.

The internet sentiment seems to be negative, but how likely is it negative in terms of business benefits? Regardless of the internet sentiment, this might end up to be a great monetisation move. From my perspective the effectiveness of this move depends on following factors:

1. The user personas: can they pay
2. The moats: how easily can they move to an alternative
3. The communication

The user archetypes: Splitwise has following types of users,

1. Roomies
2. Partners
3. Occasional Travellers