How long did your growth slump last after putting up your first paywall?

We kept our product free for the first six months just to get people through the door. Word of mouth was great, signups were steady, and everyone seemed happy.

But the week we finally introduced a basic subscription plan acquisition dropped so fast it felt like hitting a brick wall. People who used to experiment freely suddenly turned super skeptical the second credit cards got involved.

For those who went through this how long did it take for your signup numbers to normalize after adding that initial price tag?