Article · 10 min read

What is good waitlist conversion?

Lenny Rachitsky · Lenny's Newsletter Freemium Intermediate

Real benchmark data from founders on what a waitlist actually converts to paid, so you can calibrate expectations against your numbers. The clearest finding is that speed matters: convert people within a month and you can hit 20 percent or more, wait three months and it falls below 10 percent. Use it to stop hoarding signups and start reaching out now.

  • Waitlist to paid conversion commonly lands around 20 percent, not the whole list.
  • Move people off the waitlist fast; delay kills conversion.
  • A big waitlist number tells you little until you try to charge it.
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It answers 2 questions

  1. I only have a landing page and a waitlist, how do I turn signups into paying customers?
  2. Should I gate my launch behind a waitlist, or does a waitlist just kill the momentum I worked to build?

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