# Guide: Free or Paid Trials

Offering a trial is a proven way to drive acquisition by letting customers experience your product before committing. Limio supports both **free** and **paid trials**, giving you the flexibility to test different trial strategies and drive conversions.

This guide explains how to configure trials in Limio - whether you want to offer a free trial with no payment capture or a paid trial that auto-renews into a full subscription. It also covers how to manage conversion checkouts, prevent trial abuse, and leverage Limio’s orchestration features to tailor the experience to your needs.

Use this guide to:

* Set up free or paid trial offers
* Decide whether trials should auto-renew or require manual conversion
* Integrate with identity providers, Zuora, or Salesforce

> If you're not sure which type of trial is right for your business model, reach out to [Limio Support](https://docs.limio.com/support) for guidance.

## **Free or Paid trial, auto-renewing into a full subscription**

Use this approach when you want the paid or free trial to auto-renew into a regular subscription.

### **Pre-requisite**

Note: In this guide, we will use [Limio's Price](https://docs.limio.com/integrations/zuora-integration/manage-your-pricing/how-to-configure-subscriptions-in-limio-offers-with-initial-price-and-zuora-rate-plans) feature. You can also explore setting the price in Zuora via [External Pricing](https://docs.limio.com/integrations/zuora-integration/manage-your-pricing/how-to-configure-subscriptions-in-limio-offers-with-external-price-and-zuora-rate-plans) or use [Promo Codes](https://docs.limio.com/product/pricing/how-to-configure-and-implement-promo-codes). Reach out to [Limio Support](https://docs.limio.com/support) for guidance.

* In Zuora, you have configured a rate plan with the renewal price.

### **Supported scenarios**

* Same billing frequency: 1-month trial at $1/month → renews at $10/month
* Different billing frequency: 7-day trial free trial → renews into monthly subscription at $20/month

#### **How to configure a free trial with auto-renew**

1. Create the **trial** [offer](https://docs.limio.com/product/pricing/what-are-offers-and-how-to-configure-them) in Limio
   * **Option 1:** **Auto-renew trial with the same billing frequency**
     * Set **Initial Price** in the offer (e.g. $1 per month)
     * Set the **Rate Plan**, referencing the renewal price
     * Ensure **Auto-Renew** is enabled so that the subscription continues after the trial
     * Enable the **Trial flag** in the offer configuration.
   * **Option 2: Auto-renew trial with different billing frequency**
     * Set **Initial Price** in the offer (e.g. $0 for 1 Week).
     * Define an **Initial Term** (e.g. 1 Week).
     * Set a **Renewal Term** (e.g. 1 Month).
     * Set the **Rate Plan**, referencing the renewal price (e.g. $20 per month)
     * Ensure **Auto-Renew** is enabled so that the subscription continues after the trial
     * Enable the **Trial flag** in the offer configuration.
     * Set **Remove and re-add products at end of initial term** to true. Learn more at: [How to create an offer with a different initial billing frequency from the renewal billing frequency (Beta)](https://docs.limio.com/integrations/zuora-integration/manage-your-pricing/how-to-configure-subscriptions-in-limio-offers-with-initial-price-and-zuora-rate-plans/how-to-create-an-offer-with-a-different-initial-billing-frequency-from-the-renewal-billing-frequency)
2. Publish the trial offer on a trial **pricing page** (e.g. /pricing-trial)
3. Create an authenticated trial **checkout page** /checkout-trial with the **Form component** to collect user and payment details (Name, Email, Company Name, Payment Fields…) ([https://docs.limio.com/product/checkout/overview-how-to-customise-the-limio-modular-checkout](https://docs.limio.com/product/checkout/overview-how-to-customise-the-limio-modular-checkout "mention"))
4. Redirect to the **Order Complete URL**.

The subscription will be created in Zuora and renew automatically at the end of the trial period.

## **Free trial with manual conversion**

Use this setup when you want to offer a free trial without capturing payment details (e.g. 14 days free trial). These subscriptions do **not** automatically renew. A customer must be converted manually at the end of the trial period

### **Steps to set up a free trial without auto-renew**

1. **Create a free trial offer** in Limio:
   * Set up is similar as for auto-renew trial
   * Ensure **Auto-Renew** is turned off so that the subscription doesn't continue after the trial
2. **Configure a trial checkout** page:
   * **Option 1: Free trial captured by Limio**
     1. Create a /checkout-trial page and mark it as anonymous.
     2. Use the **Form component** to collect user details (Name, Email, Company Name…)
     3. Redirect to the **Order Complete URL**.
     4. Pass identity information back later via the [External Identity API](https://docs.limio.com/developers/api/external-identities-api) to enable Limio Self-Service features down the line.
   * **Option 2: Trial setup via identity provider**
     1. Create a /checkout-trial page and mark it as authenticated.
     2. Ensure your identity provider captures all user details for the trial (e.g. First Name, Email, Company Name).
     3. Create a custom component to silently submit the order to Limio and redirect the customer to the **Order Complete URL**.
3. **Skip unnecessary processing**
   * Use a [process override](https://docs.limio.com/integrations/order-orchestration/order-orchestration-framework) to skip integrations like Zuora but send data in Salesforce.

### **Free Trial conversions**

If you want a **free trial to convert into a paid subscription**, you can use Limio's Renewal Experience. Learn more at [How to create a personalised renewal experience](https://docs.limio.com/product/self-service/what-are-the-standard-functionality-of-limio-self-service-manage-my-account/how-to-create-a-personalised-renewal-experience)

> If you're not sure which type of trial is right for your business model, reach out to [Limio Support](https://docs.limio.com/support) for guidance.