Have you ever wondered why so many membership sites offer trials?
Membership free trials can be a great way to turn your visitors into paying members. For one thing, it helps your visitors get a hands-on experience of your product before making any commitments. Beyond that, it can be a great way for generating leads too.
Thus, a well-planned trial can boost your sign ups, reduce churn and show potential customers the real value of your service and product.
The big question is: “should you go for a free trial vs paid trial?”
Well, just like a coin has two sides, both free trials and paid trials have their own pros and cons. Yet you don’t have to worry at all.
In this article, we’ll compare free trial vs paid trial and find out which one will work best for your business. So without any further ado, let’s dive in!
What is a Free Trial Membership?
A free trial membership is like a free golden pass to access your premium service or product for a specific period of time. It’s absolutely free for visitors so they can get a chance to see and test your service or product before buying it.
You can say it’s like a “Free Test Drive” to experience the full benefits, features and functionalities before making any commitment.
Imagine a visitor is interested in your OTT membership platform yet unsure whether they’ll enjoy it or not? Or whether it is worth the subscription?
That’s why the best way to clear all their doubts and hesitations are free trial programs. If those visitors find themselves enjoying your membership site, they’ll most likely pay for a subscription.
And even if they don’t, you still get qualified leads who are willing to make a commitment.
What is a Paid Trial Membership?
A paid trial membership is a golden pass to access your premium service or product for a specific period of time yet in exchange for a small fee. Herein, visitors pay a small fee to experience your offering before fully committing, making it a balanced win-win for both sides.
In other words, it’s like a short term version or quick pick to experience the real thing in exchange for a small fee only.
The best part? Even if users do not convert to real members, you are not completely at a loss. Also, paid trial memberships mostly have higher conversion rates. The reason is simple. It only attracts the buyers who are serious, not just random visitors.
What is the Difference Between a Free Trial vs Paid Trial?
While exploring the best trial offers, you can either go with a free trial or a paid trial.
The free membership trials gives users access to your products for a specific period of time for free. Meanwhile, a paid membership trial needs a small fee for giving access for a specific time.
Many of you think the only difference is one is free and the other is not. However, Free trial vs paid trials have more differences than you think. The one you’ll choose will definitely have a huge impact on your business’s sales and conversions.
So let’s take a glance at the best key difference free trial vs paid trial for your membership business:
| Feature | Free Trial | Paid Trial |
| Cost to User | $0 Users get full access at zero cost. | Small one time fee to access premium features. |
| User Commitment | Low! Ideal for attracting a wide audience. | Higher! Users paying even a small fee are more serious. |
| Conversion Likelihood | Moderate: Many users try but fewer convert. | Higher : Paid users are more likely to continue membership. |
| Lead Quality | Mixed : Some users explore without intent to buy. | High: Paid trial members show stronger purchase intent. |
| Revenue Potential | Low initially, long term depends on conversion. | Higher initial ROI due to upfront payment. |
| Engagement Level | Low to moderate. Users may test casually sometimes too | Higher: Paid users explore deeply to get value for money. |
| Risk of Abuse | Higher: Some may misuse free access. | Low: Payment barrier filters unserious users. |
| Marketing Reach | Wider audience reach and brand exposure. | More targeted audience with high conversion potential. |
Benefits and Limitations of Free Trial Memberships
Many popular platforms offer free trial memberships like Amazon Prime, Hulu, Adobe Creative Cloud and Audible. Thus, we can say free trials are a popular thing among successful membership sites.
Here are the benefits of offering membership free trials:
- Attracts a wide audience
- Boosts your conversion rates
- Builds trust and brand loyalty
- Gather user feedback for improvements
You can give your visitors full experience of your membership for a short duration for free. Yet, you can’t turn a blind eye to the drawbacks of giving some for “FREE” either.
Now, let’s look at the other side of the coin – the key limitations of free trial memberships:
- It attract leads yet most of them are low quality leads
- Possibility that your work might be copied
- May lower perceived membership value
Benefits and Limitations of Paid Trials Memberships
Now here comes the twist. To overcome the cons of free trial memberships, Businesses came up with the idea of paid trial memberships.
Paid trials need more commitments from the customer’s side yet it still leads to higher conversion rates. Moreover, you also get more engaged leads and better chances of ROI.
Here are some benefits of paid trials for membership businesses:
- Higher quality leads
- Attracts more engaged users and potential customers
- Generates revenue even during trial
- No risk of trial abuse
- Encourages commitment and long term conversions
Yet just as a coin as two sides, let’s take a look at the other:
- Requires careful planning and marketing.
- Fewer signups compared to free trials.
- May deter new or hesitant users
Although most of the membership platforms go with free trials, you can still choose to offer paid trials yet in a strategic way.
How to Decide Which Trial Works Best For Membership Sites?
In a nutshell, if your membership site goal is to grow and spread brand awareness, start with a free trial. And if your focus is to get quality leads and more conversions a paid membership works the best.
Now it’s time to make a decision. Which one are you planning to tag along for your membership site business?
Still confused between free trial vs paid trial ? We have got you!
Let’s talk in numbers first. Free trials are sure to offer value to your customers yet they don’t always guarantee a conversion. Research shows that while around 8.5% of visitors sign up for free trials, only about 18.2% convert into paying members – highlighting the need for better engagement strategies.
Meanwhile if you ask for payment info during signup instead of making it paid, people are more likely to convert. Only 2.5% of organic visitors opt out for trials which require payment info yet 48.8% of them convert to paid members.
You won’t come across big names which offer paid trials anyway. A paid trial membership is rare in businesses as the word “trial” itself means free for most people. So what can you do?
The answer is simple: The best strategy if you want the best of two worlds is to start a free trial membership which requires payment info. This way you can avoid the possibility of free trial abuse and get potential customers.
FAQs
What is the difference between free trial and paid trial?
The free trial allows visitors to experience the product or service for a short time for free. Meanwhile, the paid trial asks users for a small fee to access the product or service for a specific period of time. Moreover, Paid trials usually attract potential customers and result in higher conversion rates, while free trials attract a wide range of audience yet less committed ones.
What is a free trial membership?
A free trial membership allows users to experience your membership site at zero cost for a limited time. Many popular memberships like Amazon Prime and Hulu offer free trial memberships to attract audiences.
What does “paid trial” mean?
A paid trial membership is a golden pass to access your premium service or product for a specific period of time in exchange for a small fee. In a nutshell, it’s like a short term version or quick pick to experience the real thing in exchange for a small fee only.
What are the benefits of free trials?
Here are the benefits of free trials:
- Attract a wide range of visitors
- Builds trust and brand loyalty
- Boost sign-ups and user engagement
- Help gather feedback and product insights
What are the disadvantages of free trial?
Here are the disadvantages of free trial:
- Many signups are low quality leads who may not convert well
- Possibility that your work might be copied
- It can lower the perceived value of your membership
- You may encounter higher operational costs with no guaranteed ROI
Are free trials a good idea?
Yes, Of course! Free trials is a good idea for membership sites who want to grow and increase their brand awareness. You can offer a free trial for a specific time of around 7 days or 14 days to let users experience the real value before commitment.
How are free trials profitable?
Free trials are profitable only when the users actually convert from trial users to paid members. To convert more users, you can analyze user behavior during onboarding and also opt out for asking payment info. That way, the chances of conversion can reach up to 48.8% if used strategically.
Does free trial mean it’s free?
Yes Absolutely! The word “free trial” itself means it’s free. Most free trials only ask for basic details like emails, no credit card and allows users to access the product or service for a short period of time.
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