How a free trial works
The viewer chooses a plan and, in most cases, enters payment details. Access begins immediately. On the last day of the trial the first payment is taken and regular billing begins.
Design choices
- Card up front: fewer sign-ups, but most of them convert
- No card: many more sign-ups, far fewer of them pay
- Length: long enough to form a habit, short enough that the catalog is not exhausted
- Reminder: an email before the first charge reduces refunds and disputes, and some regions require it
- Alternatives: a discounted first month, or a free first episode with no trial at all
Preventing trial abuse
Some viewers take repeated trials with new email addresses, or sign up, watch one series and cancel. Limit trials to one per payment method and device, and consider leaving trials off around a major release, when people would have subscribed anyway.
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