Forgotten Free Trials May Cost Brands More Than One Payment

Nearly 8 in 10 U.S. consumers have forgotten to cancel a free trial they meant to end, then been charged, according to a Dimers survey of 2,000 adults. Respondents said forgotten trials cost them an average of $45 a month.

The survey, conducted Sept. 1, also found the average highest single charge for a forgotten trial was $87. One in four respondents said they had accidentally stayed subscribed to at least one trial.

For subscription companies, those charges may bring short-term revenue but do not necessarily create loyal customers. Rachel Sheriff, Recurly’s chief customer officer, told CX Dive that an unexpected conversion can leave customers wary of subscription businesses.

Trial conversion rates are also weakening. Recurly data cited by CX Dive show that free trials converted into paid plans 34% of the time in 2025, down from 47% in 2021.

A recent field experiment suggests automatic renewal may even shrink a company’s longer-term customer base. Researchers studied more than 1.4 million readers offered promotional subscriptions by a major European newspaper; automatic renewal cut trial take-up by 35%.

Although automatic renewal initially lifted paid subscriptions among those who took the offer, the edge faded. Over the study’s observation period, offers that ended automatically produced 23% more paid subscribers, according to the researchers.

The results suggest cancellation terms can shape whether people sign up, not just whether they stay. Customers who expect to forget may avoid trials that require them to cancel, while a surprise charge can damage the chance of winning them back.

Sheriff said clear cancellation options and useful communication during a trial can help build trust, even when a customer decides not to continue. For subscription businesses, the next test is whether transparent renewals can turn trials into lasting relationships without relying on customers missing a deadline.