---
title: "How long should your free trial be? Data from 17,000+ apps"
description: "We analyzed 17,000+ apps to see how free trial length relates to conversion and retention, from weekly subscriptions to annual plans."
language: "en"
publishedAt: "2026-09-28T09:00:00.000Z"
updatedAt: "2026-09-28T09:00:00.000Z"
authors:
  - name: "Margarita Loktionova"
    url: "https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/author/margarita-loktionova"
category: "Growth"
categoryUrl: "https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/growth"
canonical: "https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/growth/free-trial-length"
---

# How long should your free trial be? Data from 17,000+ apps

We analyzed 17,000+ apps to see how free trial length relates to conversion and retention, from weekly subscriptions to annual plans.

## Table of contents

- [Which trial lengths do high-volume apps choose?](#which-trial-lengths-do-high-volume-apps-choose)
- [How many trial users reach a second payment?](#how-many-trial-users-reach-a-second-payment)
- [Do conversion and renewal favor the same trial length?](#do-conversion-and-renewal-favor-the-same-trial-length)
- [What if you remove the trial altogether?](#what-if-you-remove-the-trial-altogether)
- [How does trial length relate to conversion and renewal in AI apps?](#how-does-trial-length-relate-to-conversion-and-renewal-in-ai-apps)
- [Does giving users more trial time improve conversion across regions?](#does-giving-users-more-trial-time-improve-conversion-across-regions)
- [Do the same trial lengths outperform across app categories?](#do-the-same-trial-lengths-outperform-across-app-categories)
- [So, what's the right trial length for your app?](#so-whats-the-right-trial-length-for-your-app)
- [How we analyzed the data](#how-we-analyzed-the-data)

Shorter trials are the most common choice among the largest apps in each category we analyzed. Yet our data shows that conversion and renewal rates are often higher in longer-trial groups. The pattern varies by subscription plan, category, and region, so there’s no single trial length that leads on every measure. Use the benchmarks in this guide to experiment with trial length based on your app’s unique context.

Free trials keep dividing app developers. Give users more time, get paid faster, or skip the trial entirely?

Sure, shorter trials mean earlier payments, faster feedback for paid campaigns, and lower costs of providing free access. That last one matters most if you’re running an AI app, where every free session carries a real, variable cost behind it.

Yet our State of Subscription Apps 2026 report found a 42.5% median conversion rate for trials of 17+ days, versus 25.5% for trials of four days or less. That’s roughly 67% higher.

But do those subscribers keep paying? And does the pattern differ depending on subscription plans?

We analyzed 17,000+ apps to benchmark conversion and renewal across trial durations for weekly, monthly, and annual subscriptions. We also compared AI and non-AI apps and explored differences by category and subscriber region.

## Which trial lengths do high-volume apps choose?

First things first: we looked at the 100 apps with the most trial starts in each category and plan duration, and checked what trial length each one runs.

Short trials tend to dominate. On weekly plans, 81–100 of those apps use trials of four days or less, depending on category.

![Weekly subscription trial lengths among each category’s top 100 apps. Trials of four days or less dominate every category, ranging from 81% in Health & Fitness to 100% in Gaming.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/c3qnx9b0/production/b95c2ef046ff518c583822d025e68a5a2bc879b8-3842x2800.png)

Monthly and annual plans also lean toward trials of nine days or less, although the mix varies by category.

Education, Health & Fitness, and Travel favor 5–9-day trials, while Productivity and Photo & Video favor trials of four days or less. One possible explanation is how long users need to evaluate the app: some benefits take repeated use to assess, while others are apparent in a single session.

![Trial length distribution among each category’s top 100 apps for monthly and annual subscriptions. Trials of 5–9 days lead in most categories, while trials of four days or less are most common in Gaming and Photo & Video.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/c3qnx9b0/production/a8b07bcffee52aba8602b501cbe55dc661dcbccf-1921x2400.png)

These are apps with the most trial starts, rather than the highest revenue or retention. Their choices show what’s common at scale. But this doesn’t establish which trial length *performs *best.

That leaves a useful question: how do conversion and renewal compare across those common short trials? And what changes in the less common, longer-trial groups?

## How many trial users reach a second payment?

Our data actually shows that longer trials are often associated with higher renewal rates, though the pattern varies by subscription plan:

- **Weekly subscriptions:** The share of trial users who paid and renewed once is slightly higher after 5–9-day trials than after trials of four days or less: **14.4% vs. 11.8%**. Evidence for longer trials remains limited.
- **Monthly subscriptions:** Longer trials are associated with more trial users paying and renewing: **30.6%** after 10–16-day trials vs. **18.5% **after trials of four days or less. The pattern then levels off in the 17–32-day trial group.
- **Annual subscriptions:** The share of trial users who paid and renewed increases with trial length across all four groups, from **3.5%** after trials of four days or less to** 18.5% **after 17–32-day trials. Though trial duration alone may not explain higher retention.

![Share of trials that convert to paid subscriptions and renew once, by plan and trial length. Monthly plans rise from 18% to around 30%, and annual plans from 3% to 18%. Weekly estimates for trials longer than nine days are based on fewer than 20 apps.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/c3qnx9b0/production/17cf835cbccd288d0ddc8c22c2199f75148050a8-1921x1080.png)

*One caveat before we go further: there is a correlational pattern, and a flattering one. Someone who’s still in your trial on day 25 of a 30-day window is simply more likely to pay than someone who bails on day two. Keep that in mind as the ceilings and floors get more specific below.*

## Do conversion and renewal favor the same trial length?

We also looked at conversion and first renewal separately to see whether longer trials coincide with more users paying, more paying subscribers renewing, or both.

For** weekly** subscriptions, the difference between the two common short-trial groups is larger at renewal. Trials of 5–9 days convert 24.3% of trial users, compared with 22.3% for trials of four days or less. Among paying subscribers, 65.9% renew after 5–9-day trials, versus 57.9% after shorter trials.

There are too few qualifying apps offering weekly plans with trials beyond nine days to extend that comparison reliably.

![Weekly subscription trial conversion and first renewal rates by trial length. Conversion is 22% for trials of four days or less and 24% for 5–9 days; first renewal among paying subscribers is 58% and 66%, respectively.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/c3qnx9b0/production/cb69c0787ba3a034c60784232fe3117dda4980b4-1921x1080.png)

For** monthly** subscriptions, conversion is higher in the 5–9-day trial group than in the shortest-trial group: 45.9% versus 39.6%. The 10–16-day group has similar conversion, at 46.6%, but higher first renewal: 72.0% versus 62.8% of paying subscribers.

The 17–32-day group has the highest first renewal rate, at 77.5%, but lower conversion than either middle group, at 43.7%.

![Monthly subscription trial conversion and first renewal rates by trial length. Conversion is 40%, 46%, 47%, and 44% for trials of four days or less, 5–9, 10–16, and 17–32 days, respectively.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/c3qnx9b0/production/b0aafb8914b89db29588a7d5e78cd7f054b1a227-1921x1080.png)

For **annual** subscriptions, both rates are higher across longer-trial groups. Comparing trials of four days or less with 17–32-day trials, conversion rise from 24% to 44.6%, and first renewal from 18.3% to 47.5%.

Of course, a trial rarely builds a year of loyalty on its own: a longer trial mostly gives annual buyers more time to be sure before a bigger, harder-to-reverse commitment. So the people who convert after that longer look might already be the ones less likely to cancel.

![Annual subscription trial conversion and first renewal rates by trial length. Conversion is 24%, 33%, 43%, and 45% for trials of four days or less, 5–9, 10–16, and 17–32 days, respectively.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/c3qnx9b0/production/2f2620df57e66936da0b2d994fa4845d79618764-1921x1080.png)

## What if you remove the trial altogether?

Here’s another interesting finding: subscriptions purchased without a trial have lower first-renewal rates on weekly and monthly plans than those that begin with one.

The weekly gap is particularly large: 35.9% of paying subscribers renew without a trial, compared with 57.9% after trials of four days or less and 65.9% after 5–9-day trials.

Annual plans show a different pattern. No-trial renewal is higher than renewal after trials of up to nine days, but lower than after longer trials.

| **Trial length** | **Weekly (1st renewal)** | **Monthly (1st renewal)** | **Annual (1st renewal)** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| No trial | 35.9% | 49.5% | 26.6% |
| Trial of four days or less | 57.9% | 54.2% | 18.3% |
| Trial of 5–9 days | 65.9% | 62.8% | 25.3% |
| Trial of 10–16 days | Too few apps | 72% | 36.4% |
| Trial of 17–32 days | Too few apps | 77.5% | 47.5% |

*Note: this table measures first renewal among paying subscribers, not all trial users, so these numbers run higher. This comparison a;sp doesn’t tell us how many people purchase when shown a no-trial offer.*

Lower renewal doesn’t automatically make a no-trial offer less profitable, though. [David Vargas’s case study](https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/growth/should-your-app-stop-offering-free-trials) found that removing the trial, alongside changes to pricing and plans, helped one app earn enough per paying customer to support paid acquisition without it.

## How does trial length relate to conversion and renewal in AI apps?

For AI apps with usage-based inference or generation costs, extra free access needs to justify its expense. Besides, [higher churn](https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/growth/ai-app-retention-study) with lower conversions means there's less room to get the length wrong.

The **monthly** results offer a useful comparison.

Trials of 5–9 days and 10–16 days show almost identical conversion, at 38.2% and 38.5%. First renewal is higher in the 10–16-day group, at 64.2% versus 57.4%.

But the 17–32-day group shows no further renewal gain: first renewal is 64.1%, while conversion falls to 31.8%. In this dataset, the longest monthly trials don’t provide a stronger conversion or renewal benchmark than 10–16-day trials.

![For monthly subscriptions, AI apps have lower trial conversion and first renewal rates than non-AI apps at every trial length. Beyond 16 days, AI trial conversion falls from 39% to 32%, while first renewal stays at 64%.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/c3qnx9b0/production/2b8f108620e9e08eb0571774cafdb4dab29ddc3f-1921x1800.png)

For **annual AI subscriptions**, conversion is 33.8% after 10–16-day trials, compared with 23.3% after 5–9-day trials. First renewal is also higher, at 29.4% versus 19.6%. For **weekly AI subscriptions**, the difference is smaller. Conversion is 23.1% after 5–9-day trials versus 22.3% after trials of four days or less; first renewal is 62.5% versus 57.9%.

Without a trial, first renewal is lower on weekly and monthly AI plans. Annual no-trial renewal is 18.9%, compared with 15.1% after trials of four days or less and 19.6% after 5–9-day trials.

![First renewal rates for AI subscriptions by trial duration and plan. Weekly rates rise from 33.8% without a trial to 62.5% with 5–9-day trials. Monthly rates rise from 41.3% without a trial to around 64% with 10–32-day trials. Annual rates range from 15.1% to 29.4%.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/c3qnx9b0/production/27ccd923b1205b3e7ed58467fffa32a972b71240-3842x2160.png)

## Does giving users more trial time improve conversion across regions?

On **annual** plans, North America and Western Europe have higher conversion across progressively longer-trial groups. Asia-Pacific follows that pattern up to 10–16 days, but has lower conversion in the 17–32-day group.

![Annual subscription trial conversion by trial length across seven regions. Conversion rises through 10–16 days in every region. At 17–32 days, it increases further in North America, Western Europe, and Latin America but declines elsewhere. North America has the highest rates; India & Southeast Asia has the lowest.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/c3qnx9b0/production/285979b02bcfc31113442b6f62ecef3f718aa4c6-1921x1080.png)

On **monthly plans**, conversion in Middle East and Africa, India and Southeast Asia, and Latin America is highest in the 5–9-day group and lower in the 17–32-day group. The largest gap among these regions is in Middle East and Africa: 38.3% versus 27.4%.

![Monthly subscription trial conversion by trial length across seven regions. North America and Asia-Pacific have the highest rates, while India & Southeast Asia has the lowest.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/c3qnx9b0/production/52a2bea226f311b9b509e7dbfa3567d774991874-1921x1080.png)

## Do the same trial lengths outperform across app categories?

On monthly plans, longer-trial groups generally have higher renewal rates across app categories.

But they don’t always have higher conversion. In many categories, conversion is highest in the 10–16-day group and lower in the 17–32-day group.

When interpreting these differences, consider two timelines: how quickly users recognize the app’s value, and how often they have a reason to return. The data don’t measure habit formation, but those questions can help you decide what extra trial days should accomplish.

![Heatmap of monthly subscription trial conversion and first renewal rates across 11 app categories and four trial lengths. Conversion patterns vary by category, while longer trials generally have higher first renewal rates among paying subscribers. Dashed borders mark results based on fewer than 20 apps.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/c3qnx9b0/production/b726329a5c624396c25e04b83cefb11bb604d829-1921x1500.png)

Three categories illustrate the differences:

- **Media & Entertainment**: The 10–16-day group leads on both conversion (58.9%) and first renewal (79.4%), with neither rate higher in the 17–32-day group. For streaming apps, the question to explore is whether extra trial days help users discover more content they want to keep watching.
- **Utilities**: Conversion is highest in the 10–16-day group, at 47.4%, compared with 44.0% in the 17–32-day group. First renewal is highest in the longest group, at 77.9%, versus 55% for trials of four days or less. A user might recognize a tool’s value after one task. The question for a longer trial is whether it gives them opportunities to use it again.
- **Health & Fitness**: Conversion is higher in the 5–9-day group than in the 10–16-day group: 46.8% versus 40.4%. First renewal is higher across longer-trial groups, from 51.5% for trials of four days or less to 77.1% for 17–32-day trials. If you’re considering more trial time, check whether users keep completing workouts or logging progress during those extra days. That would give you evidence of continued engagement, rather than assuming a longer trial builds a habit.
## So, what's the right trial length for your app?

These findings make a case for challenging a short trial chosen by default. But they also show where longer trials have no clear advantage, helping you narrow down which alternatives deserve a test.

At the end of the day, the answer isn't "run longer (or shorter) trials," "cut trials entirely," or a number copied from the leader in your niche. It's whichever pattern matches your app:

- **Time to value**. How long a user needs to experience your app before they can fairly judge whether it's worth paying for.
- **Habit versus motivation**. Utilities' renewal kept climbing long after conversion had already peaked, because deciding fast and building a routine aren't the same thing. Health & Fitness runs the same tension the other way: a longer trial builds the habit, but it also gives motivation more time to fade first.
- **Audience context**. Price sensitivity and trust in recurring billing can change what a longer trial buys: more confidence to pay, or just more time to back out. So does whether users are weighing you against a free alternative, and how much they need to learn before they can fairly judge your app at all.
- **Cost**. Longer trial delays revenue and stretches out how long paid acquisition takes to pay for itself. If your app has a real per-user cost behind every session, that spend adds up whether or not the person converts.
The best next action? Use the benchmarks above as a starting point, then test trial length against your own subscription plans, your app's specifics, and what you know about your audience.

[RevenueCat Experiments](https://www.revenuecat.com/feature/experiments) lets you get there faster. Set trial length as the variable, and let your own revenue numbers make the call.

## How we analyzed the data

We compared trial conversion and paid renewal separately for weekly, monthly, and annual subscriptions on the App Store and Google Play, with breakdowns by platform, AI classification, category, and subscriber region. We also looked at the 100 apps with the most trial starts in each category.

- **Period:** August 2025–July 2026, based on trial starts for conversion and renewal dates for retention. The combined trial-to-first-renewal measure follows the same trials through both payments, including earlier annual cohorts.
- **Measurement:** Median app-level rates. Each renewal rate measures subscriptions that paid again, conditional on the previous payment.
- **Sample requirements:** More than 100 eligible trials or subscriptions reaching first renewal per qualifying app segment. Groups with fewer than 20 apps are directional.
- **Trial coverage:** No-trial subscriptions appear only in renewal comparisons. Trials longer than 32 days are excluded from conversion figures.

---

## Related posts

- [The 7-day trial, and other free trial myths: how to choose the right trial length for your subscription app](https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/growth/7-day-trial-subscription-app)
- [Why free trials don’t make sense anymore (and what user acquisition tactic to try instead)](https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/growth/free-trials-dont-make-sense-anymore)