A limited subscription phase that unlocks the product now and schedules the first charge for a later date.
A free trial provides the benefits of a subscription for a defined introductory period without charging the subscription price at the start. It is not an app-maintained timer or a coupon applied after checkout. The store owns the pricing phase, presented terms, purchase flow, and resulting billing record, but it does not always own the eligibility decision. Google Play evaluates its new-customer-acquisition and upgrade criteria, while a developer-determined offer leaves the business rule entirely to the app. Play’s subscription eligibility documentation explicitly lists second-chance trials and win-back offers as possible developer-determined uses.
On Google Play, developers attach trial pricing phases to subscription offers associated with a base plan, and the app receives offer tokens through ProductDetails. A standard Tierux Android paywall purchase selects the base-plan offer instead of an arbitrary promotion. Its separate cancellation win-back flow can target a configured winbackOfferId, then use conservative fallbacks only when one matching offer is unambiguous. That selection does not prove custom eligibility; the app must decide when its own rule permits a developer-determined offer. After purchase, Tierux reads current state from an authenticated subscriptionsv2 API response, including the current offerPhase. This is Google Play Developer API state, not a signed transaction supplied by the client.
On Apple platforms, a free trial is one form of introductory offer for an auto-renewable subscription. Eligibility is governed at the subscription-group level, and StoreKit exposes introductory-offer availability and eligibility. Server-side evidence differs from Play: Apple supplies transaction and renewal information as App Store-signed JWS data, which a backend verifies before granting access. Canceling during a trial generally preserves benefits until the scheduled end while preventing the first renewal charge.
Good trial design states duration, recurring price, and renewal timing before confirmation. A backend grants the same entitlement during a valid trial but records the offer phase separately from a paid renewal. That separation supports trial-conversion measurement, customer support, and correct recovery when the first charge fails. Teams should test eligibility, cancellation, expiration, grace settings, cross-device restoration, and accelerated sandbox timelines. They should also compare conversion and retained revenue, because a longer trial can increase starts while delaying learning or attracting users with low intent.
The wider store concept that includes free and discounted opening phases.
The share of trial starts that successfully become paid subscriptions.
How teams exercise trial transitions without making real charges.