Definition
Trial-to-paid conversion rate measures what % of trial users become paying customers within a defined window. It's a bridge metric between activation and revenue.
Formula
Trial-to-paid = paid conversions / trials started
Choose a conversion window
- Self-serve trials: 7-30 days is common (depends on product complexity).
- Sales-assisted conversions: track separately; windows are often longer.
- Use cohorts so you don't undercount late conversions.
How to improve trial-to-paid
- Improve activation and time-to-value (trial users must see value quickly).
- Clarify pricing and packaging (reduce confusion and surprise).
- Add conversion nudges: in-product prompts, lifecycle emails, sales follow-up for high intent.
Trial-to-paid QA checklist
- Use a fixed conversion window aligned to your sales cycle.
- Exclude free-to-paid migrations from legacy plans unless defined as trials.
- Track trial extensions separately from standard trials.
Benchmarks and context
- Self-serve products often convert faster; sales-assisted trials convert slower.
- Short trials can raise conversion but hurt activation if time-to-value is long.
- Compare by segment and acquisition channel to avoid blended averages.
Common mistakes
- Mixing self-serve and sales-assisted trials (different funnels).
- Using a too-short window for long-cycle conversions.
- Optimizing conversion while harming retention (watch churn/GRR).