Leaky Paywall vs Piano (2026): Which Pays Better?
Both are popular paywall & subscription tools. Here is how Leaky Paywall and Piano stack up on requirements, what you keep, payout terms, strengths and weaknesses, and which one we would pick.
Leaky Paywall
Metered paywall for WordPress publishers: free article counts, registration walls and subscriptions.
7.2 /10
Pricing: Paid from $199/mo
Pros
- Purpose-built metering (X free articles, then subscribe) for news and magazine sites
- Google-friendly paywall markup
Cons
- Publishing-only focus
- Annual licence and add-ons
Piano
Enterprise subscription, paywall and audience platform used by major publishers.
7.4 /10
Pricing: Free plan, pay as you go
Pros
- Dynamic paywalls, offers, analytics and identity for large newsrooms
- Proven at scale
Cons
- Enterprise pricing and implementation
- Overkill below a large subscriber base
Leaky Paywall vs Piano at a glance
| Leaky Paywall | Piano | |
|---|---|---|
| Editor score | 7.2 / 10 | 7.4 / 10 |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | $199/mo | Free |
| Web rank | – | #3.9k |
| Minimum traffic | None | None |
| Revenue share / fee | From $199/year; no per-sale cut | Custom enterprise pricing |
| Commission | – | – |
| Payout | Via your gateway | Via your gateway |
| Methods served | paywall premium content | paywall premium content, memberships subscriptions |
| Niches accepted | General, Tech & SaaS, Finance & Insurance, Health & Supplements, Gaming & Esports, E-commerce & Retail | General, Tech & SaaS, Finance & Insurance, Health & Supplements, Gaming & Esports, E-commerce & Retail |
| Reader upvotes | 0 | 0 |
| Best for | metered paywall, wordpress, publishers | enterprise paywall, subscriptions, newsrooms |
Our pick
Piano edges it with a score of 7.4 versus 7.2. Piano is the better fit if you value: dynamic paywalls, offers, analytics and identity for large newsrooms, proven at scale. Choose Leaky Paywall instead if you need: purpose-built metering (x free articles, then subscribe) for news and magazine sites, google-friendly paywall markup.
Other paywall & subscription tools to consider
Full ranking →MemberPress 🧰 PlatformPaid
WordPress membership plugin: paywalls, subscriptions, courses and drip content with no revenue share.
Paid Memberships Pro 🧰 PlatformFreemium
Open-source WordPress membership plugin with a free core and paid add-ons.
Poool 🧰 PlatformPaid
Dynamic paywall and registration wall platform for mid-sized publishers, with audience scoring.
Supertab 🧰 PlatformFree
Micropayments and time passes for articles: readers pay per piece or per hour without a subscription.