How do I cut churn when the free trial ends?
Merchants who reach value during the trial usually pay. Those who don't, uninstall when the charge appears.
- Merchants uninstall when billing starts.
- Is our trial too short?
- Should we email before it ends?
Make sure merchants reach activation in the first days of the trial, then show the value they've seen, such as revenue influenced or time saved, before the trial ends. Send reminders a few days before with what they keep by paying. Offer a plan that fits small stores. Track trial-to-paid rate by activation status.
What to measure
| Group | Trial-to-paid |
|---|---|
| Activated in first 3 days | |
| Activated later | |
| Never activated |
Before the trial ends
- In-app summary of value delivered.
- Email reminder with that summary.
- Clear plan comparison.
- Support offer for stuck merchants.
How we look at it at ShoutEx
We set up activation tracking, value summaries and trial emails. Our trial-to-paid guide goes deeper.
- No activation data.
- Silent trial end.
- Only one paid plan.
- Surprise charges.
- Activation tracked.
- Value summary.
- Reminders before billing.
- Plan for small stores.
What developers and Shopify say
Here is what developers say.
Community summaries describe recurring themes in public threads, not individual posts. Vendor pages describe vendor claims, so test them on your own calls.
Read next
Go deeper in the ShoutEx guides, or check the sources behind this answer.
We'll set up activation tracking and trial emails.
Book a call →Follow-up questions
Should we remove the trial?
Test it. Some apps do better with a free plan.
How long should a trial be?
Long enough to reach value.
Do discounts at trial end work?
Sometimes. Value summaries usually work better.