a single source, nothing corroborates it

Ask for the card before the trial starts

Requiring payment details up front cuts trial volume and filters for people who intend to buy, which makes conversion legible and the follow-up worth doing. The alternative, delaying signup until someone has used the product, risks fewer trials without improving the rate at which they convert.

The method

1. 01

   Require a credit card to start the free trial and accept lower trial volume, because it filters for buyers and makes conversion measurement straightforward.

2. 02

   The delayed-signup approach carries a real risk of producing fewer trial signups without improving trial-to-paid conversion, and is untested in the author's own product.

What it returned

• 14

  Transistor runs a 14-day trial with card up front. Justin's rules of thumb: with a card required, visitor-to-trial runs 0.75% to 1% and trial-to-paid 40% to 60%; without a card, visitor-to-trial exceeds 5% but trial-to-paid falls to between 8% and 20%.

Sources

• Investment loops in SaaS onboardingJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Does this work in SaaS? · undated
• Do you need marketing tracking and automation?Justin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Ask for credit card up-front, and give a 14-day free trial · undated